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thedrifter
04-25-03, 06:36 AM
Article ran : 04/25/2003
Hubert mourns fallen heroes
By MATT DEES
DAILY NEWS STAFF
HUBERT — Marine chief warrant officers Andrew Todd Arnold and Robert William Channell Jr. trained, lived and fought together.



The Hubert residents went through officer training at Quantico, Va., at the same time and lived with their young families on the same street before both were deployed to the Persian Gulf in January with 1st Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment assigned to Camp Lejeune’s 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade. They were part of Task Force Tarawa in the war with Iraq.



This week, the friends and comrades also died together when a grenade launcher malfunctioned and exploded on a firing range near Al Kut, Iraq, the Defense Department confirmed Thursday.



The fatal accident, which also claimed the life of 19-year-old Marine from Snow Camp and injured seven others, has the Hubert area shocked and in mourning.



Arnold, 30, and an 11-year Marine veteran, leaves behind his wife, Lisa, a 9-year-old son, Austin, and a 5-year-old daughter, Jessica. Channell, 39 and a 17-year Marine motor transport officer from Tuscaloosa, Ala., is survived by his wife, Joyce and 4-year-old daughter, Bethany.



“(Arnold) had called Easter morning and talked to Lisa and the children,” Cynthia Martinez, Lisa Arnold’s best friend, told The Daily News.



“This was the first time they had spoken since he left. He thought he’d be coming home in a month to three months.



“We’re all just in shock because the war’s supposed to be over,” she added, echoing a sentiment expressed by Channell’s family on Wednesday.



Martinez said the community — from churches to schools to the Swansboro Food Lion — rallied to show support.



“The neighbors we don’t even know have come by,” Martinez said.



The Arnold family released a statement saying Arnold was a proud Marine who loved his country.



“He believed in the cause for which he was fighting and wanted the Iraqi people to have the freedoms that are enjoyed in his home country,” the statement said.



“He was loved by family and friends and greatly respected by those with whom he served.”



Arnold was born in Memphis, Tenn., and spent his early childhood in Louisiana before moving near Houston, Texas.



He graduated from Klein Oak High School in Houston and joined the Marine Corps in 1992.



Arnold met his wife when he was stationed at Camp Lejeune a few years later, and their first child was born here.



He was promoted to chief warrant officer 2 in 2001 as a weapons repair officer, a specialty that would likely make him familiar with weapons such as the grenade launcher that exploded.



He also is survived by his parents, a brother, a sister and grandfather.



Rick Heaser, a neighbor in the closely knit subdivision, recalled Arnold as a dedicated husband and father in a written message sent to several news organizations.



Martinez said the Arnolds loved North Carolina and planned on making their home here. Lisa Arnold works at the Hubert post office branch.



“He was proud, I’m sure, to die for his country,” he said.



Contact Matt Dees at mdees@


jdnews.com or 353-1171, Ext. 239.


Sempers,

Roger


Rest in Peace