'He still wanted to make a difference' Family, friends recall fallen Naperville Marine

Michael Mihalo tried hard Saturday to come up with the words to describe his brother.

"I can't share 23 years with you in five minutes," he told hundreds of people packed in the Naperville North High School auditorium to pay their last respects to Marine Lance Cpl. Anthony Mihalo.

There were family, friends and political dignitaries. And Michael had the stage to recall memories of his brother, who died earlier this month by a roadside bomb while on foot patrol in Afghanistan.

"Even at age five or six, he still wanted to fight. He still wanted to make a difference," Michael Mihalo said, one of several speakers during an emotional two-hour service at the Marine's high school alma mater.

Naperville Mayor George Pradel, Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, and several members of Mihalo's Marine unit from Twentynine Palms, Calif., were among those attending. Many who spoke fought back tears while recalling aspects of Mihalo's life.

"Tony touched all of our lives," said Megan Allen, Mihalo's fiancee. "He permanently left a mark on all of us."

For some, like Mihalo's brother, Michael, it's the little details that will provide the lasting images.

"When I think of Tony, I hear the kid with the speech impediment who couldn't say 'grilled cheese,'" Michael Mihalo recalled. He'd say "'where's my griddled cheese? I want my griddled cheese.' I thought to myself 'you've got every part of that sentence right and you can't say the word 'grilled'?'"

The 2004 Naperville North High School graduate had served two previous tours in Iraq before arriving in Afghanistan and was awarded a total of four Purple Hearts for his service.

Megan Allen recalled Mihalo's devotion to the Marines and how, just a month before his death, Mihalo refused further medical treatment after being hit by shrapnel while retrieving another Marine who had been injured during a skirmish.

"Every time he got hurt, his guys were there for him," Allen said. "I can truly understand why he'd never want to leave them behind."

Described as a lover of History Channel and professional wrestling, Mihalo returned home after his second tour in Iraq and expected to stay stateside. But he later agreed to serve in Afghanistan after the Marines asked combat veterans to lead units there.

This latest tour for Mihalo - which was to be his last before discharge - initially was slated to end in October.

"Tony's view of his mission was simple: it was to stop people from killing Americans," said Bill Wolfe, Mihalo's stepfather. "We're going to miss Tony more than we can say."