From the north end ferry dock to the center of town, and on to Island Funeral Service, islanders stood silently on Vashon Highway as Samuel John Yates, a son of Vashon and 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps, was escorted home to Vashon in the early afternoon of Friday, July 8.
Lt. Yates’ mother and father, Jill and John Yates, and his brother, Wyatt Yates, said that their family was deeply grateful to the islanders who came out to show their love and respect as the procession passed by.
Sam Yates, age 24, died suddenly on June 23, of unknown causes, at Marine Corps Base Quantico Station, in Virginia, just days shy of the graduation ceremony for his class at The Basic School, which trains newly commissioned or appointed officers in the high standards of skills and leadership required by company grade officers in the Marine Corps operating forces.
The procession on Friday brought Sam back to the place where he had grown up, becoming a student leader and talented baseball and basketball player during his years at Vashon High School.
Conducted with precision and great solemnity, the procession was led by a cortege of three cyclists from Regional Motorcade, followed by Vashon Island Fire & Rescue’s Fire Engine 355. Then came an honor guard of Marines, including Captain Devon Jones, from Joint Base Lewis McCord, who rode in the hearse with Sam.
2nd Lt. John Faulkner, from Quantico, who had become Sam’s best friend there, had been Sam’s escort on the plane from Virginia.
Other cars and a van in the procession held almost 30 close friends and relatives who had accompanied the Yates family to SeaTac Airport, where full military honors for Sam had been conducted on the tarmac after the plane landed.
In a phone call, both John and Jill described the day, and the deep sense of community they had felt.
“The love, respect and support that was shown to us was overwhelming,” Jill said, explaining that the family’s roots were deep on Vashon, as both she and her husband had grown up on the island. Generations of friends and loved ones had reached out to them in the days since Sam’s death, and on Friday, had also been there for their family.
They recalled the procession’s arrival on Vashon and up the dock, where many stood outside their cars to show their respect.
From one car fluttered hand-colored American flags, drawn on white paper by two young girls inside the car.
All the way to town, people stood at the edge of their driveways, and in town, islanders lined Vashon Highway. Many waved flags, as others raised their hands in salutes or held them over their hearts.
And as the procession pulled into the driveway of Island Funeral Service, it was met by members from Vashon Island Fire & Rescue, standing at attention. The district’s ladder truck displayed a large American flag at the funeral home.
Both John and Jill said they were also grateful to the Marines for their support of their family.
Sam had surprised them, only months after his graduation from Washington State University, in 2020, with his carefully thought-out decision to join the Marines Corps. He wanted a challenge in his life, said John.
The procession, said both John and Jill, had also deeply touched the Marines in attendance, with the sergeant in charge of the honor guard telling them that he had never experienced anything like it before when accompanying a fallen Marine home.
John said that while speaking to the Marines, at the funeral home, he had told them, “I hope this all reaffirms to you why you became Marines.”
He said that even in his grief, he couldn’t help but be “so proud” — proud of his community, his country, and most of all, of his son, as he came home to Vashon.
A full obituary for Samuel John Yates, January 14, 1998 – June 23, 2022, 2nd Lieutenant, United States Marine Corps, will follow. A memorial service will take place on Saturday, July 23, at a time still to be determined, at Vashon High School Stadium.
