Overflow crowd gathers for funeral of Sgt. Opskar

The extra folding chairs weren't enough to hold the overflow crowd at Princeton's Immanuel Lutheran Church, where about 400 people turned out Thursday for the funeral of a Marine killed in Iraq.

Sgt. Bryan Opskar, 32, died July 23 when a roadside bomb exploded. He was the 24th Minnesotan to die in the Mideast during the Iraq war. He grew up and played hockey in Princeton, and most recently lived in Moorhead.

American flags, passed out as people entered the church, rippled in the crowd, which filled every seat and had people standing against the back wall. A pair of Marines stood near Opskar's parents, Betty and Erling.

A display in the church recalled Bryan Opskar's youth, his marriage and his years in the Marines.

Diann Bellmont of Cold Spring, the mother of a Marine, described the service as simple. "He lived life the way he wanted to, as a Marine, strong, courageous and faithful," she said.

Before the service, nine picketers from the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., picketed across the street. The group, including children as young as 10, wore T-shirts and displayed signs with anti-American and anti-gay messages.

Westboro member Fred Phelps said the church believes the war and the deaths of U.S. troops are God's punishment for a nation too accepting of gays.

"This is God's punishment of this nation, mocking what the Bible says about this vile issue," Phelps said.

Officers from the Princeton Police Department and the Minnesota State Patrol separated the picketers from those attending the service.

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