DoD Identifies Marine Casualties

[thedrifter]

II MEF Marine killed in Afghanistan
Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Friday, September 30, 2005

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — A III Marine Expeditionary Force Marine was killed Sunday in Afghanistan in a mortar attack on Camp Blessing, a U.S. forward operating base near Asadabad, Afghanistan.

Lance Cpl. Steven A. Valdez, 20, of McRea, Ark., was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, based at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, according to a Defense Department news release.

Marines at Camp Blessing reported receiving enemy mortar, rocket-propelled-grenade and small-arms fire, and Valdez was killed in the attack, the release said.

Coalition forces responded with mortar fire and close air support, it stated.

[thedrifter]

osted on Wed, Oct. 05, 2005
Brunswick Marine killed by mine in Iraq
Associated Press

BRUNSWICK, Ga. - A Marine from Brunswick was killed in Iraq when the Humvee he was driving struck a mine, his father said.

Cpl. John R. Stalvey, 22, had been with the Marines for four years.

"He joined because of 9/11," his father, Billy Stalvey, said. "He wanted to serve his country and keep us free."

Stalvey said his son had planned to leave the military next summer.

"He had just met a young lady in Jacksonville, N.C.," Stalvey said. "They were getting pretty serious. He was looking forward to getting out and starting a life with her."

Three Marines who were in the same vehicle were also wounded in Monday's incident.

After graduating from Marine sniper school in Quantico, Va., Cpl. Stalvey had been back in Iraq for about a month where he was serving with the 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, his father said.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

NEWS RELEASE from the United States Department of Defense

No. 1020-05
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct 08, 2005
Media Contact: Marine Corps Public Affairs - (703) 614-4309
Public/Industry Contact: (703)428-0711

DoD Identifies Marine Casualties

The Department of Defense announced today the death of two Marines who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Lance Cpl. Patrick B. Kenny, 20, of Pittsburgh, Pa., died Oct. 6 from an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations against enemy forces near Al Karmah, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Lance Cpl. Daniel M. McVicker, 20, of Alliance, Ohio, died Oct. 6 from an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations against enemy forces near Al Qaim, Iraq. He was assigned to Combat Service Support Detachment 21, 2nd Force Service Support Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Cherry Point, N.C. As part of Operation Iraqi Freedom he was attached to Regimental Combat Team 2, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward).

Media with questions about McVickers can call the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point Public Affairs Office at 252-466-4241. Media with questions about Kenny can call the 2nd Marine Division Public Affairs Office at 910-451-9033.

[thedrifter]

NEWS RELEASE from the United States Department of Defense
No. 1022
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct 08, 2005
Media Contact: Marine Corps Public Affairs - (703) 614-4309
Public/Industry Contact: (703)428-0711

DoD Identifies Marine Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Lance Cpl. Shayne M. Cabino, 19, of Canton, Mass., died Oct. 6 from an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations against enemy forces near Al Karmah, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Media with questions about this Marine can call the 2nd Marine Division Public Affairs Office at 910-451-9033.

[thedrifter]

EWS RELEASE from the United States Department of Defense
No. 1023-05
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct 08, 2005
Media Contact: Marine Corps Public Affairs - (703) 614-4309
Public/Industry Contact: (703)428-0711

DoD Identifies Marine Casualties

The Department of Defense announced today the death of three Marines who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Cpl. Nicholas O. Cherava, 21, of Ontonagon, Mich., and Pfc. Jason L. Frye, 19, of Landisburg, Pa., died Oct. 6 from an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations against enemy forces near Al Karmah, Iraq. They were assigned to 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Lance Cpl. Carl L. Raines II, 20, of Coffee, Ala, died Oct. 6 from an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations against enemy forces near Al Qaim, Iraq. He was assigned to Combat Service Support Detachment 21, 2nd Force Service Support Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Cherry Point, N.C. As part of Operation Iraqi Freedom he was attached to Regimental Combat Team 2, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward).

Media with questions about Cherava or Frye can call the 2nd Marine Division Public Affairs Office at 910-451-9033. Media with questions about Raines can call the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point Public Affairs Office at 252-466-4241.

[thedrifter]

NEWS RELEASE from the United States Department of Defense

No. 1064-05
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct 19, 2005
Media Contact: Marine Corps Public Affairs - (703) 614-4309
Public/Industry Contact: (703)428-0711

DoD Identifies Marine Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Lance Cpl. Daniel Scott R. Bubb, 19, of Grottoes, Va., died Oct. 17 from small-arms fire while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Al Rutbah, Iraq. He was assigned to the 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, his unit was attached to 2nd Marine Division, II MEF (Forward)

[thedrifter]

EWS RELEASE from the United States Department of Defense

No. 1058-05
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct 18, 2005
Media Contact: Marine Corps Public Affairs - (703) 614-4309
Public/Industry Contact: (703)428-0711

DoD Identifies Marine Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Lance Cpl. Chad R. Hildebrandt, 22, of Springer, N.M., died Oct. 17 from small-arms fire while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Al Rutbah, Iraq. He was assigned to 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, his unit was attached to 2nd Marine Division, II MEF (Forward).

