California Marine killed in Iraq after losing 150 pounds to enlist

[thedrifter]

Posted on Sat, Jul. 10, 2004





California Marine killed in Iraq after losing 150 pounds to enlist

BEN FOX

Associated Press


WILDOMAR, Calif. - When Justin Hunt first tried to join the Marine Corps, the recruiters didn't have a scale that could weigh him.

So they simply estimated that he was more than 150 pounds above the maximum limit to join the service.

Hunt, a hulking athlete then two years out of high school, didn't let that stop him. He worked out hard, changed his diet and shed the pounds so he could enlist.

Now his family is trying to hold on to the memories of that hard-charging year as they grieve for the 22-year-old lance corporal who was killed in an explosion Tuesday in western Iraq.

"I want everybody to know what a great guy he was," his mother, Debbie, said as friends and relatives comforted her at the family home in Wildomar, a community about 75 miles east of Los Angeles.

Amid preparations for a military funeral, the Marine's family shared letters, photos and memories of a young man who embraced military life.

"He loved being on a team, fighting for a goal," his mother said. "That was his personality."

When he first approached a recruiter in 2002, Hunt was large but not completely out of shape. A dozen trophies in the living room attest to his high school accomplishments in baseball, wrestling and football.

Still, he wasn't Marine-fit. The recruiters estimated that the 6-footer weighed as much as 390 pounds, though they couldn't be sure because the scale only went up to 350.

"The recruiters were pretty taken aback by how big I was," he said in a 2003 interview with The Chevron, a newspaper that serves the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego. "But they were still willing to work with me to help me do what I had to do to become a Marine."

That involved a lot of early morning runs through his semi-rural community in Riverside County, sometimes accompanied by a recruiter, Staff Sgt. Zach Delellis, family members said.

"Any time he would get down and feeling like he might not want to do it, that recruiter was down here getting him out of bed," recalls his father, Tom.

With a diet high in proteins, low in carbohydrates and as little junk food as possible, he got down to 207 pounds, just two pounds below the maximum allowed for his height. During boot camp in San Diego, he lost another 30 pounds and began telling his family that he wanted to be a drill instructor.

Letters home from his base at Camp Lejeune, N.C., and the Middle East were filled with gung-ho descriptions of military life and some bravado. "Nothing will happen to me because I got my 'Jesus hellfire' around me," he wrote from Iraq.

His father smiled at the sentence. "He tried to project a tough-guy image but deep down he was a softy," he said. His mother agreed, noting his fondness for small dogs, especially Chihuahuas.

In another letter, Hunt mentioned re-enlisting in the Marine Corps reserve, going to college and becoming an FBI agent. He talked about getting serious with Kerry Murphy, a woman he met while stationed at Camp Lejeune.

"I love the Marines, but I don't want all the deployments to ruin the relationship that Kerry and I have," he wrote.

The couple began dating in January and were preparing to meet each other's parents. "He just had all these plans that he wanted to do with his life," Murphy said.

The Marine's parent's learned about Hunt's death from their eldest son, who is in the Navy and deployed to the Middle East. He is accompanying his brother's body home.

Debbie supports the military action in Iraq but when another son, 19-year-old Travis, mentioned that he was considering joining the Army Reserve, she asked him to drop the idea.

"I understand why we're there, but I think I've given them enough," she said, her voice breaking. "I don't think we have to do anymore personally. I don't want to take a chance and have another one of my sons over there."

http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/9125780.htm


Ellie


Rest In Peace

[thedrifter]

Lance Cpl. Justin Hunt, 22, Riverside; Marine Was Killed in Combat


By Hector Becerra, Times Staff Writer

Lance Cpl. Justin Hunt's dedication to the Marines could be measured in pounds — as in the nearly 200 pounds the Riverside resident lost over 10 months to prepare for the rigors of boot camp.

"He was turned down by the Army and the Navy. They told him he was too big and to come back when he lost the weight," his twin brother, Jason, 22, said.

The 360-pound Hunt — who played defensive tackle at Elsinore High School in Wildomar and also competed in shotput, wrestling and discus — turned his attention to the Marines.

"The recruiter used to come here every day at 7 in the morning and they would go running," his brother said.

His mother, Debbie, said she reminded Justin that he would have to give up many of the things he loved.

"He always loved French fries, pasta and potatoes," his mother said. "I told him, 'Can you go without that?' He said, 'Yeah, I can.' And he did. I told him he surprised me."

By the time he joined the Marines, Hunt was a muscular 170 pounds.

"He was so proud," his mother said. " 'Mommy, your baby boy's a Marine.' That's what he said when he graduated."

Hunt, who was deployed to Iraq in February, died July 6 in combat against insurgents in Al Anbar province. He was assigned to the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

His older brother, Robert, 38, a Navy corpsman also serving in Iraq, accompanied Justin's body home.

