Special Flag Ceremony Honors Fallen Oklahoma Hero

By Jacqueline Sit, NEWS 9

CASHION, Oklahoma -- A special ceremony in Cashion Thursday honored a fallen Oklahoma hero.

Cashion High School graduate, 20-year-old Marine Lance Corporal Jonathan Stroud was killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan in July.

Stroud joined the Marines after high school, and on Thursday, Stroud's Alma Mater honored him with a flag ceremony. Two flags were presented, one for a school honoring their former student and the other for a family who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

"It's so honorable. It's so hard to grieve because you're so proud. You want to cry but you can't because you want to smile and be proud of him for what he did over there," said Stroud's wife Lacie Stroud.

Now a new flag flies over the high school where Stroud was described as a bright student, while the other one sites on a shelf to remind those who walk the halls.

"It tells me that my son was loved not only by his mother and wife and family but by everyone, and it's very touching, very, very touching," said Stroud's mother Mavis Crawford-Stroud.

The flags are a tribute to remember all who serve our country and a reminder to never forget a son, husband and father-to-be who made the ultimate sacrifice.

"He did live what little time he lived. He did live, and I'm thankful for that," said Lacie Stroud. "Not a lot of people have the guts to do it and I'm very proud he's a marine. I'm just very honored to have him as my husband."

Lacie Stroud is expecting the couple's first child, a little girl, in January. A memorial scholarship will be created in honor of the Marine at the high school.

More on News9.com:
Cashion Marine Killed in Afghanistan | Funeral Held for Oklahoma Marine Killed in Afghanistan