Media with questions about this Marine can call the Camp Pendleton Public Affairs Office at 760-725-5044.

[thedrifter]

NEWS RELEASE from the United States Department of Defense

No. 1072-05
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct 20, 2005
Media Contact: Marine Corps Public Affairs - (703) 614-4309
Public/Industry Contact: (703)428-0711

DoD Identifies Marine Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Lance Cpl. Norman W. Anderson III, 21, of Parkton, Md., died Oct. 19 from a suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Karabilah, Iraq. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Media with questions about this Marine can call the 2nd Marine Division Public Affairs Office at (910) 451-9033.

[thedrifter]

NEWS RELEASE from the United States Department of Defense

No. 1080-05
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct 22, 2005
Media Contact: Marine Corps Public Affairs - (703) 614-4309
Public/Industry Contact: (703)428-0711

DoD Identifies Marine Casualties

The Department of Defense announced today the death of three Marines who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Staff Sergeant Richard T. Pummill, 27, of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Lance Cpl. Andrew D. Russoli, 21, of Greensboro, N.C.
Lance Cpl. Steven W. Szwydek, 20, of Warfordsburg, Pa.

All three Marines died Oct. 20 from an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations against enemy forces near Nasser Wa Salaam, Iraq. They were assigned to 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Media with questions about these Marines can call the 2nd Marine Division Public Affairs Office at 910-451-9033.

[thedrifter]

NEWS RELEASE from the United States Department of Defense
No. 1093-05
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct 26, 2005
Media Contact: Marine Corps Public Affairs - (703) 614-4309
Public/Industry Contact: (703)428-0711

DoD Identifies Marine Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Lance Cpl. Jonathan R. Spears, 21, of Molino, Fla., died Oct. 23 from enemy small-arms fire while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Ar Ramadi, Iraq. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, his unit was attached to 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward).

Media with questions about this Marine can call the Twentynine Palms Public Affairs Office at 760-830-6213.

[thedrifter]

Posted on Wed, Oct. 26, 2005
Pensacola area Marine who lost weight to enlist killed in Iraq
Associated Press

PENSACOLA, Fla. - Lance Cpl. Jonathan Spears, who shed some of the weight that made him a formidable football player before the Marines would let him enlist, is the first service member from the Pensacola area to die in Iraq.

The Pentagon confirmed Wednesday that Spears, 21, of Molino, a rural community north of Pensacola, was killed by small-arms fire Sunday in Ar Ramadi. He had been with the 3rd Battalion, 7th Regiment of the 1st Marine Division based at Twentynine Palms, Calif.

"He was one of the best sons a daddy could want," his father, Timothy Spears, said Tuesday as tears rolled down his cheeks. "He gave his life doing what he believed in, and he served his country proudly."

A 6-foot-1, 265-pound offensive lineman at Tat High School, he was too big and too bulky for the Marines. He worked at a home improvement store and attended Pensacola Junior College while dropping nearly 60 pounds.

By the time he came home on leave last month, he was down to 180 pounds.

His former football coach, Charlie Armstrong, didn't even recognize him. He told Armstrong he was unsure if he would re-enlist, thinking it might be time to pursue his plans of becoming an FBI or Secret Service agent.

"He was a great kid," Armstrong said. "He had to work for everything he got, but he was very motivated, very dedicated."

Family members said Spears, known as J.R., was a shy, polite young man who answered "Yes, sir" or "Yes, ma'am" long before he became a Marine.

When Spears joined the Marines in 2003, his father and mother, Marie Spears, pushed aside their fear and supported his decision.

"He loved his country, and he wanted a sense of purpose," uncle Edward Spears said. "The other services, he didn't say anything against them, but it was the Marines or nothing for him."

Spears told family members in an e-mail that his duty in Iraq fulfilled a search for purpose by helping ensure democracy for people who had never known it. He closed, as he always did, with a message for his mother: "Don't worry, Mom. I'll be fine."

Ellie

[thedrifter]

NEWS RELEASE from the United States Department of Defense
No. 1096-05
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct 26, 2005
Media Contact: Marine Corps Public Affairs - (703) 614-4309
Public/Industry Contact: (703)428-0711

DoD Identifies Marine Casualties

The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two Marines who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Cpl. Benny G. Cockerham III, 21, of Conover, N.C.

Capt. Tyler B. Swisher, 35, of Cincinnati, Ohio

Both Marines died when their vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations against enemy forces near Al Amariyah, Iraq on Oct. 21. Their vehicle was traveling beside a canal when the attack occurred and the two Marines were thrown from the vehicle into the water. They were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Media with questions about these Marines can call the 2nd Marine Division Public Affairs Office at (910) 451-9033.

