Town remembers fallen soldier

MARBLEHEAD -- From the office of the town clerk to the bar stool at Maddie's Sail Loft by the waterfront, word of Staff Sergeant Christopher Piper's death spread quickly through this picturesque North Shore community.

Yesterday, flags at government offices and schools were at half staff. Yearbook photos of Piper and newspaper clippings of his death could be found inside the local tavern and outside shop doors.

As the community prepares for a large funeral at 10 a.m. Monday in the Old North Church, some residents say the entire town is in mourning.

''This is the first loss of a person in battle since the Vietnam War," Thomas McNulty, Marblehead's town clerk, said yesterday. ''He's from a very well-known family. It's just terrible."

The 43-year-old member of the Army's Special Forces died last Wednesday at a military hospital in Texas, 12 days after a roadside bomb in Afghanistan severely injured him and killed two fellow soldiers.

Around town, people called him ''Pipes." He was the local carpenter and renaissance man who refused to let his age stop him from defending his country, especially after Sept. 11. After serving in the Marines for nearly 10 years, Piper served in both Afghanistan and Iraq, and he won the Bronze Star for valor in combat.

''He wasn't meant for civilian life," said Chip Percy, a bartender at Maddie's, Piper's favorite watering hole.

Outside hangs a handmade red, white, and blue sign that reads: ''Here's to you Christopher Piper." Inside, Percy tells stories about a man with an unassuming build who liked to tell jokes, who adored his children, Diedre, 13, and Christopher, 12, and who loved to drink Killian's with a shot of peach schnapps so much that the bar named the concoction ''Stove Pipe."

Percy registered his disgust with protesters from a Kansas group who have threatened to show up at Piper's funeral to protest war.

''That's all people were talking about yesterday, and they were angry," Percy said. ''I just hope they keep their distance and things don't get volatile. Just like there are laws that give them the right to do it, there are also laws about disturbing the peace. Let's see how they deal with that."

At the family's store, H.E. Piper Ltd., Piper's sister, Lisa, tried to manage the women's clothing store as usual. But tears came easily as family friends and residents came in and out offering their condolences.

She said her brother was close to the children in the family, from combing his niece's hair to helping them with their schoolwork.

''He was trying to help them with their math, and he was like, 'What is it with friendly numbers? The only friendly number I know has a dollar sign in front of it,' " she recalled. ''And he was a protector. Friends have come in and told me stories about Chris stepping in when they got bullied. That's just him. I'm going to miss my baby brother."

But there was also another side of Piper, one that was fearless and craved military life, said his longtime friend John Morris, a Massachusetts state trooper, standing in front of the Eustis-Cornell Funeral Home where Piper's wake will be held Sunday.

''He always wanted to be in the military," said Morris. ''Soon as he graduated high school, he decided to go into the military, and we thought he was crazy. I mean what is a guy from Marblehead doing at a military recruitment office?"

E-mails from soldiers in Piper's unit after his death describe a dedicated soldier.

''I will never forget him. . . ." wrote Michael Reilly. ''He was superb and fearless."