Young Virginian ‘wanted to make a difference’

USA Today

Michael Lalush liked to tinker.

He could rebuild a lawn mower from a pile of bolts. He learned to weld and had a talent for woodworking. After he learned to drive, he rebuilt a 1965 Volkswagen Beetle so he’d have a car.

But as good as he was with his hands, he was better with his heart.

In a letter home from Iraq that his family received last week, the 23-year-old Marine sergeant from Troutville, Va., was effusive about his work as a Huey helicopter crewmember, helping evacuate wounded soldiers from the battlefield. “This is what it’s all about,” he wrote.

Lalush was one of three Marines killed in a helicopter accident Sunday, March 30, at a forward supply and refueling point in southern Iraq.

“He was a wonderful child,” his mother, Becky Lalush, said Tuesday. “He was going to be career military. He felt they were doing the right thing.”

Lalush graduated from Lord Botetourt High School in 1997 and immediately enlisted. He was most recently based at Camp Pendleton, near San Diego.

“Here was a young man who enjoyed what he did and was proud to be a soldier and wanted to make a difference with skills he had,” said Alan Brenner, the high school principal. “And he did.”

Lalush also played on the high school golf team and worked part-time at the Botetourt Country Club. Club pro Chris Rouse remembers Lalush getting excited over an ESPN SportsCenter video clip of a last-minute, length-of-the-court basket during one of his high school games. Lalush was on the bench, but the camera clearly catches him celebrating.

“He watched it over and over,” Rouse said. “It just hits me now how quick life is.”

Jonathan Lambert joined the Marine Corps in January 1995 and was assigned to the Headquarters Battalion of the 1st Marine Division since January 2001. He died at Lansdstulh hospital in Germany from injuries he received in a Humvee accident in southern Iraq.

His division was traveling by convoy from Baghdad to Kuwait to prepare to return to their home base in Camp Pendleton, Calif., when the May 26 accident occurred.

A 1993 Booneville High School graduate, Lambert worked in wireless data communications as a member of the 1st Marine Division.

In a message e-mailed to his hometown newspaper, The Banner-Independent of Booneville, Lambert had written: “I am hard and thorough with my Marines to make sure the job is done right. Many other Marines depend on us for their survival in combat. I will not let them down.”

Survivors include his wife, Betty; a 2-year-old daughter, Kinsey; and his parents, Becky and Johnny Lambert of Booneville, Miss.

— Associated Press

Capt. Andrew David La Mont was born at Andrews Air Force Base, where his father, James, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, was stationed. He was the youngest of nine children, and the only one to follow his father’s path into the military.

For him, flying was a passion. “(Andrew) died doing what he loved,” La Mont’s brother Thomas said. “There were many facets to Andrew, but flying was his one big love.”

La Mont, 31, of Eureka, Calif., was one of four Camp Pendleton Marines who died May 19 when their CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter went down in the Shatt al Hillah Canal shortly after takeoff. It had been on a resupply mission in support of civil-military operations.

La Mont served in Kosovo and was part of the helicopter detail that flew the first Marines into Afghanistan following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

On April 3, as U.S. forces prepared to enter Baghdad for the final stages of the war, KGO-AM in San Francisco broadcast a live interview with La Mont before he flew to Baghdad to help evacuate injured troops. “Hello to everyone in Eureka, Calif.,” La Mont said. “I look forward to coming back.

New York Marine killed in Iraq

Associated Press

CORNING, N.Y. — A 33-year-old Marine from upstate New York was killed by enemy fighters in Iraq on Wednesday, according to the Defense Department.

Gunnery Sgt. Shawn A. Lane, of Corning, died in Anbar province in western Iraq. He was assigned to Headquarters Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Pendleton, Calif.

His mother, Coralee Lane, told The (Corning, N.Y.) Leader that Lane had begun wearing his father’s Air Force hat as a child and had decided by the time he was 8 years old that he wanted to be a soldier.

He played high school football and baseball. His father, John Lane, said Shawn Lane studied electronics at BOCES, where he received top honors. Before graduating in June 1989, he looked into the branches of service, and the Marines were the quickest to return his calls.

