THE WAR IN IRAQ
Kaneohe Marine is killed in Al Anbar
Lance Cpl. James Chamroeun is the fourth isle Marine killed this month
A 20-year-old Kaneohe Marine who died Thursday was the seventh Hawaii-based serviceman to be killed in Iraq this month.
Lance Cpl. James Chamroeun of Union City, Ga., died of wounds received in combat operations in Al Anbar province, according to a Marine announcement yesterday. He was a radio operator with the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment.
He was the fourth Kaneohe Marine killed this month and the second member of the 2nd Battalion to die in combat this week.
The unit recently arrived in Iraq to replace the 3rd Battalion, also based at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, which suffered 11 combat deaths during its seven-month deployment in Iraq.
Chamroeun joined the Marines in July 2004 and had been in Hawaii since February 2005. He was stationed in Afghanistan with the 2nd Battalion, which returned in January from an eight-month deployment there. He has been awarded a Purple Heart and other service medals.
His death came two days after that of Pfc. Christopher Riviere, 21, of Cooper City, Fla., who died of wounds received on patrol in Al Anbar. He was a rifleman with the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment.
The September death toll also included:
» Sept. 6: Army Pfc. Jeremy R. Shank, 18, of Jackson, Mo., with the 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, based at Schofield Barracks, was killed while on patrol near Balad.
» Sept. 14: Lance Cpl. Ryan A. Miller, 19, of Pearland, Texas, died in combat operations in Al Anbar. He was with the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment.
» Sept. 20: Marine Cpl. Yull Estrada Rodriguez, 21, of Alegre Lajas, Puerto Rico, died during combat operations in Al Anbar. He was also with the Kaneohe-based 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment.
» Sept. 23: Two Schofield-based soldiers were killed by a homemade bomb exploding near their Humvee in Riyadh. Sgt. Velton Locklear III, 29, of Lacey, Wash., and Pfc. Kenneth E. Kincaid IV, 25, of Lilburn, Ga., were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment.