On an end table at Laurie Lewkowski’s Painesville Township home sits a framed studio portrait of her four children laughing and smiling at one another. It was a candid moment captured last Christmas, the last time Lewkowski’s two sons and two daughters — three of whom either have served or currently serve in the military — were home at the same time. Shortly after the photo was taken, one of her sons, U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. David Raymond Baker, left to serve his country in Afghanistan. On Thursday afternoon, for the first time since that photo was taken, he returned home. As Baker’s flag-draped casket was lowered from a small charter jet into the hands of six fellow Marines, his family and friends stood arm-in-arm, weeping on the tarmac at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. Stillness and silence dominated the scene. The sound of passenger planes taking off and landing was drowned out by the weight of the scene unfolding at ground level. That silence was broken only when a police bagpiper began playing “When the Saints Go Marching In.” Baker’s casket then was loaded into a waiting hearse, and scores of policemen and firefighters — from no fewer than 25 area departments — surrounding the family saluted the 22-year-old Painesville Township native. Baker and his family then were escorted by police and hundreds of members of the Leathernecks Nation, Freedom Riders, Blue Knights and Axemen motorcycle clubs to Monreal Funeral Home in Eastlake. Along the way, motorists stopped at freeway entrance ramps by the police escort stood and waited outside their cars with their right hands over their hearts. As the procession moved through Euclid on Interstate 90, residents and city employees lined up and waved flags along Lakeland Boulevard. When the procession reached Monreal, dozens of people stood along SOM Center Road and Curtis Boulevard to welcome Baker home. Most waved flags, and some held signs that told Baker and his family “thank you” for making the ultimate sacrifice. “It’s powerful stuff,” said Baker’s father, Mark Baker. “It was wonderful, everybody lining up on the street. Everyone (in the family) was moved,” he said. “The outpouring of love the community has shown and the prayers that have been given. … We just ask that everyone continue to pray for our family.” Baker was killed by an improvised explosive device Oct. 20 in the Helmand Province of southern Afghanistan. He was a mortar man for the First Battalion, Fifth Marine Regiment, serving his first tour in Afghanistan. “I pray for all of (the troops) who are over there day and night,” said Marlene Baker, David’s grandmother. “But so many people have honored David. This is wonderful. … It’s not going to hit any of us until it’s over, when we’re alone and not with family all the time.” Upon arriving at Monreal, Baker’s casket was carried by the Marines into the south parlor, where his family spent some time alone with their fallen son, brother, grandson and friend. As he exited the parlor, Baker’s uncle, Jim Baker, said there’s a hole in his heart over the loss of his nephew. “(The family) is pretty torn up. Seeing his body on the tarmac was so surreal,” he said. “But what a tribute with all the people lining the streets and the highway, and all the former Marines on their motorcycles. What a great tribute. The respect and the patriotism … there are no words. It’s overwhelming. “Not only is his family proud of him,” Baker’s uncle said, “but the entire community is proud of him.” Calling hours for the 2006 Riverside High School graduate will be from 2 to 8 p.m. today at Monreal, 35400 Curtis Blvd. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Zion Lutheran Church, 508 Mentor Ave., Painesville. Burial will be in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. Church requests help with reception Because of the large number of attendees expected at the funeral for Marine Lance Cpl. David Raymond Baker, Zion Lutheran Church is asking for assistance with the post-funeral reception. Anyone who is able to bring a side dish or dessert to share is asked to drop off all food items at the church’s kitchen before the funeral begins at 11 a.m. Saturday. Zion Lutheran is located at 508 Mentor Ave. in Painesville.
