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June 7, 1984 - Nov. 19, 2005
Lance Cpl. Tyler J. Troyer, 21, of Tangent died Saturday in Iraq.
He was born in Corvallis.
Tyler was a lifelong Albany area resident. He attended South Shore, Central and Tangent elementary schools, North Albany Middle School and graduated from West Albany High School in 2002.
Tyler enlisted in the Marines in December 2001 and after graduating in June, left for boot camp in July 2002.
He loved baseball and played four years in the West Albany High School program and summer baseball until his graduation, most recently the Les Schwab Rockets. He enjoyed rollerblading. He attended the South Albany Community Church Youth Group.
Tyler is survived by parents Terri and Michael Thorpe of Tangent and David and Sandy Troyer of Sherwood; grandparents Jeannette Thorpe of Albany and Stanley and Barbara Troyer of Brownsville; fiancée Megan Oswald of Maryland; brothers Michael and Jeremy of Tangent and Jeremiah of Sherwood; sisters Brittany of Tangent and McKenna of Sherwood, and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins, including Master Sgt. Fred Felde and wife Barb, Rick and Melody Paine, Michael and Rhonda Felde, LeAnn and Will McAnulty, Galen and Carol Troyer, and Renee and David Mangan.
Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday and Tuesday at Fisher Funeral Home. A funeral service with military honors will be at noon Wednesday at the Linn County Fair & Expo Center, 3700 Knox Butte Road N.E., Albany. Committal service will follow at Twin Oaks Memorial Gardens in Albany.
Contributions may be made to the Albany Public School Foundation for Tyler Troyer Memorial Club House in care of Fisher Funeral Home, 306 S.W. Washington, Albany, OR 97321 (www.fisherfuneralhome.com).
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www.tylerjohntroyer.com |
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For
memorial service snapshots, click photo below.
November
30, 2005 |
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Visiting
Our Hero's Graveside, Click photo below
August
13, 2011 |
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Tyler's uncle, Fred Felde, as he waits to receive the flag to present to his sister Terri, Tyler's mother. Governor Ted Kulongoski played a huge part in bringing Fred home from Iraq to be able to attend Tyler's funeral to grieve with us as a family. |
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Tyler's six year-old brother, Jeremy, standing over the vault top for Tyler's casket. |
| ”I just wish that for every other person out there who is over there
on duty, there would be people asking, ‘Tell me about him’”.
Terry |
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Aunt
Terri & Tyler
Dad
& Tyler
Tyler
eating a cupcake |
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It's New Years Day, Jan. 1st, 2006. Celebrating with your mom and dad, Meagan, Brit, and Jeremy was, as always, a joyous thing because there's always a smile, a laugh, a time to cry and it's o.k., no one cares, you wipe the tears away afterwards and move on, smile some more...laugh...and that's the way it's always been there in your home....in Tangent, where you are missed and loved and honored...always. It's only been a short time since you went away and the tears still come so easily for everyone, even Jeremy. It's hard to start a New Year knowing you won't be in it, but here we go. I know you would be proud. |
| From Teresa Lewellen 12/11/05:
Thanks to all who have kept this site going. I never thought I would be visiting a site like this because of someone I love. We just recently lost my cousin, Tyler Troyer. Tyler, You will always be my hero.
Thank you to all who have lost loved ones
Teresa Lewellen
Wife to SSG James Lewellen
Daughter to Ret. SSG John Mack |
| From Dave Troyer 12/05/05:
To whom ever is responsible for this site, Words cannot begin to express my thankfulness to you. It touches me that someone cares enough for our fallen heroes to not let them be forgotten. I am fairly computer illiterate, but I do stumble on things once in a while. Keep up the awesome work. Tyler, I am VERY proud of you. Your Dad |
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Fallen
Hero Memorial Highway Signs Dedication - Click photo below:
April
28, 2014 |
| From the Albany Democrat-Herald democratherald.com
04/29/14:
Highway signs to honor mid-valley's fallen military heroes
By Alex Paul, Albany Democrat-Herald
A soldier and a Marine who were killed serving in Iraq will soon be honored with large brown-and-white Fallen Hero Memorial Highway signs near Albany and Philomath.
State. Rep. Andy Olson unveiled the signs honoring Marine Lance Cpl. Tyler Troyer of Albany and Army Spc. Eric McKinley of Philomath Monday afternoon at the American Legion Post 10.
Olson has worked with Troyer’s parents for almost two years to recognize military members who sacrificed all.
His parents are Terri and Michael Thorpe and David and Sandy Troyer. McKinley’s parents are Tom McKinley of Salem and Karen Hilsendager of Philomath.
Michael Thorpe was instrumental in Oregon’s development of the Hero Memorial Signs program. It is modeled after a program in Massachusetts, where a bridge is named in honor of one of Tyler’s friends, Lance Cpl. Shayne Cabino, also killed in action in Iraq.
