thedrifter
06-23-07, 06:46 AM
Two Pendleton Marines killed in Iraq
By: MARK WALKER - Staff Writer
CAMP PENDLETON ---- Two sergeants from Camp Pendleton's 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit have been killed in a roadside bomb explosion, the Defense Department announced Friday.
Staff Sgt. Stephen J. Wilson, 28, and Sgt. Shawn P. Martin, 30, died Wednesday from injuries suffered in the bombing that took place in the city of Saqlawiyah, a base spokesman said.
The unit, known as the 13th MEU, left San Diego aboard a ship in May and went into Kuwait before digging into the Anbar province west of Baghdad two weeks ago.
The 2,200 Marines and sailors who make up the unit are among a wave of troops sent to Iraq as part of President Bush's escalation in force. The troop increase has boosted the number of U.S. military troops in Iraq to 156,000.
Wilson was a native of Duluth, Ga. Martin's hometown was Delmar, N.Y., and both were members of Combat Logistics Battalion 13.
Before joining the Marines in 2000, Martin was a member of the Fire Department in Elsmere, N.Y., following in the footsteps of his father, who was a longtime member of the department.
"He wanted to be the guy going in and taking care of everybody," Elsmere fire Capt. Rick Zigrosser told the Times Union newspaper of Albany, N.Y., in an account published Friday. "He went from being a kid that was climbing on the trucks to pushing you out of the way so he could be the first person in."
Martin was an ordnance specialist.
More information about Wilson could not be immediately obtained.
The 13th MEU is now based at Al Taqaddum, attached to the II Marine Expeditionary Force based in North Carolina. Those Marines have primary responsibility for security in the region.
The commander of Marine Corps forces in the Middle East, Lt. Gen. James Mattis, told the North County Times this week that while dramatic improvements are being seen in the Anbar province because of increased cooperation among Sunni tribes, roadside bombs remain a constant threat.
Mattis, who also heads Camp Pendleton's I Marine Expeditionary Force, said Iraqi citizens were now routinely providing the military with tips about where bombs can be found, resulting in about 70 percent being discovered before they can be detonated. The bombs remains the No. 1 killer of U.S. troops in Iraq.
Despite the successes being achieved in Anbar, Mattis cautioned that there still "are going to be good days and bad days."
The deaths of Martin and Wilson bring the number of locally based Marines to die in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion to approximately 330, according to an unofficial count kept by the North County Times.
As of Friday, 3,335 U.S. service members have been killed in Iraq, according to the Web site icasualties.org, which tracks military deaths and injuries through a variety of official sources. Eleven other U.S. deaths are pending Defense Department confirmation, the site reported.
Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.
Ellie
By: MARK WALKER - Staff Writer
CAMP PENDLETON ---- Two sergeants from Camp Pendleton's 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit have been killed in a roadside bomb explosion, the Defense Department announced Friday.
Staff Sgt. Stephen J. Wilson, 28, and Sgt. Shawn P. Martin, 30, died Wednesday from injuries suffered in the bombing that took place in the city of Saqlawiyah, a base spokesman said.
The unit, known as the 13th MEU, left San Diego aboard a ship in May and went into Kuwait before digging into the Anbar province west of Baghdad two weeks ago.
The 2,200 Marines and sailors who make up the unit are among a wave of troops sent to Iraq as part of President Bush's escalation in force. The troop increase has boosted the number of U.S. military troops in Iraq to 156,000.
Wilson was a native of Duluth, Ga. Martin's hometown was Delmar, N.Y., and both were members of Combat Logistics Battalion 13.
Before joining the Marines in 2000, Martin was a member of the Fire Department in Elsmere, N.Y., following in the footsteps of his father, who was a longtime member of the department.
"He wanted to be the guy going in and taking care of everybody," Elsmere fire Capt. Rick Zigrosser told the Times Union newspaper of Albany, N.Y., in an account published Friday. "He went from being a kid that was climbing on the trucks to pushing you out of the way so he could be the first person in."
Martin was an ordnance specialist.
More information about Wilson could not be immediately obtained.
The 13th MEU is now based at Al Taqaddum, attached to the II Marine Expeditionary Force based in North Carolina. Those Marines have primary responsibility for security in the region.
The commander of Marine Corps forces in the Middle East, Lt. Gen. James Mattis, told the North County Times this week that while dramatic improvements are being seen in the Anbar province because of increased cooperation among Sunni tribes, roadside bombs remain a constant threat.
Mattis, who also heads Camp Pendleton's I Marine Expeditionary Force, said Iraqi citizens were now routinely providing the military with tips about where bombs can be found, resulting in about 70 percent being discovered before they can be detonated. The bombs remains the No. 1 killer of U.S. troops in Iraq.
Despite the successes being achieved in Anbar, Mattis cautioned that there still "are going to be good days and bad days."
The deaths of Martin and Wilson bring the number of locally based Marines to die in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion to approximately 330, according to an unofficial count kept by the North County Times.
As of Friday, 3,335 U.S. service members have been killed in Iraq, according to the Web site icasualties.org, which tracks military deaths and injuries through a variety of official sources. Eleven other U.S. deaths are pending Defense Department confirmation, the site reported.
Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.
Ellie