The chaos of war and the death of three Hawai'i Marines in a June 26 suicide bomb attack in Iraq were replaced yesterday on the Marine Corps Base Hawaii flight line by military order and quiet reflection on their loss.

About a dozen family members from the Mainland and American Samoa of those who were killed attended the memorial for the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines.

Hundreds of fellow Hawai'i Marines stood in formation and sat in a canopied seating area on the tarmac at Kane'ohe Bay.

Honored were Lt. Col. Max A. Galeai, 42, of Pago Pago, American Samoa; Capt. Philip J. Dykeman, 38, of Brockport, N.Y.; and Cpl. Marcus W. Preudhomme, 23, of North Miami Beach, Fla.

Cpl. Javier Mendez, 20, said of Preudhomme: "From him, I learned lots of things. What it feels like to have a brother. What it feels like to lose one and grieve him."

Galeai, one of the highest-ranking military members based in Hawai'i to be killed in Iraq, had led 1,000 Marines and sailors in the area of Karma, west of Baghdad.

The "Island Warriors" deployed to Iraq in February, and returned to Hawai'i in August. In addition to the three Marines, more than 23 Iraqis also were killed in the June 26 bomb blast in a courtyard at a sheik's council meeting.

Violence is down dramatically in western Anbar province where U.S. Marines operate. According to the Pentagon, one Marine was killed in July, two in July and none so far in September. None of those Marines was from Hawai'i.

Such statistics were irrelevant yesterday to the fellow Marines and family of those killed on June 26.

A tearful Kalala Galeai, who traveled here from American Samoa, tenderly bent over and kissed the framed photo of her son. Marines individually and in groups knelt to say a few words in private to their fallen brothers.

1st Sgt. Dillon Goldman spoke of Dykeman as a "decisive but not overbearing" company commander who had photos of his wife and kids plastered all over his shipping container-like living quarters at Forward Operating Base Omar.

Dykeman had earned the respect of Iraqi leaders, who petitioned Baghdad to name a school after him after his death, Goldman said.

"Because they knew him as Capt. Phil, today there's a Capt. Phil primary school in northern Karma, Iraq," Goldman said, the emotion of the thought catching in his voice.

COMBAT MEMORIALS

With military precision, Marines had reverently carried the helmets, rifles and boots of their fallen comrades and arranged them in a combat memorial with helmet on upturned rifle.

"In a way, they seem paltry monuments to the sacrifices of these three men," Lt. Col. Patrick Cashman told those assembled. "But these markers are more powerful than any monument. This is how Marines say goodbye."

Cashman said the combat memorials are "reserved for our comrades and brothers who fight with us and die with us," and send the message to fellow Marines: "Remember what these men did for you."

A final roll call, rifle salute and taps followed.

Cashman, who was the battalion's executive officer in Iraq, said 23 Hawai'i Marines were killed on the 2nd Battalion's last deployment. This time, the battalion lost the three Marines who were remembered yesterday.

Officials said the battalion conducted more than $10 million in project repairs for schools, medical clinics and numerous other civil projects. The Marines also worked with and trained more than 500 Iraqi security forces.

Each of the fallen also had been honored recently by the Hawai'i state Legislature with the Hawai'i Medal of Honor.

By late June, four months into the seven-month deployment, "we were hoping we were going to get through without actually losing anybody," Cashman said.

At that point, security was stable enough for rifle squads of as few as 13 Marines to live at Iraqi police stations to act as trainers and mentors.

"There had been incidents (of violence) of course," Cashman said. "(But) overall, things were going very well."

The June 26 suicide attack with an explosives vest was in a small courtyard with a big bomb and lots of people, Cashman said.

Cashman said an "outside element" was responsible. News stories identified al-Qaida.

'HORRIFIC' SCENE

Photojournalist Zoriah Miller, who arrived shortly after the blast, described the scene of dead and injured as "horrific beyond words" with people screaming, crying and running as the Marines tried to restore order.

Sgt. Keith Buckmon, 25, from Maryland, yesterday bore physical evidence of the carnage.

Both lower legs, which were broken in the blast, were encircled by metal braces supporting stabilizing rods attached to his leg bones. He was walking with a cane. A foot-long scar was visible on his right arm.

"I'm thankful to be alive right now," Buckmon said, "but I'm more concerned and my prayers go out to those who are not here with us today."

Another Marine, the battalion's sergeant major, remains hospitalized as a result of the attack.

Norman Bartley, a cousin of Galeai who lives on O'ahu, said Galeai's mother and three sisters flew in from American Samoa for the memorial, along with a sister from the Mainland. A niece and nephew also attended.

"When we were young, Max was one of the smartest cousins," Bartley said. "I always thought he'd be a lawyer or a doctor."

Mendez said he'll try to fill the emptiness of the loss of his friend Preudhomme with memories, and he related how the fallen Marine loved to work out, loved the beach, enjoyed comedy movies and always liked to have a Corona beer in his hand at parties in Hawai'i.

In Iraq, every morning Preudhomme "used to wake me up shouting in the mirror, 'Hey, Mendez, come see how good I look!' " he said. "It annoyed me, so I grabbed whatever I had and I'd throw it at him."

Mendez ended his comments with a poem of sorts and a final thought.

"I once had a brother who dared greatly. Now I have a memory of a brother who died bravely," Mendez said.

He added that Preudhomme "may be gone, but he's still a part of the team."