Bomb kills isle Marine on second combat tour
Staff and news service reports
A 21-year-old Texas native is the latest Kaneohe-based Marine killed in Iraq.
The Department of Defense said Lance Cpl. Stephen Morris of Lake Jackson, Texas, died Sunday of wounds suffered while conducting combat operations in al-Anbar province.
Morris was a mortarman assigned to 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, at Kaneohe.
Morris was driving a Humvee when an improvised explosive device went off near his vehicle, killing him instantly, said Staff Sgt. Thomas Bennett, the casualty assistance calls officer who broke the news to Morris' parents in Texas Sunday.
Bennett said the explosion injured other people in Morris' vehicle.
"When we talked on the phone, he would ask me to pray for him because he knew Hummers were targets," said his father, Lloyd Morris. "When I talked to him on Saturday, he told me someone else was driving the Hummer."
Morris was an avid surfer who planned to return to Hawaii after his enlistment to be with his girlfriend, go to school and surf, Lloyd Morris said.
He was also a faithful Christian who evangelized fellow Marines.
"He led a number of fellow soldiers to the Lord while he was in Iraq," said his father, a retired prison chaplain. "He believed his calling was to go into the military to teach other soldiers about Jesus."
Stephen Morris joined the Marine Corps in June 2004, after graduating from Brazoswood High School, and reported to Kaneohe in November.
He deployed to Afghanistan with the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, from May 2005 to January 2006. He deployed to Iraq in September.
His awards include the Purple Heart, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and two Sea Service Deployment Ribbons.
He is survived by parents Lloyd and Anna Morris, sisters Kristin Cochran and Kathryn Morris, and brother Jonathan Morris, all of Lake Jackson.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.