reports for duty with CHESTY:

Lcpl Miller



COMPANY AATTEENNTTIIOONN

PRESENT ARMS

ORDER ARMS


Rest In Peace, MARINE

May the BSP grant the family and friends peace and comfort in this time of need.

SEMPER FI

BOOKS

A friend and former Drill Instuctor of mine passed away on November 22, 2004.

1stSgt Voiselle Higgins died in a traffic accident while on libo. Higgins served in numerous areas of combat to include Desert Storm, Somallia and the current conflict in Iraq (two tours).

His awards include
Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (NA), Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (NC), Meritorious Service Medal (MM), Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal (GC), Combat Action Ribbon (CR), Sea Service Deployment Ribbon (SD), Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal (WE), National Defense Service Medal (NN), Marine Corps Drill Instructor Ribbon (DI), Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait) (KK), Southwest Asia Service Medal (SA), Meritorious Unit Commendation (MU), Presidential Unit Citation (PU), Joint Meritorious Unit Award (JU), Navy Unit Commendation (NU), Letter of Appreciation (LA), Meritorious Mast (MT), Certificate of Commendation (CF)

You will always be remembered

Semper Fi
Yates

"Abraham Simpson was a responsible young man, deeply spiritual and always ready to listen to a friend in need.
He was also a United States Marine who died in Iraq this week.

The 19-year-old Lance Corporal from Chino was killed Nov. 9 in combat in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, the U.S. Department of Defense said in a statement released Friday.

"He wanted to be an influence everywhere he went and he believed God was going to use him in the Marines," said his mother Maria Simpson.

Abraham was focused. He wanted to be a Marine and then eventually to become a police officer, his mother said.

"People asked why he wanted to be in the Marines," she said. "He said he wanted to be part of the best."

Abraham graduated from Southland Christian School in Walnut in 2003. In November of his senior year, he signed up for the service.

An avid hiker, the Eagle Scout arranged to leave for boot camp in August 2003 after taking part in a few important events: Boy Scout camp, a hiking trip in the Sierra mountains and the Eagle Court of Honor ceremonies.

In June, Abraham left for Iraq. He wrote often and sent photographic images of where he worked and lived with his fellow Marines of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton.

Among Abraham's duties were working with Iraqi police and helping train them, his mother said.

In the short time he spent there, Abraham killed Iraqis, and saw comrades killed themselves, his mother said. In his letters, the family could see him maturing.

On Nov. 1, Abraham e-mailed friends and family.

"He said they would be going to Fallujah," Maria Simpson said. "He wanted to be part of the effort to rid terrorists out of Fallujah."

He asked that they watch the news.

Then, on Wednesday morning, Maria Simpson received the news of her son's death.

While standing outside her home with one of her sons, she noticed a van drive by with uniformed men inside. As it slowed past her house, she told herself they were probably looking for a home that wasn't hers.

"My heart was starting to beat faster," she said.

The van stopped, and two Marines got out.

"I knew they were coming here. I knew what they were here for," she said.

James Simpson encouraged his three sons to serve their country.

He said what his son and other soldiers are doing is important, and that parents should back their children if they wish to join the military.

"Please encourage your son to serve with honor for a just cause," James Simpson said. "I hope there aren't too many more gold stars (for parents of soldiers) but I'm proud of ours. I'm proud of our son."

He said the support of their friends, neighbors and community has been a great comfort to the family.

Outside the Simpson home Friday morning, friends assembled Christmas care packages for Abraham's fellow Marines.

It's a project the family started weeks ago.

"It's good for us right now. It's almost a therapy for us," said Kim Broer, a friend who helped prepare the packages.

She spoke of Abraham as "wise beyond his years, but every much the kid next door."

Ever the point man, he was voted senior patrol leader of his 80-member Boy Scout troop, and quickly earned the respect of the other boys and adults, she said.

Jacque Gibbons, 21, who met Abraham through church, said the young man was a willing listener.

With him "you felt you didn't give back as much as you received," Gibbons said.

Even while in boot camp, he made the effort to write and keep in touch, Gibbons said.

"There he is in the middle of preparing for service, and he took the time to write," she said."...Daily Buelltin

Michael Smith, Laramie (Wyo.) Daily Boomerang / AP photo


Marine Sgt. Raymond Brammer plays “Taps” to close the memorial service at the University of Wyoming’s multi-purpose gym on Thursday in Laramie, Wyo., for Kyle Burns, a 20-year-old Marine killed in Iraq,




A Marine dress hat and yellow ribbons sit in the foreground as members of the Marine honor guard prepare the casket for viewing at a memorial service Thursday at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyo., for Kyle Burns, a Marine who was killed in Iraq.




