2005-11-10

The Price of Liberty

Although those who have fallen in the defense of our Nation's ideals are remembered on a special day - Memorial Day - it is also appropriate to pay tribute to them on Veterans' Day.

These Marines paid the ultimate price. The names I'm posting here are those affiliated with my old unit, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion (formerly 1st Reconnaissance and 1st Light Armored Infantry battalions) and our sister units 2nd and 3rd.
Lance Cpl. Brian E. Anderson 26 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division Durham, North Carolina Killed in a vehicle accident west of Nasiriya, Iraq, on April 2, 2003


Lance Cpl. Jeremy L. Bohlman 21 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Sioux Falls, South Dakota Died from hostile action in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, on June 7, 2004


Lance Cpl. Daniel Scott R. Bubb 19 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Grottoes, Virginia Killed by small-arms fire during combat operations against enemy forces in Al Rutbah, Iraq, on October 17, 2005.


Lance Cpl. Kyle W. Burns 20 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Laramie, Wyoming Died as the result of enemy action in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, on November 11, 2004


Pfc. Nathan B. Clemons 20 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force Winchester, Tennessee Died of from wounds sustained when a roadside bomb detonated near his vehicle during combat operations against enemy forces near Ar Rutbah, Iraq, on June 14, 2005


Lance Cpl. Timothy R. Creager 21 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force Millington, Tennessee Died due to hostile action in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, on July 1, 2004


Lance Cpl. Tenzin Dengkhim 19 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force Falls Church, Virginia Died as a result of hostile action in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, on April 2, 2005


Cpl. Nicholas J. Dieruf 21 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Versailles, Kentucky Died due to injuries received from hostile fire in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, on April 8, 2004


Lance Cpl. Scott E. Dougherty 20 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force Bradenton Florida Died as a result of enemy action in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, on July 6, 2004


Lance Cpl. Mark E. Engel 21 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force Grand Junction, Colorado Died on July 21, 2004, at Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, of wounds he received as result of enemy action in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, on July 6, 2004


Pfc. Christian D. Gurtner 19 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division Ohio City, Ohio Killed by an accidental weapons discharge in southern Iraq on April 2, 2003


Lance Cpl. Chad R. Hildebrandt 22 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Springer, New Mexico Killed from small-arms fire during combat operations against enemy forces in Al Rutbah, Iraq, on October 17, 2005


Lance Cpl. Justin T. Hunt 22 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force Riverside, California Died as a result of hostile action in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, on July 6, 2004


Cpl. Jeffrey D. Lawrence 22 Company D, 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force Tucson, Arizona Died as a result of enemy action in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, on July 6, 2004


Lance Cpl. Gregory E. MacDonald 29 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve Washington, D.C. Killed when the light armored vehicle he was traveling in rolled over on June 25, 2003, in Iraq


Lance Cpl. Blake A. Magaoay 20 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Pearl City, Hawaii Died as a result of enemy action in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, on November 29, 2004


Lance Cpl. John J. Mattek Jr. 24 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force Stevens Point, Wisconsin Died on June 13, 2005, of wounds received in an explosion during combat operations against enemy forces in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, on June 8


Staff Sgt. Jorge A. Molina Bautista 37 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Rialto, California Died as a result of hostile action in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, on May 23, 2004


Sgt. Bryan J. Opskar 32 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force Princeton, Minnesota Killed when his vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb during combat operations near Ar Rutbah, Iraq, on July 23, 2005


Lance Cpl. Justin D. Reppuhn 20 Headquarters Company, 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Hemlock, Michigan Died as a result of enemy action in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, on November 11, 2004


Cpl. Scott M. Vincent 21 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force Bokoshe, Oklahoma Died due to hostile action in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, on April 30, 2004


Pfc. Nachez Washalanta 21 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Bryan, Oklahoma Died from injuries received due to hostile action in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, on August 21, 2004


Pfc. Rodricka A. Youmans 22 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force Allendale, South Carolina Died as a result of enemy action in Al Anbar Province

From the unit veterans' message board. Visit 1 of the Few for our story.