He left in October for basic training at Paris Island, S.C. A year later, he began radio communications school at Twentynine Palms, Calif. He moved to Camp Pendleton, then shipped out to Saudi Arabia for Desert Storm in 1991. He was stationed in Okinawa, Japan, from 1992 to 1993.

Lane’s father said the young Marine graduated Marine Security Guard school, a training ground for FBI and CIA workers, with a score of 92.3, while more than half the 274 people who enrolled dropped out.

Shawn Lane shook hands with President George Bush while guarding the American Consulate in Hong Kong in 1993, and was honored for guarding the American Embassy in Bogota, Columbia. He also served in Bahrain for four months in 2002.

He spent 15 months in Iraq, beginning in February 2003, and returned there on Feb. 17, 2004.

Coralee Lane said her son had told her not to worry. He said, “It’s what I’ve trained to do. And if I don’t come back, I’ll know I did my duty.”

“They lost a good citizen and a good Marine. And we lost our baby,” his mother said.

Shawn Lane had 15 years of service and was five years shy of retirement. He leaves behind his wife of six years, Jennifer; a 4-year-old son, Jonathan; his parents; and his older sisters, Tina Sherman, of Campbell, and Darby Strumpeler, of Nebraska.

Moose Lake honors second Marine to die in Middle East

Associated Press

MOOSE LAKE, Minn. — A month after burying a fallen soldier, most of this town of 2,200 gathered again to say goodbye to another Marine killed in Iraq.

A funeral service was held Friday for Pfc. Moises (Moy) Langhorst, 19, who died April 5 from hostile fire near Fallujah. In early March, Pfc. Matt Milczark, who graduated from Moose Lake High in 2003 with Langhorst, died in a non-combat shooting in Kuwait.

Seven white-gloved Marines in crisp dress blues stepped carefully as they carried Langhorst’s flag-draped wooden casket from Holy Angels Catholic Church. The sharp cracks of the rifle salute echoed through the nearby woods and hills. Slowly and precisely, a Marine folded the flag on Langhorst’s casket and marched crisply around it to present the flag to the young man’s parents.

Langhorst’s father, George, a former Marine, saluted back at the flag presenter. Many who attended rushed away from the church to shed tears privately in their cars.

“I can’t talk right now. I’m just not there emotionally,” said Heather Dahlquist, a Moose Lake High senior who knew both soldiers.

Tim Zuk, a Moose Lake sophomore who played football with Langhorst, drew solace from remembering his friend’s sense of humor and his leadership on the gridiron.

Some who came to the funeral didn’t know Langhorst or his family. “I just came to honor his memory, to show that people are respectful of what he did,” said Scott Dahl of Duluth. “It’s sad. But his family should be proud.”

Connie Frerichs shook her head as she stood on a hillside overlooking the funeral crowd.

“This is too much for Moose Lake to handle,” she said. “This is the second one in a month. We’re too small of a community for this. Enough is enough.”

A sign outside Moose Lake High School read: “Moy, You will always be in our hearts.”

Langhorst also wrote a letter to his church before going to Iraq.

“I don’t feel the least bit nervous or concerned,” he wrote. “Between my good training and my faith in God, I have nothing to worry about. Keep praying for 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines and I’ll keep praying for good old Moose Lake. God willing, I’ll see you all this fall.”

Second Marine from Moose Lake area dies in Iraq war

Flags flew at half-staff at Moose Lake High School on March 7 for the second Marine from the school to die overseas in less than a month, and the second from the state to fall in as many days.

Moises Langhorst, 19, was killed in action on March 5 somewhere in the Fallujah-Ramadi area of Iraq, said the family’s pastor, the Rev. Larry Ladosser of St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church. He did not know further details, but the area is a Sunni Muslim stronghold where heavy fighting has killed at least 15 Marines since Monday.

Langhorst was the son of George and Judy Langhorst, of Moose Lake. George Langhorst declined to be interviewed by The Associated Press as of March 7.

“We’re not talking to the media at this time,” he said. “We’d like three or four more days to grieve.”

Moises Langhorst graduated in 2003 from Moose Lake High School, where he was active in sports, theater and music, and was a star on Moose Lake’s Knowledge Bowl team.