Rest In Peace

Ellie

Illinois loses two Marine reservists in day of violence


Wednesday, November 10, 2004



By Jan Dennis
The Associated Press


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Branden Ramey talked about wedding plans, not war, the last time he called home from Iraq, his fiance said Tuesday.
Stacey Lee said the 22-year-old reservist from Belvidere proposed last week from half a world away, then looked ahead to the postwar days when he would teach history while she ran her own beauty shop.

Less than a week later, her longtime boyfriend was killed near Fallujah, one of 11 U.S. casualties Monday as troops pushed to retake the insurgent stronghold. A Peoria-area Marine reservist also died in a noncombat-related accident Monday, which registered the highest one-day U.S. death toll in more than six months.

"For the rest of my life, he's going to be in my heart day in and day out," said Lee, who grew up with Ramey in Belvidere, a town of 16,000 people east of Rockford.

On the other side of the state, flags again flew at half-staff in LaHarpe, a western Illinois village of about 1,500 people that mourned its second casualty of the war.

Cpl. Joshua Palmer of nearby Blandinsville died Monday when his bulldozer fell into the Euphrates River near Fallujah, said Gunnery Sgt. James Howard of Company C of the 6th Engineer Support Battalion Company in Peoria.

The 24-year-old was building a fighting position on the Fallujah Peninsula when the ground gave way, according to a statement from the military. A New York-based Marine also died in the accident, but has not been identified.

Palmer graduated in 1999 from LaHarpe High School, which lost another Marine in the early days of the war. Evan James, 20, drowned along with another reservist while swimming across a canal to set up armed cover for a water purification team in March 2003.

"You don't even think of it happening once but happening twice? That's what really shakes you up," said LaHarpe Mayor Kenneth Brown.

Palmer had been assigned to a unit in Battle Creek, Mich., and joined the Peoria engineering company shortly before it left in August for its second tour of Iraq, Howard said.

"It doesn't sit well with us, but we have this common understanding that as Marines, as much as we hate to admit it, sometimes Marines die in the line of duty," Howard said.

Palmer's parents declined to comment, said a woman who answered the phone at the family's home.

Ramey's family was awaiting word Tuesday on how the infantry machine gunner died, said his aunt, Paula Lightner.

His 18-year-old fiance said he joined the reserves after graduating in 2001 from Belvidere High School, where he played football, baseball, basketball and was named homecoming king. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 24th Marines G Company, based in Madison, Wis.

"He just thought he wanted to do something for his country. If I could only tell you how much he believed in what he was doing," said Lee, fighting back tears.

Ramey was a punter and wide receiver last year for the Belvidere Rush, a semiprofessional football team. Mike Hearn, his high school football coach, said Ramey was "very likable with a nice sense of humor," but also was the first to step up when he thought a friend or teammate was being picked on.

Hearn recalled that Ramey got kicked out of a Rush game last year for jumping in when he thought a teammate took a cheap shot. He thinks that protective instinct also led Ramey into the war.

"He definitely didn't just stay on the sidelines. I'm sure he figured he had buddies over there and they needed his help," Hearn said.

Lee said Ramey's personality attracted friends and family, and that he was a hero to his two younger brothers.

"He was that person when you went to a family event everybody waited for," she said. "He was that guy everybody wanted to be friends with. He was so loving and caring."



© 2004 Associated Press — All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed

CHESTY. HEAR'S THE 110TH:



LCPL QUALLS

Nov 17th

Nov 18th


Nov 19th



TO MY FALLEN BROTHERS, MAY YOU WALK WITH CHESTY, DAN DALY AND ALL OF THE FALLEN MARINES.
I ASK THAT THE BSP GRANT THE PEACE AND COMFORT THAT ONLY HE CAN GIVE TO YOUR FAMILIES AND FRIENDS.


SEMPER FI, BROTHERS

Ben Weihrich
books

A friend remembers 'ultimate' Marine

Dec. 11, 2004 12:00 AM

I was Marine Lance Cpl. Joshua Lucero's best friend throughout Marine recruit training (boot camp) and Marine combat training. I loved this Marine.

We went through so much together. We connected when we first met because I am from Tucson and we both came to the Marine Corps under similar circumstances.

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Not only was he one of the best recruits in training, he always motivated me to continue training when I lost hope.

When I was down he was always there to pick me up. He was an exemplary recruit and Marine. Though he was small, he had more heart than anyone I have ever known.

In boot camp, he talked about his girlfriend and baby all the time and how he couldn't wait to see them. I remember the day we got the news that his baby had been born. The look on his face I will never forget.

I flew home with him after boot and we talked the whole way. We both took recruiter-assistance orders at the same time and visited our high schools together.

We then went to combat training, where we again were in the same platoon. We bonded even more and talked about home.

We were supposed to hook up when we got back to Tucson, after my overseas tour in Japan and his in Iraq. I guess I will have to spend the time remembering the greatest Marine I have ever known.

