News

FLUSHING TOWNSHIP, Michigan -- American flags will fly at half-staff Friday to honor Flushing Township native John Marcum, a Navy SEAL who died Friday in Afghanistan.

Marcum died from wounds he received in a gunfight on Sept. 11 with heavily armed militants, the military said.

Marcum, 34, was remembered by friends as a distinguished warrior, a dedicated hero and a father who will be missed.

A graveside service with military honors is 11 a.m. Friday at Colonial Grove Memorial Park in Virginia Beach, Va.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm on Wednesday ordered the flags throughout the state of Michigan and on Michigan waters lowered Friday in honor of Marcum.

Marcum left behind his wife, Cynthia; parents Wayne and Luellen Marcum of Flushing Township; and sister, Kaylee, of Fenton.

He enlisted in the Navy in August 1991, eventually working his way up to becoming a SEAL and being transferred in 2000 to the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, based in Virginia Beach.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the John Wayne Marcum Fund at Navy Federal Credit Union.

Condolences may be offered to the family at www.hollomon-brown.com.