Ryan Beaupre, brother of an Eastern student, was one of five Marines killed in a helicopter crash March 21 in Kuwait.

The Eastern student, Chris Beaupre, a senior hospitality management major, received news of his brother’s death from an early morning phone call from his father.

“Chris was devastated; that was his best friend,” said Mark Beaupre, father of Ryan and Chris. “Ryan was his hero and his best friend.”

Ryan, a Marine captain, was the pilot of the CH-46 helicopter that crashed in Kuwait. Three other Marines and eight British soldiers were killed, but Beaupre was the first American identified as killed in the Iraqi conflict.

“He was a really good big brother,” Chris said when asked to name the one thing that stood out about Ryan, a 30-year-old Marine. “When I was younger, we didn’t spend much time together, but we were really close for how big a difference in age (8 years).”

Various national media establishments sent reporters and cameras to the Beaupre’s home in St. Anne, a town near Kankakee.

“Good Morning America” interviewed Chris’ parents, Mark and Nicole Beaupre. NBC broadcaster Tom Brokaw had a phone interview with them and the family has received flowers from “The Today Show,” “People” magazine and “Time” magazine.

“It got blown up in media because he was a small-town boy who got killed serving for his country,” Chris said. “It made for a good story, though.”

Mark Beaupre, father of Chris, Ryan and a daughter who recently had twins, said he used the media coverage to get his son’s story out to the public.

“I don’t want to keep people from (knowing his story),” Mark said. “That would make his death mean less if we tried to keep it too private because he was a hero.

“We get too much news of bad people, which seems to make the news, but the good people don’t seem to be heard of very often.”

A 1995 graduate of Illinois Weslyan University, Ryan had originally received his degree in accounting, but first began to express interest in the Marines after only a few years in college.

His parents, however, convinced him to spend a year in his field, which he did as an insurance salesman for State Farm Insurance.

After one unfufilling year, Ryan came home and said he wanted to do something more with his life, Mark said.

“He wanted to fly and the Marine Corps was going to let him fly and to serve his country,” he said. “He loved the Marine Corps. He really did.”

And thousands of well-wishers love what Ryan did for his country.

A Web site, created by a family friend, has received more than 55,000 hits in the last week. The Beaupres have read thousands of letters, some from friends, others from complete strangers, since Ryan’s death.

“We’ve all sat down every morning as a family and went through them all,” Chris said. “It takes up about half the day. It’s a hard time, but it is also a good time because it keeps us all doing something.”

Chris has not been back to Eastern for classes since last Friday, and will not return for at least another week because Ryan’s body is still under government supervision in Dover, Del.

“Just waiting to hear from the Marines, that’s the worst,” said Chris, who thinks Ryan’s body should be in St. Anne Monday or Tuesday.

Eastern has been supportive of Chris, who is set to graduate in May.

“The university has been great; they told me ‘be with your family and we’ll talk with it when you get back,'” he said. “The professors are more than willing to work with me. I got a personal letter from (interim President) Lou Hencken and two of my professors.”

Also waiting for Chris will be Bryan Jesse, a close friend and fellow member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity.

“I think everybody has handled it well, just really didn’t know his brother personally, but we knew him through Chris talking about him,” Jesse, a senior hospitality major said. “We’ll be there for him.”

Chris said he looks forward to coming back to Eastern, so he can get back in his normal routine.

“I have a feeling I’ll be coming home a lot more than I did – I want to be with my family,” Chris said. “It will be good to get back in swing of things and get on with my life.”