From Iraq, Justin Hunt talked and wrote excitedly about his girlfriend Kerry Murphy, 19, in North Carolina.

"He really missed her," his mother said. "He talked about how he was going to bring her home for Christmas so we could meet her. He said he met his soul mate."

Hunt tried to be relatively upbeat when he called or wrote home, especially with his mother.

"He did tell us not to watch the news," Debbie Hunt said. "I had a hard time not doing that, with him and his brother there."

She said she hoped to get the many pictures her son said he took in Iraq.

Oscar Hernandez, 23, one of his best friends, said he was surprised Hunt decided to join the Marines. At first, he said he was skeptical that Hunt could lose the weight.

However, even when he weighed more than 300 pounds, Hunt was active, Hernandez said. "If he wasn't moving around, he wasn't himself."

Family and friends said Hunt was a jokester who loved playing pool, collecting G.I. Joe figures and watching war movies, especially Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket."

"We were really proud of him," his mother said, "and he was really proud of himself. He's a hero who took a lot of pride in what he did."

Debbie and her husband, Tom, adopted five children: Justin and his twin brother Jason; Travis, 19; Jessica, 12; and Cassie, 7, who joined Tom Hunt's three older children — Robert, Ken, 36, and Lori, 34 — from a previous marriage.

Funeral arrangements for Justin Hunt are pending, his family said, but he will be buried with full military honors.



Ellie

[DSchmitke]

Rest In Peace Brother Semper Fi.....

[thedrifter]

Services held for Cpl. Justin Hunt of Wildomar

By: JOHN HUNNEMAN - Staff Writer

WILDOMAR ---- After the rifle salute was rendered, taps had sounded and the last notes of the bagpipes were carried away on the afternoon breeze, Debbie Hunt ---- cradling the folded American flag presented to her minutes before by a U.S. Marine ---- leaned over, placed her cheek on her son's pewter casket and quietly said goodbye.

U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Justin Hunt, 22, was laid to rest with full military honors Monday at the Wildomar Cemetery, just down the road from his boyhood home.

Hunt, a 2000 graduate of Elsinore High School, was killed July 6 as a result of enemy action in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, according to a Department of Defense press release that offered no further details.


Before the graveside service, about 400 people filed past Hunt's flag-draped casket as they entered Canyon Lake Community Church.

"We're here to pay tribute to a man whose bravery and valor have been a gift to his country, but whose loss has brought sorrow to his family and friends," said Pastor Peter Van Dyke.

Among the mourners were Hunt's family members, friends, classmates, teammates, former teachers and coaches and some people who said they'd met him and were inspired by the dedication it took for Hunt to become a Marine.

Weighing as much as 380 pounds as a high school student, Hunt was turned down by armed forces recruiters because of his weight. Told by a Marine recruiter that to join the Corps he would have to get down to 209 pounds ---- the maximum allowable weight for a recruit ---- Hunt began a training regimen that led to his reaching that goal.

He joined the Marines in October 2002 and, after basic training, was assigned to the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C. He arrived in Iraq in March.

Family friend Ray Martinez told those attending the church service that Hunt "truly lived by the creed Semper Fi. He was ever so proud to be a Marine."

Martinez then read from a letter that Tom Hunt, the fallen Marine's father, had sent to his son in Iraq.

"You made me laugh when in Little League you caught a line drive at first base," read Martinez. "The crowd was cheering and you bent over and took a bow."

Tom Hunt's letter also told of the time his son faked a football injury while playing at Elsinore High so that a teammate would get a chance to play.

"You will always hold a place in my heart," the letter concluded. "I love you son. Dad."

Hunt lettered in track, wrestling and football at Elsinore High School.

Teacher and coach Ruben Castanon remembered Hunt as a student with a wonderful sense of humor who always gave his best for his team.

"In his four years at Elsinore, everything he did, he did 100 percent," Castanon said. "He was always a team guy. He didn't have to be a starter. He didn't have to be a star."

Hunt is the fourth Southwest County service member to die while serving in Iraq.

U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Aaron Contreras of Temecula, who was assigned to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 169, died March 30, 2003. U.S. Army Pfc. Daniel Parker of Lake Elsinore, a member of the 101st Airborne Division, died Aug. 12, 2003, and U.S. Marine Staff Sgt. Jorge Molina Bautista of Sun City, who served with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Unit, was killed on May 23, 2004.

Contact John Hunneman at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2603, or hunneman@californian.com.

http://www.nctimes.com/content/articles/2004/07/20/military/20_31_057_19_04.jpg

Pallbearers for U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Justin Hunt, 22, prepare to escort his casket into the memorial service Monday morning at Canyon Lake Community Church.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2004/07/20/military/20_31_057_19_04.txt


Ellie