thedrifter
11-26-02, 09:26 AM
Associated Press
November 25, 2002
ST. CLAIR, Mo. - A Marine recruit who told relatives he joined the military to do something more than "an Average Joe" died after he collapsed during basic training drills, officials said.
Pvt. Neal Edwards IV, 18, of St. Clair, collapsed after going through an obstacle course Saturday afternoon during physical training at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, officials said. Drill instructors administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation until paramedics arrived, and Edwards was pronounced dead early Sunday at a San Diego hospital, officials said.
Edwards was on his 11th day of training at the depot, where the more than 16,000 Marines who pass through each year undergo 63 days of training over 12 weeks, according to its Web site.
In a letter postmarked Nov. 19, Edwards wrote to his family that "it's kind of hard here but I make it day to day. It's hard work but my mind is set on being a Marine and not just an Average Joe that thinks the United States owes him something. And here I am giving my life to them."
Edwards wasn't supposed to go into basic training until January, but a recruiter found an earlier opening.
"It was something he had thought about for a while and he wanted to do," said Edwards' cousin Todd Mahaney, who believes the September 2001 terrorist attacks "may have sparked his interest, but the flame, the passion, was always there in him to serve his country."
Mahaney said the family was shocked at the circumstances of his death because Edwards, known to his cousin as "The Kid," always seemed fit and "the picture of perfect health."
"The Kid is the All-American boy, everything you can think of," Mahaney said. "He ran track, he played football, he was very active and never had any previous health problems."
Edwards had planned to become a combat engineer in the Marines. He had worked with his father, Neal Edwards III, as an ironworker for GF Contractors of Union, also practicing carpentry.
"He wanted a career in construction or carpentry," Mahaney said. "He wanted to do the same thing he was doing while serving his country."
Edwards' body was expected to be returned home on Thanksgiving Day, with a full military service to be held at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis.
Sempers,
Roger
November 25, 2002
ST. CLAIR, Mo. - A Marine recruit who told relatives he joined the military to do something more than "an Average Joe" died after he collapsed during basic training drills, officials said.
Pvt. Neal Edwards IV, 18, of St. Clair, collapsed after going through an obstacle course Saturday afternoon during physical training at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, officials said. Drill instructors administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation until paramedics arrived, and Edwards was pronounced dead early Sunday at a San Diego hospital, officials said.
Edwards was on his 11th day of training at the depot, where the more than 16,000 Marines who pass through each year undergo 63 days of training over 12 weeks, according to its Web site.
In a letter postmarked Nov. 19, Edwards wrote to his family that "it's kind of hard here but I make it day to day. It's hard work but my mind is set on being a Marine and not just an Average Joe that thinks the United States owes him something. And here I am giving my life to them."
Edwards wasn't supposed to go into basic training until January, but a recruiter found an earlier opening.
"It was something he had thought about for a while and he wanted to do," said Edwards' cousin Todd Mahaney, who believes the September 2001 terrorist attacks "may have sparked his interest, but the flame, the passion, was always there in him to serve his country."
Mahaney said the family was shocked at the circumstances of his death because Edwards, known to his cousin as "The Kid," always seemed fit and "the picture of perfect health."
"The Kid is the All-American boy, everything you can think of," Mahaney said. "He ran track, he played football, he was very active and never had any previous health problems."
Edwards had planned to become a combat engineer in the Marines. He had worked with his father, Neal Edwards III, as an ironworker for GF Contractors of Union, also practicing carpentry.
"He wanted a career in construction or carpentry," Mahaney said. "He wanted to do the same thing he was doing while serving his country."
Edwards' body was expected to be returned home on Thanksgiving Day, with a full military service to be held at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis.
Sempers,
Roger