Marine memorial service at Camp Pendleton
A Marine pauses in front of an inverted rifle display at Camp Pendleton, where dog tags and empty boots on a wooden box symbolize the death of a fallen comrade. A memorial service Friday honored 25 troops from the 3rd Battalion, 5th Regiment, who were killed and more than 200 who were wounded during a seven-month campaign to drive the Taliban from the Sangin district of Afghanistan’s Helmand province.
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Marine Sgt. Maj. James Bushway salutes the battlefield crosses for the “Dark Horse” troops killed in Afghanistan. Although there was grieving at the memorial service, there also were expressions of pride in having accomplished a dangerous, deadly job. “These Marines did what Marines always do,” said Lt. Col. Jason Morris, the battalion commander. “They took the fight to the enemy and they won.”
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Surrounded by other Gold Star families whose loved ones have been killed while serving in the military, Jolene Cain holds her nephew Dominic Hernandez while she mourns for her brother, fallen Marine Cpl. Justin Cain, during the memorial service. Family members of the dead and wounded came from across the country.
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Wearing a tiny Marine Corps uniform, Tevan Lee Nguyen Jr., looks at the memorial to his father, Marine Cpl. Tevan Lee Nguyen, as he is held by Marine Cpl. Kenneth Foehl.
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A Marine fights back tears during the service. Many in the crowd -- Marines and family members -- wept openly as the Marines spoke of a special bond with the fallen. The battalion’s wounded were brought from military hospitals in Palo Alto, San Diego, Texas and Washington, D.C.
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Marines and family members mourn the fallen after the memorial service on a hilltop helicopter landing zone with a panoramic view of the green hills of the sprawling Camp Pendleton base.
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