Three of the seven Kaneohe Marines who died Saturday in Iraq were:
Lance Cpl. Jeremy D. Bow, 20, of Lemoore, Calif. Cpl. Christopher J. Lapka, 22, of Peoria, Ariz. Lance Cpl. Travis A. Fox, 25, of Cowpens, S.C. The four other Kaneohe Marines killed were Lance Cpl. John T. Byrd II, 23, of Fairview, W.Va.; Pfc. John Lukac, 19, of Las Vegas; Pfc. Andrew G. Riedel, 19, of Northglenn, Colo.; and Lance Cpl. Michael P. Scarborough, 28, of Washington, Ga. All seven were from the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Expeditionary Force at Marine Corps Base Hawaii. Also killed was Sgt. Kelley L. Courtney, 28, of Macon, Ga., assigned to the III Marine Expeditionary Force's 3rd Intelligence Battalion on Okinawa.
7 isle Marines killed
in Iraq
They are among eight who are slain
in a suicide attack on a convoy
near Fallujah
Seven Kaneohe Marines were among eight confirmed killed when a suicide bomber rammed their convoy southwest of Fallujah Saturday in what has been described as one of the bloodiest days for U.S. forces in Iraq.
Col. Jeff Patterson, who commands 3,000 Marines with the 3rd Marine Regiment, confirmed last night the deaths of the eight Marines, all of whom were from the mainland. The seven from Kaneohe were part of a contingent of 900 Marines who just arrived in Iraq a couple of weeks ago.
Patterson, speaking to reporters at the Kaneohe base, also said that 10 Kaneohe Marines in the attack were injured, but he expects them to return to duty.
However, a father of one of the dead Marines said that he was told by a military official that two more Marines died yesterday from wounds suffered in the attack.
Gov. Linda Lingle offered condolences for the families. "These soldiers showed tremendous courage and patriotism," she said. "The Kaneohe Marines were part of our extended family here in Hawaii, and the entire state mourns their loss."
Patterson said Saturday's deaths and injuries were the most suffered by Kaneohe Marines since the 1991 Gulf War. Hawaii's death toll from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is now 33.
Patterson, who also has a son who is a Marine, said the tragedy brought the war home to those who live on the Kaneohe Marine base.
"It's very difficult," Patterson said, "but I will tell you that every Marine when he signs up knows what he is signing up for. ... For the people on this base, this is (the) first time it has hit home how serious this war is and how hard the fight over there is. However, it hardens the resolve."
Speaking from his home in Georgia, D. Michael Scarborough said his son, Lance Cpl. Michael P. Scarborough, 28, of Washington, Ga., was one of the Kaneohe Marines who died. He said he was told two more Marines died yesterday. All of the casualties were members of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment.
Patterson said he could not confirm Scarborough's information, and said he could talk only about the casualties whose names were released by the Pentagon.
Besides Scarborough, the Pentagon released the names of Lance Cpl. Jeremy D. Bow, 20, of Lemoore, Calif.; Lance Cpl. Travis A. Fox, 25, of Cowpens, S.C.; Cpl. Christopher J. Lapka, 22, of Peoria, Ariz.; Lance Cpl. John T. Byrd II, 23, of Fairview, W.Va.; Pfc. Andrew G. Riedel, 19, of Northglenn, Colo.; and Pfc. John Lukac, 19, of Las Vegas. Also killed was Sgt. Kelley L. Courtney, 28, of Macon, Ga., who was assigned to the III Marine Expeditionary Force's 3rd Intelligence Battalion in Okinawa, Japan.
The 1st Battalion will conduct a memorial service for the eight Marines in Iraq today. At Kaneohe a memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Monday in the base chapel.
The Marines released the following information on the latest casualties:
» Lukac became a Marine in August 2003 and came to Kaneohe in February.
» Riedel enlisted in the Marine Corps in September 2003 and was assigned to Kaneohe in March. He was single.
» Bow, who also was single, signed up in August 2003 and came to Kaneohe in February as a machine gunner.
» Byrd became a Marine in January 2001 and was assigned to 1st Battalion in June 2002. He is survived by his wife and parents. His wife is expecting a child.
» Fox became a Marine in May 2002 and was sent to Kaneohe in October 2002.
Fox's survivors include a wife, Casie, and parents. According to the Spartanburg (S.C.) Herald-Journal, Fox was married in June in Hawaii and loved being a Marine. "That's all he talked about," his mother, Cheryl, told the paper.
» Lapka came to Hawaii in October 2002 after joining the Marine Corps in January 2002. He was single.
Lapka's mother told the Associated Press in Arizona that the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks motivated her son to enlist. "Sept. 11 affected him so bad that he felt it was his duty to join the Marines," she said. She added that he was initially upset when he was assigned to Hawaii "because they weren't facing any action."
The elder Scarborough said the last time he talked to his son was 10 days ago. "He said that he was in the worst place in the world and that we should pray for him and what we were doing."
He said a Marine Corps spokesman told him that "an SUV loaded with bombs hit two trucks in a convoy. One truck -- the one my son was in -- was hit directly and exploded immediately. There were a lot of Marines wounded in the second truck."
Scarborough said his son "joined the Marines late, when he was 25, and was near the end of his four-year agreement. He had planned to get out and try to get into security work, using what he had been taught by the Marines.
"But he loved the Marines. It was something he always dreamed of doing."
Scarborough said he has another son, Adam, who is a sailor on the destroyer USS Cushing. Michael P. Scarborough was single, and his only other survivor is his mother, Phyllis.
The 1st Battalion was assigned to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Force. The unit arrived in Iraq for a seven-month deployment in mid-October. While the 2nd Battalion remains at Kaneohe, the 3rd Battalion will leave within the next two weeks for seven months in Afghanistan.
On Oct. 24, Kaneohe Marines suffered their first casualty when Lance Cpl. Richard P. Slocum, 19, of Saugus, Calif., was killed in a Humvee accident near Abu Ghraib.
Funeral services for Slocum will be held today at Grace Baptist Church in Santa Clarita, Calif. Burial will be at Eternal Valley Cemetery in Newhall.
Deaths rattle remaining
Kaneohe Marines
A line of Kaneohe Marines extended out of a formal-wear shop in Aikahi Shopping Center yesterday, attempting to get their dress uniforms pressed in time for their November formals.
But after receiving word that at least seven of their own were killed in Fallujah during the weekend, neither Marines nor their family members were looking forward to celebrating anything.
"It was just horrible," said D.J. Harris, wife of Gunnery Sgt. Rob Harris and mother of three children, ages 4 to 11. "To think that many from one spot were killed ... it's a blow to anybody."
Harris said she does not think her husband, a helicopter mechanic, will be deployed to the Middle East soon. Others were not so certain.
"Kind of a scary feeling because we might be the next to go over there," said one infantryman who only identified himself as being with the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. Seven of the Marines who were reported killed on Saturday were with the 1st Battalion. "What can I say? It was shocking. ... We've got a formal to go to, and that's why we're all here, because the cleaners on base are all booked.
"But nobody really feels like they're in the mood for a party."
Many Kaneohe Marines waiting to drop their clothes off at Nady's Bridal Design were only willing to speak anonymously.
"It happens. It's war," said one Marine. "You can't invade another country without loss.
"I've lost seven (other) friends in Iraq, good friends from school, who I knew their parents and everything," he said.
Another Marine added: "You do your job and go there and do your best. ... We're not complaining. ... The Army has suffered bigger losses than we have."
All seven Marines were killed in a suicide bomb attack outside Fallujah during what a Department of Defense press release described as "increased security operations in Al Anbar province."
