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thedrifter
08-16-08, 06:34 AM
August 15, 2008
Marines give $25K to fallen trooper's child

By JEFFREY GOLD
Associated Press

As a New Jersey state trooper, Dwayne Kelley's life was aimed at protecting the public. He lost his life doing the same thing in Iraq as an Army reservist.

On Friday, a group organized by U.S. Marines expressed their gratitude by making sure his daughter's education is protected.

Mushirah Kelley received a $25,000 scholarship from the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation so she can complete her final year of college in Philadelphia.

Her father, Army Maj. Dwayne Kelley, was killed in a bombing June 24 in Baghdad where his civil affairs unit worked to restructure government and rebuild infrastructure. He was also a detective sergeant 1st class in the New Jersey State Police counterterrorism unit.

"He was a trooper, I was a trooper, so we made a special arrangement to do this," said Michael A. Fedorko, a Marine veteran who rose through State Police ranks to serve as superintendent in 1999 and is now involved with the foundation.

The foundation generally gives scholarships to children of Marines killed in action, said Fedorko.

Mushirah Kelley, 21, is entering her senior year at University of the Arts where she
is majoring in communications and Web design, state police Lt. Michael Parmenter said.

"She's an exceptional student," Parmenter said.

Without the scholarship, "Her education would be dependent on college loans," he said.

The scholarship was presented to Mushirah Kelley and her stepmother at State Police headquarters in Ewing Township during a meeting of top commanders, officials said.

Dwayne Kelley, 48, a native of Willingboro who lived with his wife and daughter in
South Orange, served in the Army before joining the state police in 1988. An Arabic
speaker, he was serving in Baghdad after volunteering for a third tour of duty.

He died during the bombing of a district council building in the Sadr City section
that killed nine others, including two other Americans working to restore local
government in the former Shiite militia stronghold.

Ellie