Marine who proposed at Angels Stadium dies in Iraq

[thedrifter]

Marine who proposed at Angels Stadium dies in Iraq

By: Associated Press -

ANAHEIM -- Marine Cpl. Jason Morrow, a lifelong Angels fan who proposed to his future wife before a game last year, was killed in Iraq.

Morrow, a 27-year-old machine gunner, died June 27 in Balad of injuries he suffered in a roadside bombing.

Morrow, who grew up in Riverside, joined the Marines in 2002 and was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force out of Camp Pendleton.

He was in Iraq when he came up with the idea of proposing to his girlfriend, Evelyn Flores, at Angels stadium.

His mother, Kristin, arranged the home-plate ceremony. Players congratulated Morrow and manager Mike Scioscia invited him to stand in the dugout during the national anthem.

"Thank you for making my wish come true," Morrow wrote in a letter to the team after he returned to Iraq. "I will always be a fan."

The Anaheim-based Los Angeles Angels were so taken with Morrow's devotion to his country and the team that they asked him back in October to throw out the first pitch before a playoff game.

"He knew his Angels history," said team spokesman Tim Mead, who became friends with Morrow. "When he talked to the players, they didn't hear a lot of Iraqi stories. He wasn't gung-ho. He was more like, `Golly, I get to go down on the field.'

"I could tell it meant everything to him. He was a special young man. Just someone who wanted to give back to his country."

After he was killed, Morrow's mother notified the team by e-mail.

"I wanted you to know that what you did for our son also means the world to us," she wrote.

Morrow was buried Friday at Riverside National Cemetery. Mead represented the team at the funeral.

"It was difficult," Mead said. "We had the utmost respect for him."

Besides his wife and mother, Morrow is survived by his father, William; sisters Katie, Renee, Stephanie and Ashley, and a brother, Garrett.

Ellie

Rest In peace

[jennifer]

May you rest in peace brother. Thank you for serving.