“He was a talented young man, that’s for sure,” Moose Lake school Superintendent Ted Caroline said. Langhorst and one teammate went to the state Knowledge Bowl six years in a row, competing against high schoolers even when they were in junior high, the superintendent recalled.

“The team was just phenomenal and he was a big reason,” Caroline said. “He was just a warehouse-full of knowledge.”

Last month, the body of Langhorst’s classmate, Pfc. Matthew G. Milczark, 18, of Kettle River, was found at a chapel in Kuwait. He died in a non-combat shooting, authorities have said.

Caroline said the two were good friends, had joined the Marines together and hoped to serve in the same unit.

Caroline said Langhorst’s death was hard on the students and staff, coming as it did so soon after Milczark’s, so they brought in substitute teachers.

“We kind of knew just from Matt’s death a month ago that it took a big toll on our teaching staff,” he said. “Especially the ones who have children who are about to enter the military.”

Counselors from other schools and local churches were brought in for the students.

“They were well-known kids,” he said of Langhorst and Milczark. “They were very visible and well liked, so it is hitting the kids hard here today. ... One is enough. To have another former student get killed — kids have a lot of questions. There’s no easy answers to give them.”

Flags were flying at half-staff across the town of about 2,230 people, about 40 miles southwest of Duluth in northeastern Minnesota.

Ladosser said the Langhorst family was doing well under the circumstances.

“They’re pretty solid Christian people,” he said. “They realize their son is with their Lord and savior. He was doing what he wanted to do.”

Funeral arrangements were pending as the family waited to hear when his body would be returned from Iraq, the pastor said.

The Defense Department did not immediately confirm Langhorst’s death.

News of Langhorst’s death came the day after the Defense Department announced that Marine Cpl. Tyler R. Fey, 22, of Eden Prairie, had been killed March 4 in Anbar province of Iraq.

Fey was assigned to the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force out of Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Langhorst, whose rank was not immediately available, was a member of the 1st Marine Division, 4th Marine Regiment, Second Battalion G Company based at Camp Pendleton.

Including Langhorst and Fey, six Minnesota troops have now been killed in combat in Iraq.

Langhorst and Fey were honored at the Legislature on Wednesday.

“Our thoughts, our prayers in the Minnesota Senate and the people of Minnesota, are with these families at a very difficult time in their life,” Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson, DFL-Willmar, said in a floor speech. “We want the families to know that we support them, the members of the Senate.”

Johnson, a Lutheran minister, is a chaplain and brigadier general in the Minnesota National Guard.

He asked that the Senate stand for a moment of silence “to recognize these two heroes from Minnesota who lost their lives while serving our country.”

— Associated Press

Kentucky Marine killed in Iraq

Associated Press

LEXINGTON, Ky. — A 20-year-old Marine from Lexington was killed in action in Iraq over the weekend, military officials said Monday.

Lance Cpl. Sean M. Langley died Sunday in Iraq’s Anbar province, according to the Department of Defense.

Langley’s parents are both police officers in Lexington, said Judy Rittenhouse, the spokeswoman for the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Lexington, where Langley’s father, Bill Langley, is the assistant chief of police service.

Langley’s mother, Patricia, works for the Lexington police department, Rittenhouse said. Langley’s father said his son wanted eventually to become a police officer.

Sean Langley enlisted in the Marine Corps on the Saturday after the Sept. 11 attacks, his father said.

He was in his second tour in Iraq, Rittenhouse said.

Langley’s family said the Marine was fearless.

“A group of friends once sprayed pepper spray in his face just to prove he could take it,” said Susan Langley, his stepmother. “I made him stand in the shower for 45 minutes. He was a rascal but was very loving.”

In Iraq, he went on reconnaissance missions in armored Humvees, searching for the enemy, Bill Langley said.

Sean’s brother, Matt Langley, 19, recalled a game he and his brother used to play several years ago.

“He and I would dress up in fatigues and we would try to find each other in the woods,” he said. “He knew even then (he wanted to join the Marines).”

Langley and his father were pictured in May 2003 in a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs newsletter, as part of a story about the children of department employees who were serving in the military in Iraq.

Langley was a member of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force based at Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Langley was born Aug. 2, 1984, in Great Falls, Mont., and moved to Lexington with his family in 1994, his brother said. He attended Blue Grass Baptist, Lexington Catholic and Henry Clay high schools.

