Fallen Marine to make last drive through Richland on Thursday

The Tri-Cities will welcome home fallen Marine Sgt. Dietrich Schmieman on Thursday, as his remains are returned to Richland.

Schmieman, 26, a graduate of Hanford High, was a member of the elite Special Operations Command, serving in the 2nd Raider Battalion at Camp Lejeune, N.C., at the time of his death.

He was one of 16 service members who died July 10 when a military cargo plane crashed in a Mississippi field.

His remains are expected to arrive, likely in the early evening, at Bergstrom Aircraft in Pasco.

Only the Schmieman family and a Marine detail will be present.

The family will be given some time alone and then the Marines plan a dignified transfer to the hearse, said 1st Sgt. Adam Davison, of the inspector and instructor staff of the 4th Tank Battalion at the Yakima Training Center.

People are asked to give the family their privacy at Bergstrom.

Veteran motorcycle groups, law enforcement and first responders will escort Schmieman from Pasco to Sunset Memorial Gardens in Richland.

The public may watch the procession along George Washington Way from the interstate to Van Giesen Street in Richland, Davison said.

Schmieman’s father asked that the procession go through Richland rather than directly to the cemetery off the bypass highway.

He wanted his son to travel through his hometown one last time, Davison said.

The procession will turn west onto Van Giesen Street to travel to Sunset Memorial Gardens.

People honoring Schmieman may line up along the route through the cemetery from Einan’s at Sunset Funeral Home to the cemetery entrance. Flags will line the route.

Timing is still tentative for when the plane may arrive in Pasco from Seattle, leaving no definitive time as of yet when the procession will arrive in Richland.

Davison says those waiting for the procession through Richland may want to be in place around 6 p.m.

Einan’s expects the procession to arrive at the cemetery about 7 to 7:30 p.m. People are asked to arrive at the cemetery between 4 and 6 p.m.

Parking will be at Einan’s event center at the cemetery. Volunteers will be available to help guide parking.

Information is posted at bit.ly/Marinereturns.

The public also is welcome at a memorial service at 10 a.m. Saturday at Central Church, 1124 Stevens Drive, Richland.

This story was originally published August 7, 2017 at 6:37 PM with the headline "Fallen Marine to make last drive through Richland on Thursday."