Joshua Lucero lived the Corps values that were taught to us from Day 1, and for that he is the ultimate Marine.

To Josh: I love you and I thank you for being the Marine I could not be. Semper Fidelis. - Lance Cpl. Lewis Meza
Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni
Japan
Editor's note:Lance Cpl. Lucero was killed in Iraq on Nov. 27.

Young Marine killed in Iraq cared more about others, parents say

Associated Press
Dec. 2, 2004 05:49 PM

TUCSON - Joshua Lucero spoke to his parents on the day before Thanksgiving from an abandoned school near Mosul, Iraq.

"He said he was having a good day," Tina Lucero said her son, a Marine lance corporal, told her. "He said Mom, I'm sorry I wasn't honest with you, I've been in Fallujah all this time."

Three days later, Joshua Lucero, 19, assigned to the 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, was killed in an explosion in Al Anbar province west of Baghdad. advertisement




His parents' home here is filled with pictures and photos of Joshua, and flags and bunting; his dress uniform and spit-shined shoes lay on their bed, covered with other photos.

And flags lined trees on the Luceros' South Side street because neighbors "wanted us to know that our son was the neighborhood hero too - not just the hero of America," said his father Michael, a minister.

Typically, Joshua, the oldest of seven children, had not mentioned Fallujah to his mother previously because he did not want to worry her.

But he had confided to his father that he was the first Marine to step foot in Fallujah when the American-led assault to take the city back from insurgents began Nov. 8.

Tina Lucero said her son told him, " 'I've been there all this time. I'm really tired. I'm really dirty.' But through it all he was laughing. That was the happiest phone call I've got from him, where he was just laughing and giggling and making jokes."

He told his mother he was hungry and asked, " 'Did you make Thanksgiving dinner for us?... You better have made it for my brothers and my sisters. Tell them it's on me this year.' "

Joshua's parents both said their son typically worried more about those around him, and family members, than about himself. He asked about "the kids" - his younger brothers and sisters - and about his fiancee Tasha Lepes and their 16-month-old son Joey Jordan. "He had no concern about himself, just for everyone else," his mother said.

But Tina Lucero said Joshua described his surroundings. " 'It's another world. The people are awful, they're mean, they're full of hate, but we're trying to teach them not to hate. But they're fighting us so bad,' " he said.

Michael Lucero, holding a picture of Joshua as a small boy in camouflage clothing, said his son had wanted to be a soldier since childhood, and was 12 when he first said he wanted to be a Marine.

Lucero, his father and brother had served in the Army, but Joshua "said that we were all girly-men. He wanted to join the Marines Corps."

Though slight of build at 5-foot-2, Joshua compensated by lifting weights and working out with a punching bag in high school.

Lucero said he had been reluctant to support his son's delayed-entry enrollment into the Marines his senior year at Sunnyside High School, hoping his son would go to technical school instead.

Joshua held two jobs in high school, including at a local video store which has established a memorial fund.

He went to boot camp within a month of graduation in May 2003, and his father said when he first saw Joshua in uniform, he knew his son "had found what he wanted to do, because he had a great big huge smile on his face."

"I'm proud of my son. I'm proud of him because he did what he believed in," Michael Lucero said.

Joshua arrived June 26 in Iraq, and told his mother just before Thanksgiving that he had a plane ticket to return home in mid-January.

" 'We're getting married, so I have a lot of celebrating to do,' " she recalled him saying.

Joshua's body arrived Thursday at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, his father said. Funeral services will be held Dec. 18 at the New Life Church of God in Tucson, with burial at South Lawn Mortuary.

Lucero said he wants his son to be remembered for being a Marine because that's what he loved, but also that "under his uniform he was a human being, and he did what he did because he cared. He cared more about everybody else than he did about himself."

Lance Cpl. Franklin A. Sweger USMC, 24, of San Antonio, Texas, died Dec. 16 as a result of enemy action in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

Cpl. Kyle Renehan, died in the service of his country on 9 Dec. 2004. Operation Iraqui Freedom.

Lance Cpl. Eric Hillenburg, 21, of Marion, Ind.

Lance Cpl. James R. Phillips, 21, of Hillsboro, Fla.

Cpl. Raleigh C. Smith, 21, of Lincoln, Mont.

All three Marines died Dec. 23 as result of enemy action in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. They were assigned to 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif.

A 21-year-old Marine from Hendricks County, who at age 14 told his mother to "be prepared" for the military life he already had chosen, was killed by enemy fire in Iraq, the Department of Defense said Monday.

Lance Cpl. Eric Hillenburg, killed Dec. 23 by small-arms fire in Fallujah, has become the 42nd military member with Indiana ties to die in the Iraq war.

"Since he was 14 years old, he's told us he was going to be a Marine," said Erin Kissling, Hillenburg's sister. "He was very sweet and tenderhearted. He really cared about people."