“He was a wonderful son and I am endlessly proud of him,” Bill Langley said.

Sean Langley is also survived by his stepbrother, John T. Hannon; his grandfather, Robert Heinz, and his wife, Sonia; his grandmother, Maureen Young, and her husband, Ron; and a step-grandmother, Mary Hanson.

Schwarzenegger saddened by Pendleton Marine’s death

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger expressed condolences Tuesday for a Camp Pendleton-based Marine from Kentucky who was killed this week while fighting in Iraq.

Lance Cpl. Sean M. Langley, 20, from Lexington, Ky., was killed in action on Sunday in Iraq’s Anbar province, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.

“Maria and I are saddened to learn of Lance Cpl. Langley’s death. His service to our country was honorable and his efforts in the war against terrorism were valiant,” the governor said in a statement. “We extend our solemn gratitude to Sean’s family and friends and the community of Lexington.”

Flags at the capitol in Sacramento will be flown at half-staff in his honor.

Langley was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force.

— Associated Press

Arizonan killed in Iraq weekend violence

By Michelle Roberts
Associated Press

PHOENIX — A Hawaii-based Marine who gave up an academic scholarship to join the military because he was so moved by the events of Sept. 11 was among eight killed in Saturday’s violent attack in Iraq.

Cpl. Christopher J. Lapka, 22, had been in Iraq for only two weeks when the attack occurred, said his mother, Tina Lapka, on Monday. Saturday’s casualties, caused by a car bomb detonated near a truck, were the most for the U.S. military in a single day in nearly six months. Nine other Marines were injured.

Lapka, of Peoria, Ariz., had been anxious to go to Iraq, his mother said.

“He was a Marine. That’s all he was. He was dedicated to the Marine Corps. This is what he wanted to do,” Tina Lapka said.

He enlisted on Sept. 17, 2001, waiting until Thanksgiving to tell his parents that he was quitting school to become a Marine. He reported for military duty the following January after he completed his third semester at Arizona State University, where he had been a dean’s list civil engineering student.

“Sept. 11 affected him so bad he felt it was his duty to join the Marine Corps,” Tina Lapka said.

Her son had never spoken of joining the Marine Corps before, so his parents were shocked. But, Tina Lapka said, they were very proud of him.

Lapka — called “C.J.” by his mother — was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division of the III Marine Expeditionary Force in Hawaii.

The Hawaii assignment upset him because “they weren’t facing any action,” Tina Lapka said.

He refrained, however, from telling him family details of his duties. “I think he didn’t want me to worry,” his mother said.

She missed a call from Iraq from him on Friday but had recently gotten an e-mail and a letter.

His one request: that she send care packages for six of his friends who weren’t getting packages like the ones she sent bearing homemade chocolate chip cookies.

In addition to his mother, Lapka is survived by his father, Ken Lapka, and his 18-year-old sister, Michelle.

Funeral arrangements were pending.

Marine one of 10 killed in crash off African coast

VILLA RICA, Ga. — When Ada Large opened the door to her home late Friday night, there were half a dozen men in military uniforms standing there, including two chaplains.

It had to be bad news.

“It seemed like 100 people were on my porch when I opened the door that night,” Large said. “When I opened the door, you can imagine how I felt to see that. I was speechless.”

The men were there to tell her that her son, Lance Cpl. Sam Large Jr., was one of 10 military personnel killed when a pair of Marine helicopters crashed off the eastern coast of Africa.

Large, 21, was aboard one of the choppers that crashed in the Gulf of Aden, near the northern coastal town of Ras Siyyan.

““It’s never expected,” his mother told The Times-Georgian of Carrollton. “He was in a non-hostile country and we thought he was pretty safe, and this has really come as a shock to us.”

Large was deployed to Djibouti as part of the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, with the mission of fighting terrorism in nine countries in northern Africa as well as in Yemen.

When he enlisted as a student at Villa Rica High School, his mother at first refused to sign. He was only 17.

Large finally won out by telling his mother that he was going to enlist eventually anyway, and at that point he had the opportunity to get the job in the Marines that he really wanted.

