Kaneohe Marine Pfc. Jake William Suter was in Afghanistan for only five days when he was killed Saturday—a year after graduating from a Southern California high school.

Suter, 18, died Saturday while supporting combat operations in Helmand province. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, which left Kaneohe Bay on May 15.

A member of Lima Company, Suter was the first fatality for the battalion since arriving in Afghanistan two weeks ago. This is the battalion's fifth combat tour since 2004, when it first was sent to Afghanistan.

It has served in Iraq three times. It was dubbed America's Battalion by Charles Krulak, later Marine commandant, when he led the unit in 1983.

Suter's father, Chris Unthank, said the family still has not gotten details surrounding his death.

Bob Vincent, principal of West Ranch High School, where Suter graduated in May 2009, said everyone at the high school in Santa Clarita County knew that his “;lifetime goal was to become a Marine.”;

He was the first graduate from the Los Angeles suburb school of 2,700 to die in Afghanistan.

Vincent said the school lowered its flags to half-staff on Tuesday and held a moment of silence to honor Suter.

A candlelight vigil was held last night on the street where Suter lived. A makeshift memorial with more than 50 American flags decorated the front yard.

Suter enlisted in the Marine Corps during his junior year when he was only 17, Vincent said, and began his training soon after graduating last year.

Vincent said that Suter revisited his high school after graduating from boot camp in September to visit his teachers and counselors.

“;We saw a change in him like none other,”; Vincent told the Star-Bulletin. “;He had grown up and changed so much when he became a Marine. It was a lifetime goal to become a Marine. He had changed so much.”;

Suter returned again three weeks ago before he was sent to Afghanistan.

Besides thanking Suter for his service, Vincent remembers telling the Marine, “;Please be careful.”;

The Marine Corps, football and writing were his main interests, Vincent added.

On Suter's Facebook page, the young Marine wrote, “;I am a Marine in more than just profession but in everything I am.”;

Petty Officer Chris Ayangco, on another Facebook entry, wrote that he was one of the Navy corpsmen who tried to help him.

“;I did all I could but it was too late,”; Ayangco wrote. “;I think about it every day and each time I think about it I can't stop crying on what else I could have done. ... I am truly sorry for your loss and I hope you can heal as time goes ... by. I'll still be out here in Afghanistan taking care of my Marines until we all come back home.”;

Suter's cousin Joseph Fowler told KABC TV in Los Angeles the two enlisted in the Marines at the same time, but Suter deployed to Afghanistan first. Fowler will be leaving for a tour of duty in about four months.

“;He gave his life for his country. If need be, I'll give my life for mine,”; Fowler told the television station.

A friend, Isabelle Soriano, added in the television interview, “;He was a good person. He was loved here. Everybody who met him never forgot him.”;

Unthank told the Santa Clarita Valley Signal that Suter was a history buff who turned down a chance to attend Brown University and was looking forward to his tour in Afghanistan.

“;He'd done some research on the Afghan people,”; Unthank told the newspaper. “;He was a very finicky eater as a child, yet he was very open to their food and actually loved it. He loved the language and the culture, and was very excited to go over and help. He knew he was going into a war zone but also felt like he was on a mission of peace—not to just go in there as military, but also to help the Afghan people do what they needed to do.

“;He was always very politically motivated and very into history. He was a born soldier. He wanted to go and serve his country.”;