Hillenburg's father, Jerry, is a pastor at Hope Baptist Church in Indianapolis.

The Department of Defense said that two other soldiers were killed in the same action as Hillenburg: Lance Cpl. James R. Phillips, 21, of Hillsboro, Fla., and Cpl. Raleigh C. Smith, 21, of Lincoln, Mont.

All three were assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base in Camp Pendleton, Calif.

The news of Eric's death came the same day the Hillenburg family was dealing with the hospitalization of another son, who had surgery for a kidney ailment. Evin, 19, a Marine reservist, was released from the hospital after a successful procedure.

"I have a good God. I have a good wife, good family. And I have a good church that loves me," Jerry Hillenburg said. "And those things are what I'll cling to."

Kissling said her brother had written to a church member recently and made a case for why he believed the war in Iraq was justified.

"Eric believed in what he was doing," Kissling said. "He realized he was there for the right reason."

NOV 20th

Nov 22th

Nov 23th

Nov 24th

Nov 25th

A real sad Day

Nov 26th

Nov 28th

Nov 28th


COMPANY AATTEENNTTIIOONN

PRESENT ARMS

ORDER ARMS

This Marine was in my son's squad.
I still can't believe this happened.
God Bless you Eric.

Marine's death in car accident rattles family, neighborhood

BRAD A. GREENBERG, Staff Writer
Monday, January 03, 2005 - Marine Lance Cpl. Eric S. Freeman was in Baghdad when American military toppled the statue of Saddam Hussein. He survived the assault on the restless Iraqi city of Fallujah in April. A week before deploying for his third tour of duty, he died when his sedan overturned on Interstate 10 in Calimesa and hit a tree. "After two deployments, you get in your mind that he is untouchable. He can't die,' said Tiara Wentworth, Freeman's girlfriend who spent Monday with his family in Thousand Oaks. "And then to have him die in a car accident three hours after I say goodbye,' drawing out a long pause, "It's really strange.' Lance Cpl. Nathan Olig was driving the car when it rolled on the 20-year-old men. Freeman died at the scene early Monday morning. Olig broke his collarbone and suffered a concussion. He was taken to Loma Linda University Medical Center on Monday, surrounded by other members of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines stationed at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms. Capt. Chad Walton, the spokesman for the base, would not release any information Monday. Olig was recovering well, a Marine said in the hospital's hallway. He was not ready to speak about the car crash. "It's not his fault,' Brenda Freeman, Eric's mother, said of Olig, who had been at her home Sunday. "It could have happened to anybody.' The collision sent a shock wave through the Freemans' tight-knit upper-middle class neighborhood. "Oh no! Oh my God! Oh my God! He was a great kid,' neighbor Jean Castaing, 65, cried out when she found out. Hours later, Jody Tiefel drove onto Windersong Street and noticed the Marines flag missing from a pole on the front of the Freeman house. In its place was an American flag. "I thought, 'Well, he's still in the states. He's not in Iraq. What happened?'' Tiefel, 58, recalled. "This was really a shock. When they are in Iraq, you brace for it, but not when they are at home.' The public support Brenda Freeman showed her Marine son only added to the grief. At the start of the war in Iraq, she and other Thousand Oaks residents tied yellow ribbons around scores of trees along Lynn Road to support the troops. The city then took them down. Residents responded with outrage, and more ribbons appeared throughout town. City officials backed down and let the ribbons stay. "The community really rallied behind her and said, 'This isn't fair. We want those ribbons. We want to remember the guys,'' Tiefel said. Since combat began in March 2003, 1,335 American military men and women have died in Iraq. Others have died here in the United States while resting from one tour of duty and awaiting their next. Army Spc. Daniel Maldonado, 20, fought in Afghanistan once and Iraq twice before returning home to Victorville to recover from a broken back he suffered when he fell out of a helicopter, dropping 60 feet. Days before he was set to board a plane to train in Fort Bragg, N.C., he was shot dead while sitting on the lawn of his mother's home. "My life changed,' said his mother, Rosa Maldonado, 56. Her heart went out to the Freemans on Monday. "I feel so bad for that family. I know how that mom feels.' Broken is one way Brenda Freeman feels. As she spoke by phone, her voice quivered and ebbed. She paused at times for 30 seconds or more when talking. It sounded as if she was shaking violently. "He was a good boy,' she said of her son, one of five children. "He was brave and honorable. And he had a good future ahead of him.' Scott Freeman said his son first decided he would be a Marine at age 15. After graduating from The High School at Moorpark College, a program for gifted students who don't fit well in traditional schooling, Freeman began his service. "He embodied ... the goals of the U.S. Marine Corps,' said Taylor Gilbert, a teacher at the school. "Loyalty, fidelity, honesty and integrity were the goals he strived to deal with.' He was an infantryman regularly on the front line of major battles, said Gilbert, who saw him last week. A bout in Fallujah earned him the Purple Heart. The wounds he suffered from the improvised-explosive device sidelined him only a few days. His parents were scared every minute he spent overseas. "But I was proud of him, too,' his mother said. The Marines at Twentynine Palms were given time during December to see family and friends, or just relax. Miraculously, the whole Freeman clan was able to connect. They visited Lake Tahoe for Christmas. For New Year's, they spent the night with a relative who lives on Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena. Eric had a perfect seat for his first trip to the Rose Parade. He spent Sunday packing for Iraq. He and Olig departed from Thousand Oaks in the middle of the night. He kissed goodbye Wentworth, his 17-year-old "drama queen' who he wanted to marry. He gave his family his love. At about 2:20 a.m. Monday, 117 miles from Thousand Oaks, Lance Cpl. Olig dropped his drink. When he looked down for the cup he bought during a snack stop in Redlands, the car drifted off the freeway, CHP Officer Chris Blondon said. Olig overcorrected when he swung it back onto the road. The car flipped and slammed into a tree. Both men wore seat belts, Blondon said, but the trauma caused by the tree took Freeman's life. "The Marine Corps' most precious asset has always been the individual Marine,' said Maj. Nathaniel Fahy, a spokesman for Marine headquarters at the Pentagon. "Anytime one of our own is taken from us by a senseless tragedy like this, it is truly heart wrenching. Our thoughts and prayers are with his loved ones during this difficult time.'

