Marine's death churns pride, sadness
Serviceman is 36th from the state killed in Iraq war

By Brian MacQuarrie, Globe Staff | April 29, 2006

Less than a month after he arrived in Iraq, a Marine from New Bedford died Wednesday when the tank he was driving struck a roadside bomb during combat operations in sprawling Al Anbar Province, according to his family and military officials.

Lance Corporal Michael L. Ford, 19, became the third Massachusetts serviceman to be killed in Iraq in April, matching the record monthly high for fatalities from the state since the war began in March 2003.

A total of 36 servicemen from Massachusetts have been killed in the war. Ford is the sixth serviceman from the New Bedford and Fall River area to be killed in Iraq.

Ford enlisted in the Marines in 2004 the day after watching a television broadcast of President Bush defend US military operations there, according to his father, Joseph M. Ford Sr.

''After President Bush was done talking, he said that was something that he wanted to do," Ford said yesterday. ''When he came home from school the next day, he had the recruiter behind him and said, 'Sign the papers, Dad.' "

Ford, 47, said he is proud of the patriotism shown by his son, who reported for duty shortly after graduating from Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational-Technical High School in 2004.

''He knew what he wanted, and he was confident in his abilities," Ford said. ''He was ready to go to Iraq. He didn't show any whining about it; he didn't show any fear. I was more worried about it than he was."

Ford, who enlisted for four years, had been assigned to the First Tank Battalion, First Marine Division, based at Twentynine Palms, Calif. A Marine spokesman said he did not have any additional details about Ford's death in Al Anbar Province, which extends from west of Baghdad to the Syrian, Jordanian, and Saudi Arabian borders.

In addition to Ford, Marine Corporal Scott Procopio, 20, of Saugus, and Army Private Michael Bouthot, 19, of Fall River, have been killed this month. Marine Lance Corporal Patrick Gallagher, 27, a Fairhaven native who had been living in Jacksonville, Fla., also died in April.

The elder Ford said his son had been able to send only one letter home to the family since arriving in Iraq on March 28. ''The letter said simply, 'Hi,' " Ford said. ''That let me know he was alive and had a good sense of humor."

Joseph Ford Jr., 21, said he could not recall his brother discussing a military career before his enlistment. ''He never mentioned it to me, but he loved it," the brother said.

Ford wanted to parlay his experience in the Marine Corps into a law-enforcement career, relatives said.

Mary Braden, the slain Marine's aunt, said death is particularly shocking because Ford had been home on leave in March, just before deployment.

''You know when they go over there, that they're at risk," Braden said. ''But you don't expect that as soon as he goes out the door, he's gone."

Family members said that Ford, the second oldest of five children, developed a deep sense of community service through his mother, who died in 2002 of heart failure after a long illness but had been involved in many outreach and teaching programs in the New Bedford area.

For example, Ford helped his mother plant a garden at the Hayden/McFadden Elementary School he had attended, the Marine's father said.

The death of Ford's mother had been difficult for him and the rest of the family, Braden said. But after joining the Marines, she said, Ford changed for the better.

''I saw just a positive change in him, a confidence," Braden said. ''But there was still that mischievous teenager in him. He was a good kid."

Ellie