A ceremony honoring her son stir memories for Sandee Rouse. (Yuli Wu photo) | ZOOM |

        James Markwell's grave was easy to find Monday morning. A new black granite monument stood on the Army Ranger's burial site, surrounded by flowers, wreaths, flags and a color guard from his Ranger battalion.

        For more than a decade, Pfc. Markwell's burial site had been marked only with a small, flat headstone at Oak Hills Cemetery.

        Friends say he deserved better. He had done too much in life, they say, to remain anonymous in death.

        “This is long overdue,” said Brian Churchill, who served in the 1st Ranger Battalion with Mr. Markwell. “We owed this monument to James many years ago.”

        Mr. Churchill was among the more than 50 friends and relatives at a Memorial Day dedication of the monument, which Mr. Markwell's fellow Rangers donated to the family.

        Mr. Markwell and thousands of other Rangers parachuted into Panama during the 1989 invasion that ousted dictator Manuel Noriega.

        His battalion landed at an airfield in the early hours of Dec. 20. Mr. Markwell, a 21-year-old medic from Sharonville, was shot and killed within minutes of hitting the ground.

        He was the only member of his battalion to die in the invasion.

        Years later, while in town for a meeting, Mr. Churchill decided to visit Mr. Markwell's grave. He spent nearly an hour searching for the headstone. He was shocked when he found the small stone tucked behind several larger stones.

        “It was like we'd just forgotten this guy,” Mr. Churchill said. “We hadn't done anything more to honor him.”

        Mr. Churchill voiced his concerns on a Ranger Web site. Several Rangers responded and began the nationwide effort to raise money for a larger monument.

        “We're honored,” said Mr. Markwell's mother, Sandee Rouse. “The loss is always there. The loss is always heartbreaking. But it never ceases to amaze me the amount of lives he touched.”

        Just one month before the Panama invasion, Mr. Markwell was credited with saving the lives of two Rangers injured during training exercises. He was awarded the Army achievement medal.

        In 1989, then-President George H.W. Bush, in a speech, quoted a letter Mr. Markwell had written.

        Earlier this year, Rangers carried Mr. Markwell's black Ranger beret to Washington to protest a proposal to issue black berets to all Army soldiers, not just those in the elite Ranger corps.

        That dispute was resolved when the Rangers agreed to switch to tan berets.

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