From: "San Bernardino County Sun by Email"

Link:
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0109marine09.html

Last letters to home revealing
Young Marine found himself before dying on an Iraq battlefield

Joseph A. Reaves
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 9, 2005 12:00 AM

The fear never left, but most of the doubts were gone by the time Lance Cpl. Jason E. Smith's life was cut short in a killing field in Iraq.

Smith, 21, of Phoenix, became the 43rd Arizona service member to die in the war on terror while on patrol New Year's Eve in Al Anbar Province.

He was half a world away from the two brothers he always loved and a step closer to the parents he finally was beginning to appreciate.

He was 19 months shy of rekindling his baseball career, two months into a newfound love of God and just days beyond comprehending why he was fighting in a foreign land.

"It was like he grew up to another level at the end," said Jason's father, Glenn Smith, a computer software specialist. "His last letters answered a lot of questions that were very interesting."

Those last letters, two of them and a Christmas card, arrived the day Jason died. But they sat unnoticed in a mailbox until the next day, until a military grief team had come and gone with the nightmare news.

"I believe God intended for us not to read the letters until we heard about Jason's death," Smith said. "Reading them after set us at ease. It provided a final chapter to his worldly life."

The letters, written Dec. 6 and 13, talked about wanting to tell the people of Arizona about the "scary" times of war.

They talked about the horrors of seeing "dead bodies" and "dead Marines."

And they talked about finally putting to rest the doubts he shared secretly with his parents for months about why he was in Iraq.

"In some ways I don't think we should be here, but someone needs to do it," Jason wrote in his last letter.

"I'm glad to help these innocent Iraqis out. They need a lot of help and then to see the look on the little kids' faces when they look at you. They are so happy that we are here to fix their country."

Those lines struck the Smith family so deeply that they've chosen to highlight them at Jason's memorial service this week. They are having a poster-size photograph of Jason in his Marine dress blues printed with a quote across the bottom:

"This war is not just about terrorism. It's about helping the innocent people of Iraq."

In his second-to-last letter, Jason wrote about wanting to spread that message to the people of Arizona "to get a point across to people who don't think this war is on terrorism," he wrote. "In some ways I don't believe in it, either.

"(But) I also want to prove a point on when American people hear a story about a Marine or soldier accidentally killing an innocent Iraqi civilian on why that may happen."

Accepting the importance and realities of the war weren't the only revelations Jason had in his final days. Two months ago, on the eve of the Marine assault on Fallujah, he rediscovered the God he had abandoned.

"He was very rebellious his last two years of high school," Smith said of his son. "He rebelled against God and his parents.

"But when they were waiting for the Fallujah offensive, he took a Bible and tossed it in the middle of his buddies. He told his buddies that it was time to open and read the Bible."

Smith said Jason was one of a few dozen Marines who asked to be baptized on the eve of the offensive. Chaplains filled rubber dinghies with water for the sacramental baths and pictures of the baptisms made national news.

But long after the cameras were gone, Jason kept his newfound faith. In his last letter, he wrote of the comfort and perspective he found in the Good Book.

"Been reading the Bible, and we are in areas of the holy lands," he wrote. "Lots of things happened in this area. Abraham's missionaries and many other things.

"The end times are on its way, I believe. Who knows? I know that we are going to be in heaven either way."

Jason finished that last letter, uncharacteristically, with individual notes to his two brothers and his parents.

