Beacon Journal -- SHARON TWP. - A blue star hangs in the front window of Michael and Nadine Finke's home along a rural stretch of western Medina County.

The Sons in Service Flag is to remember and show support for their son Sgt. Michael Wayne Finke Jr., a Marine serving in Iraq.

But on Wednesday the flag became one of remembrance as they learned of their son's death.

The 28-year-old Finke was among 30 Marines -- including two others from Ohio -- and one Navy sailor killed when the CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter they were riding in crashed in a sandstorm near Rutba in western Iraq. Cpl. Richard Gilbert Jr., 28, of Dayton and Lance Cpl. Jonathan Edward Etterling, 22, of Wheelersburg were the other Ohio men, according to The Associated Press.

Michael Finke's stepmother, Nadine Finke, told WEWS (Channel 5) on Thursday that family members want everyone to know how proud they are of their fallen Marine and how much they loved him.

``Right now we are all still in shock and want this to be over,'' she said.

The man's father was too distraught to talk about the loss.

News of the crash came as the family was preparing to celebrate Michael W. Finke Jr.'s scheduled departure from Iraq on Feb. 4.

Nadine Finke said relatives received an e-mail from Michael on Tuesday in which he warned them that ``they (his unit) were not out of the woods yet'' but anticipating leaving the war-torn country.

``His last words in the e-mail were that we love you guys and we miss you all,'' Nadine Finke said.

Michael Finke's mother, Sally Rapp, who lives in Rocky River, said there will be a funeral service in Arizona where her son's wife, Heather, lives.

But Rapp said another memorial service may also be held in Northeast Ohio -- possibly Wadsworth.

Rapp said her son always dreamed of being a Marine and signed up for the military in 1995, after graduating from Huron High School. In addition to his parents, he is survived by a brother, Timothy; sisters, Trisha Rolling and Toni Pocztar; and two nieces.

The family remembers Michael -- a member of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force -- as a great kid with a dry sense of humor. He was based in Kaneohe, Hawaii.

Nadine Finke said the image of returning home from work only to be greeted by her tearful husband and two Marines in their dress blues sitting on the couch is one forever etched in her memory.

``I just looked at them and said, `No!,' '' she recalls. ``I just didn't want it to be real.''