“A recruiter came to the high school, and he wanted to join,” Ada Large said. “At the time he was 17, and I did not want to sign for him. We waited awhile and I was hoping he wouldn’t and change his mind, but he persisted.

“One evening when the recruiter was here, he begged me to sign the papers so he would be guaranteed the job he wanted,” she said. “At that point, what could I do? So I signed for him.”

The 2003 Villa Rica graduate left at the end of the summer for a five-year enlistment.

“He enjoyed what he did,” his mother said. “He was hoping to get a job when he got out working with aircraft, because he was a crew chief. He was in charge of the maintenance, inside and out, and he was in charge with whether they went up or not.

“He knew how to completely take them apart and put them back together, so he was hoping to find something around here that he could do with civilian aircraft.”

Large left a wife, Whitney, 18, of Carrollton and their 9-month-old son, Tyler. They were married just before Christmas in 2004.

He also is survived by two sisters, Samantha Large of Phenix City, Ala., and Courtney Large, a student at Villa Rica High.

— Associated Press

Wheaton Marine dies in Iraq

Associated Press

WHEATON, Ill. — A 19-year-old DuPage County Marine was killed by hostile fire around the Iraqi city of Fallujah, where U.S. troops have mounted an offensive against insurgents, his grandfather said.

Patrick O’Sullivan said his grandson, Lance Cpl. Nicholas Larson, always wanted to be a career Marine, enlisting even before he graduated from high school last year.

O’Sullivan said the military came to Larson’s Wheaton home Wednesday to tell the family he had died, but could provide no more information about his death.

Larson was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines based in California and had been in Iraq since June.

“He was doing what he wanted to do. He was a Marine — and a good one,” said O’Sullivan, a World War II veteran and village clerk in the Chicago suburb of Hillside. “The best we can do for Nick is pray for him and pray for his buddies that they get out safe.”

O’Sullivan said he communicated with Larson through e-mail and had last heard from him about a week ago. In the e-mail, Larson said he was doing OK and was safe.

Larson is survived by his mother, father and younger sister, O’Sullivan said.

The question wasn't what Jeffrey D. Lawrence did. It was what he didn't do. "He did some modeling. He tried out for commercials. He was in a lot of plays at Palo Verde. He liked bull riding. He liked all sports. He was very involved," said his mother, Pataki Lawrence. Jeffrey Lawrence, 22, of Tucson, Ariz., died July 6 when his armored vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive outside Fallujah, Iraq. He had been stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C. His family learned of the news just as they prepared to celebrate the birth of his first child. The baby, a girl, was named Cadence Freedom. "He had the biggest heart of anybody I had ever known. He was a good brother, a good friend, a good son, good husband and I know he would have been a good daddy," said his mother. "This wasn't supposed to happen." Lawrence also is survived by his wife, Celeste, and father, Daniel.

— Associated Press

Travis J. Layfield was a history buff who used to watch films on World War II on the History Channel as a boy. His grandfather was a Navy Seabee, which may have influenced his decision to join the Navy ROTC in high school. He enlisted in the Marine Corps right after high school graduation. Lance Cpl. Layfield, 19, of Fremont, Calif., was killed April 6 during a battle in Iraq’s Anbar province. He was based at Camp Pendleton, Calif. Layfield had been enthusiastic about going to Iraq. "He always said he was excited to go," said Layfield's cousin Ashley Mills, 19. "But you could see in his face he was a little scared ... He always assured us he was ready to go and that he would come back." "He thought this would be his career, the Marines," said his sister, Tiffany Bolton, 31. "We were very proud of him." Other survivors include his parents, Diane Bolton Layfield and John Layfield.

— Associated Press

Posthumous citizenship granted to Marine killed in Iraq

By Brett Zongker
Associated Press

ARLINGTON, Va. — He was born in Vietnam and came to America at age 6. After growing up in northern Virginia, he joined the Marines even though he was not a U.S. citizen.

Cpl. Binh Le became an American on Thursday, but he could not attend the citizenship ceremony held in the shadow of the Pentagon. Last month, he was buried nearby in Arlington National Cemetery, the victim of a truck bomb in Iraq during a voluntary second tour of duty there.

