April costly for Lejeune Marines in Iraq

April costly for Lejeune Marines in Iraq
April 19,2006
STAFF REPORTS

April is turning into a deadly month in Iraq for Camp Lejeune Marines.

As of this weekend, when five Lejeune Marines were killed in Al Anbar province, 10 Marines have died in Iraq this month, according to a Daily News count. So far this year, 32 Lejeune Marines have died in Iraq.

The latest casualties include four Marines who were killed April 15 when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb during combat operations. They are Cpl. Pablo V. Mayorga, 33, of Margate, Fla., Lance Cpl. Derrick J. Cothran, 21, of Avondale, La., and Pfc. Ryan G. Winslow, 19, of Hoover, Ala., all assigned to the 2nd Tank Battalion. Lance Cpl. Justin D. Sims, 22, of Covington, Ky., with 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines, died in the same incident.

Mayorga moved to the United States in 1991 from Quito, Ecuador, and later arranged for family members to join him. The family moved to Broward County in 2001, but the events of Sept. 11, 2001, deeply affected Mayorga, his cousin Eddie Gomez told The Miami Herald.

He joined the Marines in 2002.

After completing basic training, Mayorga learned that his high-school sweetheart, Paola, was divorced and had two girls. Recently divorced himself and the father of two, Mayorga called his former girlfriend.

The two married in 2004 and bought a home in Jacksonville They were expecting the birth of their first child, a son.

“Our house was filled with laughter,” Paola Mayorga, 31, told The Miami Herald. “It was filled with love.”

Mayorga became an American citizen in August 2004 and left for Iraq a month later. He returned last year but deployed again in March.

He is survived by his wife; his two daughters, Nicole, 13, and Alexander, 8; and Paola’s daughters Emily, 10, and Brenda, 8. Funeral arrangements in Broward, Fla. are pending, his wife said.

During his service, Mayorga was awarded the Good Conduct Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, Iraqi Campaign Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, Global War on Terror Service Medal, the Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal and National Defense Service Medal.

Cothran joined the Marines Corps in March 2005. His father, Theodore Cothran, told the Raleigh News and Observer, that he never imagined his son would die.

“He was my million-dollar baby,” his father said. “I knew about the risks and the dangers, but I never even thought about him getting killed.”

During his service, he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal, Global War on Terror Service Medal and National Defense Service Medal.

Winslow joined the Marines in January 2005. During his service, he was awarded the Iraqi Campaign Medal, Global War on Terror Service Medal and National Defense Service Medal.

Sims, a rifleman, joined the Marines in Febuary 2004.

Joining the military was always his goal, his father, Beechie Sims, told the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Mike Wills, a former assistant principal at Sims’ school and a retired Marine lieutenant colonel, said Sims knew what he was getting into when he joined.

“He was one of those young men who really felt he wanted to choose a career in the military,” Wills said.

The fifth Marine, Lance Cpl. Darin T. Settle, 23, of Henley Mo., died April 14 in a non-hostile motor vehicle accident in Al Anbar province. Henley was a logistical vehicle systems operator with Combat Logistics Regiment 2, 2nd Marine Logistics Group. He joined the Marines in December 2003.

During his service he was awarded the Iraqi Campaign Medal, Global War on Terror Service Medal, Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon and National Defense Service Medal.

Ellie