To his brother Kyle, 18, Jason passed on the wisdom he gained in on the battlefields of Iraq: "If you want to do something, don't be scared," he wrote. "Do it anyways. For what feels good for you, not for someone else. . . . "

To 10-year-old Josh, who shared a passion for baseball, Jason closed with encouragement.

"I know it's frustrating at times, but it is a very hard sport," Jason wrote. "Practice isn't fun. I know, because I've done plenty of it.

"But now, I don't want to do anything else but play baseball."

He lettered two seasons as a right-handed pitcher for North Canyon High School and was good enough to earn a baseball scholarship to Glendale Community College. But he passed up the opportunity in order to enlist in the Marines.

"We talked about it, and he just thought if he didn't grow up he wouldn't be successful in college or his professional career," Smith said. "But for the past year, he kept saying he wanted to go for baseball again.

"He even contacted the coach at Glendale from Camp Pendleton and was planning to go back as soon as he was out. That was supposed to be September '06. He was trying to put together some leave time so he could get out in August in time to start the fall semester."

That won't happen now. But the Smith family is hoping to prolong Jason's baseball legacy by setting up a fund to buy lights and provide other improvements at the North Canyon diamond.

"Jason was a great kid," said Jeff Wooten, head baseball coach at North Canyon High. "I call him a kid, but he evolved and matured into a really fine young man. I'm going to miss him a lot."

So, too, will his brothers. And his still-weeping father.

And then there is his mother, Jodi, who tried desperately, before Jason's death, to convey her love in a poem titled My Son, My Hero, which read in part:

"Jason, when you were just a boy,

"All I wanted was to find that perfect toy.

"Now that you are a man,

"All I ever do is pray for you as hard as I can.

" . . . To me you are my cherished hero.

"My wonderful son, so powerful and lean

"Serving our country as a United States Marine.

"You are so courageous and strong,

"For all that you are doing for our country is far from wrong."


Funeral arrangements

Marine Lance Cpl. Jason E. Smith, 21, of Phoenix, the 43rd Arizona service member killed in the war on terror, will be coming home this week. His family announced the following plans for his memorial:

Visitation:
Wednesday, 5 to 8 p.m., Shadow Mountain Mortuary, 2350 E. Greenway Road, Phoenix.

Services:
Thursday, 11 a.m., North Hills Church of God, 15025 N. 19th Ave., Phoenix.

Donations:
In lieu of flowers, the Smith family suggests donations be made at any Bank of America branch to the Jason Smith Youth Sports Memorial Fund, Account No. 004659891394.

RIP Jason Smith
Semper Fi

Sgt Robert (Flash) Ellington served from the mid to late 70's! He died at the age of 48 from cancer! He lived in N.C.



Rest in Peace, my brother! Semper Fi!

BY KIMBALL PAYNE
The Daily Press
January 22, 2005

NORFOLK -- When her husband shipped off to Iraq last summer, Stephanie Patterson told him that when he finally came home it didn't matter where the plane landed, she would be there.

That vow led her to the cargo terminal at Norfolk International Airport on Friday afternoon, where almost 30 relatives and friends gathered in an industrial lot to catch a glimpse of the coffin carrying Marine Sgt. Jayton Patterson.

"I told him I'd be waiting," Stephanie said. "There was no way I wouldn't keep that."

Jayton Patterson was killed by an explosion in Northern Iraq last weekend, just as his tour in the Middle East was coming to an end. The 26-year-old from just outside of Wakefield was only weeks from getting home. His family had already planned a return party. "We all wanted to be here," said Jayton's father, Frank, his eyes welling with tears. "To make sure we were there when he came home."

Huddled together in a parking lot surrounded by loading docks and service ramps, Jayton Patterson's family waited patiently for workers to raise the brown and white cargo door to the terminal.

Clattering upward, the door revealed nine stone-faced Marines in dress blue uniforms carrying a coffin draped in the American flag. The Marines moved down the ramp with short, choppy steps, finally halting a few feet from the back of a silver hearse.

With their 15-month-old daughter Claire in her arms, Stephanie stepped away from the cluster of friends and family and delicately laid a single red rose on top of the flag. Then she shifted forward, holding Claire over the flag so the blond-headed toddler could put down her own pink carnation.

Braving a whipping cold wind with the crowd, Claire was a walking tribute to her father. Dressed in the Michael Vick jersey Jayton bought for her first Christmas, Claire clutched a handful of tiny flags. Wandering through the parking lot she occasionally dropped the Superman hat the family got before she was even born to match the tattoo on Jayton's arm. As the coffin rolled into the back of the hearse, Jayton's mother stepped forward.

"Can I touch it?" Sharon Patterson asked, reaching out her hand. "I need to touch it." When the door finally closed, some hugged while others walked dazed toward their cars for the long drive back to Wakefield. Slowly, the cars fell in line behind the hearse.