Le, 20, grabbed his rifle when the truck packed with explosives attacked his military post Dec. 3. He had run to a position to fire on the driver and hold back the vehicle when it exploded. His commanding officer recommended him for a Silver Star.

“His final act of bravery saved the lives of others,” Capt. Christopher J. Curtain wrote in a letter read at the ceremony. “I will be forever grateful for his heroism.”

An estimated 37,000 citizens of other countries serve in the U.S. armed forces. Since the Iraq war began, 54 have been awarded posthumous citizenship.

Le was raised by his aunt and uncle in Alexandria, Va. His parents, Lien Van Tran and Kim Hoan Thi Nguyen, traveled from Vietnam for his funeral. They are divorced but would like to remain in the United States to be close to their son’s grave, Nguyen said.

“There’s no way to describe the pain,” she said.

Rep. James P. Moran, D-Va., said he is working to offer citizenship to Le’s parents, which could require congressional action.

“I think this is a compelling enough case that we can get a single bill for citizenship for his parents,” Moran said. “They certainly deserve it.”

Tran said they didn’t have a problem with their son enlisting in the Marine Corps, but they wanted him to have time to attend college.

“His main concern was to join the military so that he could help protect the country he loved so much,” Tran said.

Marine from Pana killed in Iraq

Associated Press

PANA, Ill. — A 28-year-old Marine was killed as a result of a non-combat vehicle accident in Rutbah, Iraq, the Department of Defense announced Sept. 25.

Second Lt. Ryan Leduc of Pana was killed Sept. 24 when the Humvee he was riding in crashed, throwing him out and landing on top of him, according to his father, David Leduc.

Ryan Leduc, a graduate of Pana High School and Southern Illinois University, was assigned to the Second Battalion, 10th Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Leduc graduated from Southern Illinois in May 2002 with a degree in aircraft engineering with the intent of pursuing a career in commercial aircraft maintenance, according to his father. However, his goal was stymied by the downturn in the airline industry.

He joined the Marines in January 2003.

David Leduc said his son, who he described as easygoing and always smiling, was not motivated by the Sept. 11 terror attacks to join the Marines, adding it was just an opportunity that presented itself.

“When he became a Marine, he knew that it was what he was looking for,” Leduc said. “He loved his job. He believed in the mission and he knew the risks, and still felt it was the right thing to do.”

Leduc said his son was engaged to be married to a woman he met at Southern Illinois.

In addition to his father, Leduc is survived by his mother, Nola Hector, brothers Dennis Radcliff, Kyle Hector, Matthew Leduc, and sisters Katie Hector and Hannah Leduc.

Macomb County Marine dies in Iraq

Associated Press

WARREN, Mich. — A Marine from the Detroit area has been killed in Iraq’s Anbar province, the military said Wednesday.

Staff Sgt. Jason A. Lehto, 31, of Warren died Tuesday in what the Defense Department described as a non-hostile incident.

“We are very sad that he is gone,” Lehto’s sister, Angela Krug of Clinton Township, told The Macomb Daily of Mount Clemens.

Lehto was assigned to the Marine Forces Reserve’s Marine Wing Support Group 47, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing, based in Macomb County’s Harrison Township. The military originally identified Lehto as being from Mount Clemens.

Lehto enlisted in the Marines after graduating from Clintondale High School in Clinton Township in 1992. He served on active duty until 1996, when he joined the reserves.

Before leaving for Iraq in August, Lehto worked as a service technician for SBC Communications in Trenton, his family said.

He was trained by the military to defuse anything from a pipe bomb to an atom bomb, said his stepfather, Chuck Walsh.

“He was an outstanding young man who loved his family,” Walsh told The Detroit News for a Thursday story. “He was gung-ho military and gung-ho American.”

The family preferred to keep the details of his death private, but Walsh called it a “total accident” during a routine mission. “Unfortunately something just went off,” he said.

Left behind are Lehto’s wife, Michele Lehto, and sons Nathan, 11, Joseph, 3, and Joshua, 2.

Joseph and Joshua are “too little to comprehend. They have no idea,” Michele Lehto, 31, told the Detroit Free Press as she stood outside the family’s small tan home trimmed with Christmas lights.