[thedrifter]

N.C. Marines, sailor killed in Iraq bombing
October 27,2005
BY STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS View stories by reporter

A Marine Corps officer who lived locally and a North Carolina sailor attached to a Camp Lejeune-based Marine unit were killed last week in Iraq, the Defense Department said Wednesday.

Marine Capt. Tyler B. Swisher, 35, of Cincinnati, Ohio, was killed Friday along with Marine Cpl. Gray Cockerham III, 21, of Conover, after a roadside bomb in Al Amariyah, Iraq, threw them both from their vehicle and into a nearby canal, the DoD said.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Christopher W. Thompson, 25, of North Wilkesboro, died in the same accident, his family said Wednesday.

Swisher, an infantry officer and company commander, and Cockerham, a machine gunner, were assigned to Lejeune's 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Lt. Barry Edwards, a spokesman for 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune.

Thompson, a hospitalman, was attached to 2/2. He was riding in the left rear seat of an armored vehicle when an improvised explosive device was set off, said his parents, Larry and Geraldine Thompson.

Swisher attended Mariemont High School, according to an NBC affiliate in Cincinnati. He joined the Corps in December 1993 - 2/2 in April, Edwards said.

A family friend told the Ohio TV station that Swisher graduated from Butler University with a degree in biology. This tour is Iraq was his third, the station reported.

According to the NBC affiliate, Swisher had a wife, two daughters, ages 15 and 7, and a 5-year-old son who live in the Jacksonville area.

His commendations include a Joint Service Commendation Medal, five Sea Service Deployment ribbons, an Iraqi Campaign Medal, a Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, a Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, a Korean Defense Medal, two National Defense Service medals and a Meritorious Unit Commendation, Edwards said.

Thompson's executive officer said he was proud to go to war with Thompson, his brother, David Thompson said.

"He knew if something happened, he'd take care of them," David Thompson said. "If things were worst, he'd be the first one to step up."

David Thompson also is a Navy corpsman assigned to the Marines.

When Thompson came home from his first combat tour, he was asked how he managed to insert an IV in someone's arm on a battlefield while bullets were crackling by and bombs were exploding.

"He said, 'All I can tell you is I haven't missed yet. When you've got somebody dying, you've got to do what you can do," Larry Thompson said.

During his first tour from March 2004 to October 2004, Thompson helped four Marines hurt when a bomb exploded beside the Humvee in front of his. A fifth Marine, his best friend, died in his arms.

At home, he talked to his father about still seeing the faces of those who had died.

Larry Thompson, an Army veteran, said he still sees the faces of those who died when he was in Vietnam.

"I don't want to forget them," he says he told his son. "I want to remember them and honor them.

"â?¦ You do the best you can and come home. That's all you can do."

Thompson joined the Navy when he was 21.

He finished basic training three days after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and was sent to the USS Austin.

Eighteen months later, he started corpsman training.

Thompson's mother remembered him as a funny boy. As a teenager, he would sneak her convertible out to take his friends for a ride, she said. She never told him she knew.

He played football and baseball at North Wilkes High School, and hoped to study at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, S.C. when his military duty ended.

He wanted to become a coach and teacher, his family said.

A prior Purple Heart recipient, Cockerham joined the Marines in May 2003 and left soon after for Iraq.

He married his girlfriend, Amanda Johnson, on a trip home to Catawba County about a year ago.

Both graduated from Hickory's St. Stephen's High School in 2002, where Cockerham played on the school soccer team all four years, according to friends.

Over the summer, he was called back for a second tour of duty.

Cockerham was initially listed as missing in action, and friends and family members held out hope he would be found alive.

They learned the bad news Monday night.

Chuck Davis, the former boys' soccer coach at St. Stephens, remembers Cockerham's work ethic, which he shared with younger players.

"I told them how Gray was a hard worker and how he sacrificed," he said Tuesday. "If you want to score goals bad enough, you'll be like Gray Cockerham."

Members of St. Stephen's Lutheran Church posted a message on its sign asking people to pray for the Cockerham family.

Cockerham joined 2/2 in October 2003, Edwards said. Apart from the Purple Heart, his commendations include a Combat Action Ribbon, two Sea Service Deployment ribbons, an Iraqi Campaign Medal, a Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, a Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and a National Defense Service Medal, Edwards said.

Cockerham is survived by his wife, Amanda Johnson Cockerham; his parents, Ben and Jill Cockerham; and a younger brother, Adam.

He will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Ellie

[junker316]

May GOD keep an eye on those left behind and take those that gave their lives serving and protecting. My prayers go to the families of the Marines and the Marines that gave all they had. May the healing process begin and the Marines never be forgotten.

[junker316]

May GOD keep an eye on those left behind and take those that gave their lives serving and protecting. My prayers go to the families of the Marines and the Marines that gave all they had. May the healing process begin and the Marines never be forgotten.