"We got him home," Sharon Patterson said as she got into the back seat of one of the cars. "That's the important thing."

Pulling past 18-wheelers and oversized cargo vans, the nine-car caravan crept out of sight.

####

I'm not a marine, but only a retired Coastie.

Still, they are my comrades in arms, and give them a salute, and wish them fairwinds and following seas.

My prayers go to their families.

as a very sad day when we lost 31 beloved brothers.

Here is a complete list of those FALLEN:

All Marines listed on this page died Jan. 26 when the CH-53E helicopter they were in crashed near Ar Rutbah, Iraq.

Capt. Paul C. Alaniz, USMC

Capt. Paul C. Alaniz, 32, of Corpus Christi, Texas. He was assigned to Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif

Lance Cpl. Jonathan E. Etterling, USMC

Lance Cpl. Jonathan E. Etterling, 22, of Wheelersburg, Ohio. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

Capt. Lyle L. Gordon, USMC

Capt. Lyle L. Gordon, 30, of Midlothian, Texas. He was assigned to Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif

Lance Cpl. Brian C. Hopper, USMC

Lance Cpl. Brian C. Hopper, 21, of Wynne, Ark.. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

Lance Cpl. Saeed Jafarkhani-Torshizi Jr., USMC

Lance Cpl. Saeed Jafarkhani-Torshizi Jr., 24, of Fort Worth, Texas. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

Cpl. Sean P. Kelly, USMC

Cpl. Sean P. Kelly, 23, of Gloucester, N.J.. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

Staff Sgt. Dexter S. Kimble, USMC

Staff Sgt. Dexter S. Kimble, 30, of Houston, Texas. He was assigned to Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif

Lance Cpl. Allan Klein, USMC

Lance Cpl. Allan Klein, 34, of Clinton Township, Mich. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

Cpl. James L. Moore, USMC

Cpl. James L. Moore, 24, of Roseburg, Ore. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

Lance Cpl. Mourad Ragimov, USMC

Lance Cpl. Mourad Ragimov, 20, of San Diego, Calif. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

Lance Cpl. Rhonald D. Rairdan, USMC

Lance Cpl. Rhonald D. Rairdan, 20, of San Antonio, Texas. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

Lance Cpl. Hector Ramos, USMC

Lance Cpl. Hector Ramos, 20, of Aurora, Ill. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

Lance Cpl. Darrell J. Schumann, USMC

Lance Cpl. Darrell J. Schumann, 25, of Hampton, Va. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

1stLt. Dustin M. Shumney, USMC

1stLt. Dustin M. Shumney, 30, of Vallejo, Calif. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

Cpl. Matthew R. Smith, USMC

Cpl. Matthew R. Smith, 24, of West Valley, Utah. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

Lance Cpl. Joseph B. Spence, USMC

Lance Cpl. Joseph B. Spence, 24, of Scotts Valley, Calif. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

Cpl. Stephen P. Johnson, USMC

Cpl. Stephen P. Johnson, 24, of Covina, Calif. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

Lance Cpl. Fred L. Maciel, USMC

Lance Cpl. Fred L. Maciel, 20, of Spring, Texas. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

Staff Sgt. Brian D. Bland, USMC

Staff Sgt. Brian D. Bland, 26, of Weston, Wyo. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

Sgt. Michael W. Finke Jr., USMC

Sgt. Michael W. Finke Jr., 28, of Huron, Ohio. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

1st Lt. Travis J. Fuller, USMC

1st Lt. Travis J. Fuller, 26, of Granville, Mass. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

Cpl. Timothy M. Gibson, USMC
Cpl. Timothy M. Gibson, 23, of Hillsborough, N.H. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

Cpl. Richard A. Gilbert Jr., USMC

Cpl. Richard A. Gilbert Jr., 26, of Montgomery, Ohio. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

Cpl. Kyle J. Grimes, USMC

Cpl. Kyle J. Grimes, 21, of Northampton, Pa. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

Lance Cpl. Tony L. Hernandez, USMC

Lance Cpl. Tony L. Hernandez, 22, of Canyon Lake, Texas. He was assigned to Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif.

Cpl. Nathaniel K. Moore, USMC

Cpl. Nathaniel K. Moore, 22, of Champaign, Ill. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

Lance Cpl. Gael Saintvil, USMC

Lance Cpl. Gael Saintvil, 24, of Orange, Fla. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

Cpl. Nathan A. Schubert, USMC

Cpl. Nathan A. Schubert, 22, of Cherokee, Iowa. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

Lance Cpl. Michael L. Starr Jr., USMC

Lance Cpl. Michael L. Starr Jr., 21, of Baltimore, Md. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

Petty Officer 3rd Class John D. House, USN

Petty Officer 3rd Class John D. House, of Ventura, Calif. He was assigned to Naval Medical Clinic Hawaii, Marine Corps Units Detachment, Pearl Harbor.


