thedrifter
03-10-07, 07:15 AM
Bomb kills Marine with ties to Irwin
By Richard Robbins
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, March 10, 2007
The 21-year-old son of a former Irwin woman was killed March 3 in Iraq, when the Marine Corps vehicle he was driving struck a roadside bomb in Al-Qaim, north of Baghdad.
Lance Cpl. Raul Bravo, of Elko, Nev., was the son of Joy Marsico, of Las Vegas, and the grandson of Sam and Lillian Baughman Marsico, of Henderson, Nev.
Sam Marsico was a swim team coach at Norwin High School, where he taught drivers education. Lillian Marsico was the niece of Bill Baughman, a fixture at Jeannette High School as football coach in the 1950s and 1960s.
Bravo was serving his second tour of duty in Iraq. He was slated to return home in late April.
"He was exactly what you would expect him to be," his grandmother said Friday. "He was very polite, quiet. He was a great Marine."
His grandparents last heard from their only grandson a week and a half before his death. "His attitude was that he was doing his duty," Lillian Marsico said. "I think he feared for his life, though he never said anything."
Bravo joined the Marines while still in high school, his grandparents said. The war in Iraq had begun, and "he knew what he was getting into," said Lillian Marsico.
After high school graduation, Bravo shipped out to Marine Corps basic training at Camp Pendleton, Calif., where he earned a sharpshooter's badge. At the end of advanced infantry training, Bravo was offered the chance to join the Marine Corps detail at the White House. He turned it down, his grandparents said, because of his loyalty to his Marine buddies who were shipping out to Iraq.
Bravo spent seven months in Iraq in 2005. Upon his return to the United States, he was given a second opportunity to be sent to Washington. Again, he turned it down, his grandparents said.
"He believed in the mission," Lillian Marsico said. "He learned the Iraqi language. Some Iraqis were embedded with his unit. He loved the Iraqi children."
Sam Marsico said his grandson planned to attend college at the end of his Marine Corps enlistment, with the goal of serving as a policeman in Henderson, a suburb of Las Vegas.
Bravo's flag-draped coffin was returned to Las Vegas yesterday. Services and burial will take place Sunday at Palm Mortuary and Cemetery in Las Vegas.
A second cousin, Shirley Shubuck, of Irwin, recalled Bravo's "mischievous grin" as a child. Bravo leaves behind four great-aunts and a great-uncle who live in Jeannette and Greensburg, Shubuck said.
In addition to his mother, Bravo is survived by his father, Raul Bravo Sr., and three sisters, Isabella, Shakira and Rachel, all of Nevada.
Richard Robbins can be reached at rrobbins@tribweb.com or (724) 836-5660.
Ellie
By Richard Robbins
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, March 10, 2007
The 21-year-old son of a former Irwin woman was killed March 3 in Iraq, when the Marine Corps vehicle he was driving struck a roadside bomb in Al-Qaim, north of Baghdad.
Lance Cpl. Raul Bravo, of Elko, Nev., was the son of Joy Marsico, of Las Vegas, and the grandson of Sam and Lillian Baughman Marsico, of Henderson, Nev.
Sam Marsico was a swim team coach at Norwin High School, where he taught drivers education. Lillian Marsico was the niece of Bill Baughman, a fixture at Jeannette High School as football coach in the 1950s and 1960s.
Bravo was serving his second tour of duty in Iraq. He was slated to return home in late April.
"He was exactly what you would expect him to be," his grandmother said Friday. "He was very polite, quiet. He was a great Marine."
His grandparents last heard from their only grandson a week and a half before his death. "His attitude was that he was doing his duty," Lillian Marsico said. "I think he feared for his life, though he never said anything."
Bravo joined the Marines while still in high school, his grandparents said. The war in Iraq had begun, and "he knew what he was getting into," said Lillian Marsico.
After high school graduation, Bravo shipped out to Marine Corps basic training at Camp Pendleton, Calif., where he earned a sharpshooter's badge. At the end of advanced infantry training, Bravo was offered the chance to join the Marine Corps detail at the White House. He turned it down, his grandparents said, because of his loyalty to his Marine buddies who were shipping out to Iraq.
Bravo spent seven months in Iraq in 2005. Upon his return to the United States, he was given a second opportunity to be sent to Washington. Again, he turned it down, his grandparents said.
"He believed in the mission," Lillian Marsico said. "He learned the Iraqi language. Some Iraqis were embedded with his unit. He loved the Iraqi children."
Sam Marsico said his grandson planned to attend college at the end of his Marine Corps enlistment, with the goal of serving as a policeman in Henderson, a suburb of Las Vegas.
Bravo's flag-draped coffin was returned to Las Vegas yesterday. Services and burial will take place Sunday at Palm Mortuary and Cemetery in Las Vegas.
A second cousin, Shirley Shubuck, of Irwin, recalled Bravo's "mischievous grin" as a child. Bravo leaves behind four great-aunts and a great-uncle who live in Jeannette and Greensburg, Shubuck said.
In addition to his mother, Bravo is survived by his father, Raul Bravo Sr., and three sisters, Isabella, Shakira and Rachel, all of Nevada.
Richard Robbins can be reached at rrobbins@tribweb.com or (724) 836-5660.
Ellie