By Demorris A. Lee, Times Staff Writer
Friday, August 27, 2010
TAMPA
Shawn Booker stood along Bayshore Boulevard in disbelief.
Booker, 18, had seen his friend Nate Schultz at a local mall this summer before Schultz started a tour of duty in Afghanistan. Schultz had talked of his love for the Marine Corps. The two knew each other from having lived at the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranch in Safety Harbor.
But on Friday morning, Booker stood by the roadside among a group of friends and youth ranch staffers as they clutched American flags in their left hands and held their right hands over their hearts. A hearse carrying Schultz's body snaked its way down the boulevard.
Lance Cpl. Nathaniel J.A. Schultz, 19, died Saturday during combat operations in Afghanistan's war-torn Helmand province. His body landed at MacDill Air Force Base early Friday.
His immediate family gathered around his casket while his youth ranch family waited at the corner of Bayshore Boulevard and Rome Avenue. The hearse took Schultz's body to a Riverview funeral home for a viewing Friday night.
"He just talked about how much he enjoyed it," Booker said of Schultz's love for the Corps. "In a million years, I would have never thought I would be standing out here waiting for his body to come by."
The Sheriffs Youth Ranch is a voluntary program that helps students better their lives. Cindy Deer is a cottage parent there and spent time with Schultz. She, too, waited along the edge of the street peppered with small American flags.
"He worked so hard to get there, to become a Marine," Deer recalled. "It's hard for us. We watched him struggle. Even when something didn't go right, he'd get back up and redo it."
"We are so honored that he died for our country, and we know it was a sacrifice for all of us," she said through tears.
Schultz came to the youth ranch in 2007 and left in 2009, just before joining the Marines.
The 30 youths who are at the ranch are not court-ordered to be there, said its program director, Scott Halbach. "We will not take youth who are made to come to us. We help those who want help."
A 2008 profile of Schultz in a youth ranch magazine said, "Before coming to the ranch, Nate was hanging out with the wrong crowd and making some poor choices."
In the profile, Schultz said, "Everybody here helps you … they know who you are and can see what you can become."
His friend Booker recalled that Schultz was a talented musician who could listen to a song on the radio and then play it on his guitar, substituting humorous lyrics.
"He would make up these hilarious songs off the top of his head," said Booker, who worked with Schultz on maintenance jobs at the ranch. "And he was always the peacemaker when there was an argument."
Last year, Schultz graduated from Countryside High School in Clearwater and joined the Marines.
He was an assistant gunner assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 7, I Marine Expeditionary Force Forward.
He was deployed to Afghanistan in June and promoted to lance corporal Aug. 1. He was killed 20 days later.
Mary Lou McDonald works at the youth ranch and saw Schultz right after he completed basic training. He knew he was heading to Afghanistan.
"He was looking forward to it," she said. "I gave him a hug and a kiss, and I told him, 'You will stay in our prayers forever.' I'm glad I got a chance to see him."
Contact Demorris A. Lee at dalee@sptimes.com or (727) 445-4174.