AATTEENNTTIIOONN ON DECK

PRESENT ARMS

ORDER ARMS

DISMISSED

RIP, My Brothers
Semper Fi

L/Cpl. Michael L. Starr Jr. USMC
July 28, 1983 to January 26, 2005

today:

Services today for Marine from Irving
12:05 AM CST on Tuesday, February 8, 2005


From Staff Reports



Services for Marine Lance Cpl. Nazario Serrano will be 1 p.m. today at St. Luke's Catholic Church, 202 S. MacArthur Blvd. in Irving. Burial will follow at 3 p.m. at Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery.

Cpl. Serrano, 20, of Irving was killed Jan. 30 during fighting in Al Anbar province. He was engaging an enemy mortar team when he was struck in the chest by small-arms fire. The paperwork given to the family said he was recommended for the Purple Heart.

He was born Jan. 9, 1985, in Dallas and graduated from Irving High School in 2003. He's the second Irving High grad to die in Iraq. Spc. Josiah Vandertulip, a 2002 graduate, was killed Oct. 14 in Baghdad.

Cpl. Serrano joined the service about a year and a half ago and was stationed at Camp Pendleton, Calif. He volunteered for duty in Iraq and spent the last five months, mostly in Fallujah, working in demolitions and clearing mines.

He planned to marry his high school sweetheart, Amanda Story, when he returned home next week for rest and recovery.

He is survived by his parents, Jose de Jesus Serrano and Maria Arrellano, both of Irving; son Landon Heath Serrano; fiancée Ms. Story of Kaufman; brothers Javier Serrano, Jesus Serrano and Daniel Serrano, all of Irving; grandmother Seleste Diaz Serrano of Cuba; and grandfather Bonifacio Arrellano of Mexico.



AATTEENNTTIIOONN OONN DDECCKK:

PRESENT ARMS

ORDER ARMS

May my Brother walk the the STREETS OF HEAVEN WITH CHESTY, ADM. NIMZIT, ALL OF THE "BULLDOG" OF THE CORPS.

In the BSP name, AAMEN

SEMPERR FI

books

N.J. Marine On Second Tour Killed Days Before Leave
Father Wants Surviving Son Pulled From Combat


VINELAND, N.J. -- A 21-year-old Marine due to come home next week on leave from Iraq was killed on Monday, his father said.

Lance Cpl. Harry Swain IV, who was serving his second tour of duty in Iraq, last had an online conversation with his father on Saturday. Two days later, Vineland Police Sgt. Harry Swain III received an ominous cell phone call from two Marines.

"They said they were standing outside, and I told them I had moved," he told The Press of Atlantic City for Tuesday's editions.

Just an hour earlier he had watched a television news story about the Marine deaths.

Swain's younger son, 19-year-old Jaymes, also is serving in Iraq. The father said he wanted Jaymes to leave the combat zone now that Harry has been killed.

Harry Swain IV grew up with his mother in Millville, while Jaymes Swain spent much of his childhood in Vineland. The brothers stuck together while both were stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Harry Swain IV was a machine gunner with the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines. He had signed up the day after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

"We're so proud of him," their father said of Harry, his voice cracking. "It was only 11 more days before he came home. This is so horrible."


I was in the DEP and quickly became friends with his brother Jaymes and I had the honor to meet Harry before his first tour. He's an amazing person.

I don't post here often anymore, but knew I could trust all of you to do a moment of thought for my Grandpa.
My son is a LCpl in the Corps. I have come in here many times over the past few years, got all the help I needed and the harrassing my character needed as well.
My stepdad's father passed away this last week suddenly. He was a pogue (a long ways back), but I promised my Pa you wouldn't hold that against him, hehe. He served in WWII and Korea, his name was Christopher Wheeler.
My grandmother and all of the siblings (other than my Pa) have no clue about the Corps and they don't want to - which I don't begrudge them. My son was not permitted to come home to be there for the funeral, so there was no Marine presence at all and this was hard for my Pa.
All I ask is that you all take your moment to think on him. He was an incredible man, never talked much about the Corps, but was so proud when he found out my son was going, and now that I see what the Corps produces through my son, I understand that he never lost those virtues.
The world is a sadder place as this Marine goes to guard heaven's gates.

Thanks,
CaryAnne

Rest in Peace, Christopher Wheeler.

SEMPER FI

I just want to say that to all of you on earth and in heaven,you have my undying gratitude, and my unending sorrow, for fighting for us ,and dying for us and for freedom on some foriegn land. I thank you. I love you all.

I offer this in rememberence of our fallen heros (pls turn sound up):

TAPS

THE HYMN


SEMPER FI, MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS.

To all God bless you and keep you. I will always set a place for you.