“This is a continuation of what we did last year when we unanimously passed House Bill 2708,” a measure establishing the sign program, Olson said. “We are here today to honor two of our fallen heroes from the mid-Willamette Valley, Army Specialist Eric S. McKinley and Lance Corporal Tyler Troyer.”
Olson thanked Katie Thiel and David Hachek of the Oregon Department of Transportation, who said the signs will be placed by June 13 — the anniversary of McKinley’s death. Troyer’s will be placed before that date.
McKinley’s sign will be near the entrance to the city of Philomath. Troyer’s sign will be near Oakville Road on Highway 34.
Olson said Troyer loved playing baseball and was a left-handed pitcher for the West Albany Bulldogs.
He enlisted in the Marines soon after graduating from high school at the age of 18.
“Tyler was 17 years old when he started talking about joining the Marines and when 9/11 happened, he knew he wanted to defend his country,” Olson said. “His parents gave him their love and support and signed the papers.”
Troyer was killed by an enemy sniper in Al Karmah, Iraq, in November 2005. He was just three months short of rotating home.
“He was a friend to everyone and had a great sense of humor,” Olson said. “He was always happy and always smiling.”
Although he considered going into law enforcement, it appeared he was going to attend culinary school after his tour of duty was over — his favorite dishes were Chinese.
Troyer served with the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines and Golf Company.
Spc. Eric McKinley was
24 years old when he was killed on June 13, 2004, by a roadside bomb north of Baghdad. The blast destroyed two vehicles and wounded four other Oregon soldiers, Olson said.
McKinley’s six-year enlistment with the Oregon National Guard was to have ended on April 1, 2004, but was extended indefinitely because of continued violence in Iraq, Olson said.
He served with the Company B, 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry Regiment, Oregon Army National Guard.
Although he was born in Salem, McKinley graduated from Philomath High School, where he was known to be a quiet and caring young man, Olson said.
“He liked to liven up his school life with brightly colored Mohawk haircuts,” Olson said.
An avid outdoorsman, McKinley also worked as a baker at the Alpine Bakery in Corvallis and hoped to open a juice bar in Corvallis upon returning home to provide a drug and alcohol-free environment for young people, Olson added.
“Eric was a stand-up guy who wanted to be a positive influence in other people’s lives,” Olson said. “He was very generous and a hard worker. His generosity extended to Iraq, where he gave his TV to an Iraqi family that had lost everything.”
McKinley posthumously received the Bronze Star for meritorious service, a Purple Heart and Oregon Distinguished Service medal.
A sign honoring Oregon Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Kevin Davis, who was killed in Iraq in 2005, will be erected near Lebanon at a later date and Lance Cpl. Joe Rodewald, killed in 2010 in Afghanistan, will also be honored at another time.
Family members pay for the signs, about $600 each.
Members of the Oregon Patriot Guard presented an avenue of flags leading to the American Legion Post 10 building, honoring the fallen heroes and their family members.
“We get it here in the mid-valley,” Olson said. “Tyler and Eric are typical of the young men and women who come out of our high schools and are willing to serve and defend their country. They are incredible.” |
Albany remembers Marine killed in Iraq
Associated Press
ALBANY, Ore. — A Marine who was fatally shot in the head while on patrol in Iraq was remembered in this working-class community for his blazing fastball, his sense of humor and his devotion to family.
More than 300 people gathered at the Linn County Expo Center on Wednesday to say goodbye to Lance Cpl. Tyler Troyer, 21, of Tangent, who died on Nov. 19.
The crowd wore buttons with a picture of Troyer, who was a star left-hander for the West Albany High School baseball team before joining the Marines.
More than a dozen family members and friends told stories of the mischievous boy who sometimes got into trouble as a youngster. They also praised him as being the glue that connected a family split by divorce.
“Tyler was an example of a person with a destiny in his life,” Galen Troyer, the Marine’s uncle, said from a stage adorned with hundreds of flowers. “He had goals and knew what he wanted to do. Tyler cared about people, and he made a difference.”
Troyer’s father, David Troyer, remembered the day when his son told him he needed his signature so he could sign up for the Marines because he wasn’t yet 18.
“I was a bit nervous,” David Troyer recalled. “But I could see it in his eyes that this was something he really wanted to do. I saw a real change in him.”
Photographs of Troyer sat on easels in the hallway and auditorium of the Expo Center. On one, the young man was pictured with the woman he planned to marry, Megan Oswald.
A newspaper announcement of their engagement was centered at the top of the frame. Below were photos of the pair embracing in front of the White House and sitting beneath a freshly decorated Christmas tree in their apartment. Another easel showed photos of Troyer’s military life and his stint in Iraq. He played soccer with young Iraqis and joined in group pictures with his fellow Marines.
Terri Thorpe, Troyer’s mother, was last to speak. She talked about her the fears she had with a son at war and she remembered the 21 years she had with him.
“He will always continue to be in our hearts,” she said. “I ask that you cry with this family and have sorrow for this family.
“But I also ask that you remember that we have guys left in Iraq still,” and they need support, she said. |
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