thedrifter
08-24-06, 06:38 PM
Central Oregon family says slain Marine was committed to God
BEND (AP) — Holding back tears, the parents of Lance Cpl. Randy Newman told reporters that their son was committed to his family, God and his fellow Marines.
“I realize when people die we only remember the good things,’’ said his father, Jerry Newman, speaking at the family home east of Bend on Wednesday. “But I don’t remember a week that went by that he didn’t honor me.’’
Newman, 21, was killed by a bomb Sunday while patrolling with his unit in Iraq’s northern Al Anbar province. He was injured twice before by roadside bombs since deploying to Iraq in March, his family said.
Newman was a member of the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion of the 1st Marine Division based in Twentynine Palms, Calif. He joined the Marine Corps a year after graduating in 2003 from Mountain View High School. “He felt he needed to do something,’’ his father said. “His friends were going off to college.’’
Newman was passionate about physical fitness, first as a high school wrestler and then as a Marine. After a long day’s labor in Iraq, when other Marines were looking to rest, Newman would do sit-ups or push-ups, his father said.
He hoped to become a personal trainer after his time with the Marines concluded, his father said. He even sent his dad a weight-loss book from Iraq.
“He told me to read it cover to cover because he didn’t want to lose his dad,’’ Jerry Newman said. “That was Randy.’’
A day before his death, Newman talked to his father about his plans for late September, when he was to return home on leave. He said he wanted to take his 8-year-old brother to Disneyland and take his sergeant elk hunting. “He was upbeat, encouraged,’’ his father said.
His mother, Ramona Newman, said she asked her son, a born-again Christian, if he was praying.
“Mom, God and I are so tight right now,’’ she recalled him saying.
Ellie
BEND (AP) — Holding back tears, the parents of Lance Cpl. Randy Newman told reporters that their son was committed to his family, God and his fellow Marines.
“I realize when people die we only remember the good things,’’ said his father, Jerry Newman, speaking at the family home east of Bend on Wednesday. “But I don’t remember a week that went by that he didn’t honor me.’’
Newman, 21, was killed by a bomb Sunday while patrolling with his unit in Iraq’s northern Al Anbar province. He was injured twice before by roadside bombs since deploying to Iraq in March, his family said.
Newman was a member of the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion of the 1st Marine Division based in Twentynine Palms, Calif. He joined the Marine Corps a year after graduating in 2003 from Mountain View High School. “He felt he needed to do something,’’ his father said. “His friends were going off to college.’’
Newman was passionate about physical fitness, first as a high school wrestler and then as a Marine. After a long day’s labor in Iraq, when other Marines were looking to rest, Newman would do sit-ups or push-ups, his father said.
He hoped to become a personal trainer after his time with the Marines concluded, his father said. He even sent his dad a weight-loss book from Iraq.
“He told me to read it cover to cover because he didn’t want to lose his dad,’’ Jerry Newman said. “That was Randy.’’
A day before his death, Newman talked to his father about his plans for late September, when he was to return home on leave. He said he wanted to take his 8-year-old brother to Disneyland and take his sergeant elk hunting. “He was upbeat, encouraged,’’ his father said.
His mother, Ramona Newman, said she asked her son, a born-again Christian, if he was praying.
“Mom, God and I are so tight right now,’’ she recalled him saying.
Ellie