The house was the first the Lehtos bought as a married couple. A small swing set sits in the backyard. Above the garage in bold letters is the Marine Corps motto, “Semper Fi.”

Three hours before his death, Lehto and his wife happened to access their e-mail accounts at the same time and exchanged messages. He wrote about a house he had found online that was closer to his job in Trenton.

“He told me he found the perfect house for us to move into when he got home” in March, Michele Lehto said.

Two Marines killed in Iraq fighting

ROSSFORD, Ohio — An Ohio Marine serving his second tour of duty in Iraq was killed by a roadside bomb along with another member of his unit, the military said Tuesday.

Sgt. David Christoff Jr., 25, of Rossford, and Lance Cpl. William Leusink, 21, of Maurice, Iowa, died in fighting in Al Anbar province, according to the Defense Department.

Christoff’s grandmother, Ann Christoff, said military officials came to the family’s home in this Toledo suburb around noon Monday with word that Christoff had been killed Sunday while on patrol.

Christoff and Leusink were assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Kaneohe, Hawaii.

Christoff graduated in 1999 from Shawnee High School near Springfield in western Ohio, where his mother, Amy, and stepfather live.

He left the University of Toledo and enlisted in the Marines the day after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, his grandmother said.

“He was very smart and got good grades and worked his way up to sergeant very quickly in the Marines,” she said. “He was so sure that that was what he was supposed to be and that was what he was supposed to be doing.

“He thought as long as the Marines were over there fighting we could all sleep good at home.”

An only child who was single and loved golf, Christoff hoped for a career in law enforcement, though he had re-enlisted and was serving his second tour in Iraq, his grandmother said.

— Associated Press

Marine believed serving his country was his calling

SIOUX CITY, Iowa — A 21-year-old Marine from Sioux Center has died after a bomb exploded in Iraq, according to a funeral home handling his burial arrangements.

Lance Cpl. William Leusink was hit in Haqlaniyah — northwest of Baghdad — and died Monday in a nearby hospital. He had served a tour of duty in Afghanistan before heading to Iraq, according to a release from Memorial Funeral Home in Sioux Center.

Leusink grew up on his parents’ rural Maurice farm and graduated from Sioux Center High School in 2003. He married his wife two years ago and also leaves behind his parents, a brother and two sisters.

Wayne Sneller, the reverend at the First Reformed Church in Maurice, said Leusink had always hoped to be a Marine and did not want anyone to question his decision to serve.

“He was what I would call patriotic — believed in his country, believed in what he was doing,” Sneller said.

“He always said, ‘If something happened to me, this is what’s supposed to happen. I’m doing what I’ve been called to do.”’

Funeral services are pending.

—

Associated Press / Information from: Sioux City Journal

Bush honors fallen Marine's family at Miss. graduation

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

President Bush singled out graduating family members of a fallen Marine today during a commencement address in Biloxi, Miss., on May 11. He then met with families of troops killed in the war on terror to thank them for their sacrifice.

Traveling to Mississippi for graduation ceremonies at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, which was pummeled during Hurricane Katrina, Bush took time to praise the mother and brother of Marine Sgt. Donnie Leo F. Levens.

Levens, 25, of Long Beach, Miss., was among eight Marines and two airmen killed Feb. 17, when two CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters crashed in northern Djibouti. "His Marine unit was fighting terrorists near the Horn of Africa," the president said during his address today at the Gulf Coast Coliseum.

Margaret and Matt Levens carried pictures of the fallen Marine as they accepted their diplomas, the president noted.

"Margaret says Donnie's courage inspired her to complete her studies," he told about 150 graduating students and their guests. "She said, 'I've never been a quitter. Donnie was never a quitter either. He had a job to do, and he did it well. I am graduating for him today.'"

"America honors the service of Donnie Levens," Bush said. "And we honor the strength and sacrifice of our military families."

During his address, Bush praised the strong military community in Biloxi and recognized students who earned their degree while serving the United States in uniform.

He also praised the resilience of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College's students and faculty who reopened the school just 17 days after Hurricane Katrina left the college and region devastated.

Bush issued a challenge to all the 2006 graduating class, urging them to become part of one of the world's largest rebuilding efforts. "It's going to take time for that vision to be realized, and it will demand the skill and knowledge and character of all of you," he said. "But you can leave this college with confidence in your future and with certainty that you're not going to work alone."

