A little more than a week after Marine Cpl. Edmund Vandecasteele IV died in an automobile crash on the other side of the country, his body was laid to rest in the veteran’s section of Pine Grove Cemetery.

Family, friends and fellow Marines gathered at St. Matthew Church in nearby Windham on the morning of Aug. 10 to pay their final respects to a young man remembered by those who knew him as cheerful, hardworking and dedicated to the Marine Corps. Local and state officials, including the police chiefs from both communities as well as Gov. John Lynch, were also in attendance at the service.

Vandecasteele, 22, a native of Salem, was killed on Aug. 1 after the 2003 Ford Mustang he was riding in struck a tree in San Clemente, Calif., around 2:15 a.m. The accident occurred roughly 4 miles away from Camp Pendleton, where Vandecasteele had been stationed as an ammunition technician with the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division since April. Prior to his death, Vandecasteele had spent two years serving at Okinawa.

A 2006 graduate of Salem High School, Vandecasteele enlisted before his 18th birthday, fulfilling a nearly lifelong dream of becoming a Marine, according to his mother, Lisa Desroisers. An active swimmer who enjoyed the challenge of serving in the Marine Corps, Desroisers said Vandecasteele had looked forward to joining the reconnaissance battalion.

Vandecasteele is not the first actively serving Marine from Salem killed in recent years. On May 1, 2006, Marine Lance Cpl. Robert Moscillo, 21, died in Al Anbar when a land mine exploded underneath his Humvee. In an interview several days after learning of her son’s passing, Desroisers said that at the time, she had wondered if Moscillo’s death would change her son’s plans to enlist in the Marine Corps.

“It didn’t,” she said. “He attended the wake and stood on the side of the street as the funeral procession went by to honor him ... It was an honor to have him as my son.”

Vandecasteele’s body was escorted through Windham and into Salem – where many flags were flown at half-staff for the second time this summer – by local police officers and members of the Patriot Guard, a nationwide grassroots organization of motorcycle riders that offers support to military families at their request.

Ride Capt. Tom Kearney said his band of riders came together over the weekend to pay their respects to Vandecasteele’s memory. He described the turnout of Patriot Guard riders from across the state and New England as “outstanding” for such short notice.

“He deserves the same respect as a soldier who was killed in action and we want to give that to him,” Kearney said. “He volunteered for the marines and all we’re doing is riding motorcycles. Riding a motorcycle is nothing special, but what he did was special.”

Standing beneath a large American flag hung over Route 111 from the extended ladder of a Windham fire truck parked in front of the Searles School and Chapel, Chief Thomas McPherson said the department had turned out to show their support as well, offering Vandecasteele the same honor as a firefighter who has fallen in the line of duty.

“We know his mother lives in Windham and we came out to show our respects for the family,” he said.