Colorado Marine Laid To Rest After Tragic Accident

BURLINGTON, Colo. (AP/CBS4) - The Marine from Colorado who was killed in a skydiving accident in Riverside County has been laid to rest.

Caleb Michael Medley, 26, of Burlington was stationed at Camp Pendleton. He had served in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Fire officials say they received a call of a skydiver down shortly after 3 p.m. last Tuesday. When they arrived near the Perris Valley Airport, they found a man had died.

Riverside County sheriff's spokeswoman Sgt. Lisa McConnell says Medley was among a group of Marines who were conducting a military training exercise. McConnell couldn't say how many other Marines were involved or if there were problems with the Medley's parachute.

Perris is a popular skydiving area about 75 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

His funeral was held Wednesday at Burlington High School where flags were flown at half-staff. Family and friends packed the gymnasium.

"I just loved him, he was great, he was at my house all of the time," Medley's teacher Kathy Babb said. "I miss him a lot."

Those who knew him best shared intimate stories of a man they will never forget.

"Caleb was always a fun guy," friend Andy Babb said.

Also in attendance was Mike Mobley from Denver. He sat quietly at the service. Mobley didn't know Medley personally, but made the 2 1/2-hour drive to pay his respects.

"It's easy to kind of let it go and not do the right thing and be here, but both of my sons served and if something happened to them I think a lot of people would do that," Mobley said.

Medley died just one day after his 26th birthday.

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