MCBH KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii -- Lance Cpl. Austin Cahill was a vehicle commander with Combined Anti-Armor Team 1, Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment.
Cahill’s family, close friends and his unit attended the service to pay respects.
One of his best friends, Lance Cpl. Andrew Carranza, a vehicle commander with CAAT 1, spoke about him at the service.
“He was a really goofy and standup guy,” he said. “He loved riding his motorcycle, and I always nagged him about how dangerous motorcycles are like a parent since I was a bit older.”
Carranza said they were inseparable and could find them always by each other.
“We’ve been together since the beginning,” Carranza said. “Myself, Cahill and Lindsay are like the three stooges, you can always point us out. As brothers, we have always messed with each other, but no one outside our three man wolf pack really clicked with us. I’m going to really miss him.”
He said within a few years they conducted multiple exercises and training events as a team.
“The best and worse times were during training, we had each other’s back,” Carranza said. “Our last field exercise was last year and it was our first overseas experience. He was so motivating and got our spirits up through the thickest of times especially thanks to his hard southern accent which made us laugh.”
He said Cahill was a great Marine and an even better friend, he may be gone but his spirit rides.
1st Sgt. Mathew Kidder, the company first sergeant for Weapons Co., 1st Bn., 3rd Marines, oversees the training and development of his Marines, including Cahill.
“He was a more than capable machine gunner for his section which is a hard thing to find,” he said. “He brought a lot into the fight with that skillset.”
Kidder said that the prior Friday on April 5, 2018 a memorial ride with motorcycle riders and cars was held to honor Cahill.
“We rode across base with multiple riders and cars,” he said “It was one last final ride to send him off.”