thedrifter
11-17-06, 06:27 AM
Two Marines Killed in Iraq Shared Early Desire to Serve
By Arianne Aryanpur
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 16, 2006; B05
Marine Lance Cpl. Minhee "Andy" Kim and Cpl. Michael H. Lasky died young, but family and friends said they died believing they had made a difference.
Both men were killed in combat in Iraq's Anbar province. Kim, 20, of Ann Arbor, Mich., died Nov. 1. Lasky, 22, of Sterling, Alaska, died Nov. 2.
Yesterday, they were buried hours apart at Arlington National Cemetery, where the sun occasionally broke through the clouds and cast shadows over the rows of white headstones.
Mourners gathered before noon to honor Kim. His parents, Dong and Mi Hea Kim, South Korean immigrants, wept as they received a folded American flag.
Isaac Kim said his older brother was committed to his faith and to joining the military. He wrote to a Marine recruiter in elementary school but was turned down for being too young, news reports said.
"He wanted to serve his country. He was thankful for being a U.S. citizen, and this was a small way to pay back that gratitude," said David Shin, Kim's pastor at Harvest Mission Community Church in Ann Arbor.
After graduating from Pioneer High School, Kim enrolled at Purdue University and enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve. He transferred to the University of Michigan at Dearborn last year after completing basic training.
In September, he deployed to Iraq with the Marine Reserve's 1st Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division of Lansing, Mich.
John Thomas, a gunnery sergeant who taught Kim, remembered him as soft-spoken and committed.
"The first time I met him, I asked him, 'Marine, why are you so quiet?' He replied, 'Waiting on the gunny to provide instruction!' He had a quiet, reserved demeanor," Thomas wrote in an online guest book.
Family and friends said they are struggling with the sudden loss.
"I think a lot of people were sad because he died at such an early age," Shin said. "But at the same time, all of us are really proud of what he stood for, serving his country and being a faithful Christian. We know he was able to live a full life while he was here."
Later yesterday, mourners gathered one grave site over to honor Lasky.
He was assigned to the Marine Corps Reserve's 4th Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Marine Division, based at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska.
Lasky's wife, Jessica, bowed her head as a chaplain delivered the sermon before his flag-draped coffin. Lasky is also survived by a 1-year-old daughter, Liberty Lynn, and his parents, Carol and Donn.
Donn Lasky, a Navy veteran, said his son always wanted to join the military, but it wasn't until junior high school that he became serious and entered a training program for youths who wanted to become Marines.
He attended Kenai Alternative School and wrestled and played football through Skyview High School in Soldotna, Alaska.
"He played linebacker at 125 [pounds], if that gives you any idea of his mentality," his father said.
After his first tour of Iraq, Lasky returned to Sterling for seven months. Family and friends said his demeanor, and his decision to help train young Marines in his home town, demonstrated his maturation.
"Growing up, he was less than, shall we say, an altar boy," Donn Lasky said. "That lasted until he joined the Marines, and then it was a 180-[degree] turnaround."
Lasky volunteered for an elite Marine reconnaissance unit that deployed to Iraq this fall.
Jessica Lasky said that she kept in touch with her husband by e-mail and that it sounded like he was doing what he loved.
"He loved his family, his community. He loved being a Marine, and he loved his daughter the most," she said. "He wondered what was the best for his family, and in his heart he believed that fighting in Iraq made it a better place for us to live here. He said, 'This is my job, and I have to do it.' "
Kim and Lasky were the 274th and 275th service members killed in the Iraq war to be buried at Arlington.
Ellie
By Arianne Aryanpur
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 16, 2006; B05
Marine Lance Cpl. Minhee "Andy" Kim and Cpl. Michael H. Lasky died young, but family and friends said they died believing they had made a difference.
Both men were killed in combat in Iraq's Anbar province. Kim, 20, of Ann Arbor, Mich., died Nov. 1. Lasky, 22, of Sterling, Alaska, died Nov. 2.
Yesterday, they were buried hours apart at Arlington National Cemetery, where the sun occasionally broke through the clouds and cast shadows over the rows of white headstones.
Mourners gathered before noon to honor Kim. His parents, Dong and Mi Hea Kim, South Korean immigrants, wept as they received a folded American flag.
Isaac Kim said his older brother was committed to his faith and to joining the military. He wrote to a Marine recruiter in elementary school but was turned down for being too young, news reports said.
"He wanted to serve his country. He was thankful for being a U.S. citizen, and this was a small way to pay back that gratitude," said David Shin, Kim's pastor at Harvest Mission Community Church in Ann Arbor.
After graduating from Pioneer High School, Kim enrolled at Purdue University and enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve. He transferred to the University of Michigan at Dearborn last year after completing basic training.
In September, he deployed to Iraq with the Marine Reserve's 1st Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division of Lansing, Mich.
John Thomas, a gunnery sergeant who taught Kim, remembered him as soft-spoken and committed.
"The first time I met him, I asked him, 'Marine, why are you so quiet?' He replied, 'Waiting on the gunny to provide instruction!' He had a quiet, reserved demeanor," Thomas wrote in an online guest book.
Family and friends said they are struggling with the sudden loss.
"I think a lot of people were sad because he died at such an early age," Shin said. "But at the same time, all of us are really proud of what he stood for, serving his country and being a faithful Christian. We know he was able to live a full life while he was here."
Later yesterday, mourners gathered one grave site over to honor Lasky.
He was assigned to the Marine Corps Reserve's 4th Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Marine Division, based at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska.
Lasky's wife, Jessica, bowed her head as a chaplain delivered the sermon before his flag-draped coffin. Lasky is also survived by a 1-year-old daughter, Liberty Lynn, and his parents, Carol and Donn.
Donn Lasky, a Navy veteran, said his son always wanted to join the military, but it wasn't until junior high school that he became serious and entered a training program for youths who wanted to become Marines.
He attended Kenai Alternative School and wrestled and played football through Skyview High School in Soldotna, Alaska.
"He played linebacker at 125 [pounds], if that gives you any idea of his mentality," his father said.
After his first tour of Iraq, Lasky returned to Sterling for seven months. Family and friends said his demeanor, and his decision to help train young Marines in his home town, demonstrated his maturation.
"Growing up, he was less than, shall we say, an altar boy," Donn Lasky said. "That lasted until he joined the Marines, and then it was a 180-[degree] turnaround."
Lasky volunteered for an elite Marine reconnaissance unit that deployed to Iraq this fall.
Jessica Lasky said that she kept in touch with her husband by e-mail and that it sounded like he was doing what he loved.
"He loved his family, his community. He loved being a Marine, and he loved his daughter the most," she said. "He wondered what was the best for his family, and in his heart he believed that fighting in Iraq made it a better place for us to live here. He said, 'This is my job, and I have to do it.' "
Kim and Lasky were the 274th and 275th service members killed in the Iraq war to be buried at Arlington.
Ellie