After the address, Bush met with families of fallen troops in an event closed to the media.

Modesto Marine had childhood dreams of being a soldier

MODESTO, Calif. — A Marine who yearned as a little boy to be a soldier was killed in Iraq when a suicide bomber drove a truck filled with explosives into a building he was guarding.

Lance Cpl. Bunny Long, 22, died Friday near Fallujah.

Long wanted to be a soldier and begged for an Army uniform when he was 6 years old, said his brother, Bunna Long, 31.

“We always felt like we needed to give something back for all the things we’ve received,” he said.

Bunny Long, who was born in the United States and graduated from Modesto High School in 2002, was the son of immigrants who arrived here after their first son starved in a Cambodian labor camp in the mid-1970s.

Sim Long, 60, and Yen Chea, 51, left Cambodia with three children after years of war and hardship in their country.

“Life was really hard for them,” said their daughter, Sokha Long, 26. “To have gone through all that and to be able to come to this country, and now my brother passes away.”

— Associated Press

Camp Lejeune-based Marine killed by suicide bomber in Iraq

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — A California Marine based at Camp Lejeune was killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq last week, the Pentagon said.

Lance Cpl. Bunny Long, 22, of Modesto, Calif., died Friday when vehicle-borne bomb carried by a suicide driver exploded in the violent Anbar province of Iraq. The U.S. military in Iraq reported Friday that a Marine died in a car bombing in Fallujah, which is in Anbar province.

Long was a motor vehicle operator who joined the Marine Corps in July 2004, said Lt. Barry Edwards, a spokesman for the 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune. Long was assigned to Headquarters Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, the Defense Department said.

— Associated Press

Texas Marine killed in Iraq fighting

Associated Press

INGLESIDE, Texas — A Marine from the Coastal Bend was killed last weekend in fighting in Iraq, the Defense Department said Tuesday.

Lance Cpl. Hilario F. Lopez of Ingleside was among eight Marines killed Sunday in Iraq’s Anbar province, which includes Fallujah.

Lopez’s death came two days after his 22nd birthday.

No more details were provided by the military about circumstances of Lopez’s death, which was the 117th reported for troops from Texas since the Iraq war began in March 2003.

Timothy Flores, Lopez’s older half-brother, said Marine officials told the family that Lopez and six other Marines were ambushed at a security point.

Flores, 23, told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times that his stepfather, Jimmy Lopez, woke him up in tears over the weekend to tell him someone had killed his son “like a dog in the street.”

Flores said Lopez had told him conditions were bad in Iraq.

“He had seen many of his friends die over there,” Flores said. “He told me he thought he wouldn’t make it back home.”

Lopez liked to fish, take motors apart and spend time with his father, Flores said.

“He and my dad were very close,” Flores said. “They’d do everything together. I guess it was because he was the baby of the family.”

Georgia Marine killed in Iraq ambush

Associated Press

DALTON, Ga. — A 22-year-old Georgia man was among four Marines killed Monday in Iraq during fighting in Anbar province.

Lance Cpl. Juan Lopez, of Dalton, was killed in an ambush in Ramadi, west of Baghdad. The Pentagon officially announced his death on Thursday.

About 80 people attended a memorial service for Lopez on Tuesday at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Dalton.

“He was a good boy, always smiling,” said Alan Long, principal of Southeast Whitfield High School, where Lopez was a student and member of the soccer team. “He was one of those guys who did what he was supposed to do. I never knew what kind of Marine he was, but I’m sure he was a good one.”

Family members said it was unclear whether Lopez’s remains will be returned to Dalton or to Mexico, where his wife, mother and sisters live.

Lopez was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Marine from California dies at Army hospital

Associated Press

SAN ANTONIO — A Marine from California died at a military hospital here last week from injuries sustained in the fighting in Iraq, the Defense Department said Tuesday.

Lance Cpl. Hugo R. Lopezlopez, 20, of La Habra, Calif., died Friday at Brooke Army Medical Center from wounds sustained Nov. 20 when an improvised explosive device detonated near him in Rawah, Iraq.

Lopezlopez was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, based at Camp Pendleton, Calif.