Ben Watrous

Ronald Reagan won his first election as president before Ben Watrous was born.
...
But today, Watrous will be carrying Reagan's casket as a representative of the U.S. Marine Corps.

Watrous, a 23-year-old sergeant and native of Cambridge, has ben a body bearer for the Marines for the last four years.He's a member of the Marines' body-bearer section, which provides funeral and burial support at national cemeteries in the Washington, D.C. area, mainly at Arlington National Cemetery.

Marine body bearers also participate in joint-service funerals, such as those for senators and congressmen - and, in this case, a president.

"It's going to be a nervous situation," Watrous said in a telephone interview Tuesday."But this is what I've trained for."

Watrous was joined yesterday by members of each branch of the military in carrying Reagan's casket from a plane to a hearse at Andrews Air Force Base and then to the U.S. Capitol.

Seventeen Marines make up the Marine Body Bearer Section of Company B, according to a military Web site.Of the 17, six Marines in blue dress uniform will execute precision drill movements in unison, in near silence, while carrying a casket during a funeral.

In Reagan's case, there will be two Marines, including Watrous, acting as casket bearers, as well as two representatives each from the Navy and Army, and one each from the Air Force and Coast Guard, carrying the 700-pound casket.

The job of a Marine body bearer is prestigious.Watrous was the only one chosen from his boot camp class of 540.

He said he considers the job a great honor, though it can be grim.He's taken part in the funerals of more than 600 people in his four years of service.

"It is emotional, especially when we've done active-duty funerals for the people who are serving now," he said."They're my peers."

Watrous originally was signed up for infantry, but that changed when he was chosen to be a body bearer.

"If I didn't get picked at boot camp, I'd be out there," he said.
...
When the news broke that Reagan had died, Ben Watrous had to fly to California, where Reagan will be buried in a private ceremony at sunset Friday after a state funeral in Washington.
...
Ben Watrous' four years in the Marines will be up at the end of the month, and he will be discharged.
...
Watrous is a 2000 graduate of Cambridge Central School.He was a star in three sports - football, baseball and wrestling.

Al Rapp, his coach for football and wrestling, said the defense of Cambridge's 1999 championship football team was built around Watrous, a team captain.
...
Watrous also was a captain on the varsity wrestling team and was a catcher and a captain in baseball.