The Oxford community continued to rally around the Renehan family yesterday. About 90 percent of the homes in the Renehans' neighborhood were adorned with yellow ribbons. The family has received at least five personal notes from strangers - such as the man who sold Kyle Renehan his first car, another who sold him car insurance - who wanted them to know what a wonderful man he was.

"That's the advantage of living in a small town," Jim Renehan said. "People get it, understand you, support you."

Funeral arrangements had not been completed yesterday. His father said Kyle Renehan's body was expected at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware early this week.

Kyle Renehan was the third of five sons, born to Jim Renehan and his wife, Theresa, on St. Patrick's Day, 1983. The family moved to Pennsylvania from Maryland about five years ago.

Theirs was a large, tight-knit family. Kyle Renehan, his two older brothers and about eight cousins were a posse that would "go out together, double-date, you name it, they did it together," Jim Renehan said. "They were all very close and they stayed close as they grew up."

Kyle Renehan graduated from Oxford Area High School in 2001 and joined the Marines soon after. He was an air-traffic controller for the Second Marine Aircraft Wing out of Cherry Point, N.C.

"Part of it was he saw his older brother do it and his grandfather was retired from the Air Force," Jim Renehan said. "Part of it was he loved his country and he wanted to do something good. Part of it was adventure."

Kyle Renehan went overseas in June on a tour scheduled to end in January. He called or e-mailed his parents once a week or so, seeking news on his grandparents, his 13 aunts and uncles, his more than 40 cousins.

He talked to one or more of his brothers via instant messaging almost every night.

"If it got to two weeks and we didn't hear from him, we'd check with his brothers," Jim Renehan said. "That's how his mom and I got a lot of updates."

A Marine spokesman said Kyle Renehan's injury was the "result of enemy action" in Babil province, south of Baghdad, on Nov. 29. In Oxford, Jim Renehan got the news that his son was injured about three hours after it happened. He immediately started to write an e-mail to his son Chris, the other Marine, who was stationed about two hours from his brother.

"They were just telling him as I was e-mailing him," Jim Renehan said.

Chris Renehan followed his brother to Baghdad then to Germany. Although Kyle Renehan officially never regained consciousness, there were signs he knew what was going on around him, his father said. In Baghdad, a group of Marine officers visited him in the hospital and someone suggested taking a photo.

"Kyle hadn't moved in four days, but his arm came up," Jim Renehan said. "He was either flexing his biceps - his 'guns,' he called them - or he was going to salute."

And Kyle could hear his brother's voice. Of that his family is certain.

"One thing we're most thankful for is his brother was with him the whole time," Jim Renehan said. "His brother was talking him through."