Marine Lance Cpl. David M. Branning, who was raised by pacifist parents in
the Baltimore area, was named by the Pentagon yesterday as the 16th Marylander
to die in the fighting in Iraq.
Branning, 21, who attended Waldorf School and Carver Center for Arts and Technology and graduated in 2001 from Dulaney High School, was killed Friday by enemy action in the fight for the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah, the Pentagon said.
The Cockeysville resident was a member of the Hawaii-based 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force. Word of his death was delivered Friday by two Marines who visited his father, Daniel C. Branning, at his home in Albuquerque, N.M., a family member said.
"When you lose your 21- year-old son, your only son, I don't think he expected that to happen," said David L. Branning, a cousin who lives in Annapolis. "So when I talked to him, he was pretty devastated."
For the Branning family, it was further heartache. Daniel Branning's first wife -- the mother of his two children -- died of breast cancer in the early 1990s.
"He is getting eaten up inside," said his second wife, Tia Steele of Govans. "It is that helplessness. I think it is going to wear on him."
Family members said they were surprised when David Branning joined the Marines in 2002.
His parents were pacifists, and he had not shown any interest in the military, Steele said. Branning explained that he wanted to see the world and earn money for college, she said, adding that he had been using his free time to read literature, including War and Peace and Atlas Shrugged.
"He wanted to know what was beyond here," she said. "He was also interested in the discipline. He was testing the self. We honored his decision. We weren't happy, but we didn't want to not support him."
When Branning finished basic training at Camp Lejeune, N.C., his first post was Hawaii, where he picked up hobbies including surfing, sky-diving and rock climbing. Back home, his family was optimistic that he might avoid combat, Steele said. But that was not to be.
The last time Steele talked to her stepson, she said, he couldn't tell her exactly where he was, but hinted well enough that it was understood. A reporter with National Public Radio was traveling with his battalion and the family would listen to her reports for news of Branning.
"We knew he was going into Fallujah," Steele said.
Branning was born in Philadelphia and spent his childhood in Baltimore's Mount Washington neighborhood. He moved with his family to Cockeysville as a teenager.
A talented sketch artist, Branning spent two years at Carver, but transferred to Dulaney High in order to participate in a work-study program with a job at the Oregon Grille restaurant in Hunt Valley.
During his last two years of high school, Branning attended classes and worked at Oregon Grille, a restaurant in Hunt Valley. He started out as a dishwasher but worked his way up to line chef.
"He was really good at it and he liked working there," Steele said. "He loved the pace, the demands of the job."
Branning was the second Marylander killed in Iraq in as many days. On Thursday, Army Spc. Thomas K. Doerflinger, 20, of Silver Spring died in Mosul when his unit came under small-arms fire.
"People have to understand that these are babies who are getting killed," Steele said. "David was just a boy. He was 21 years old. He thought he was a man, but you know, they are just kids. ... I want people to question why this is even necessary."
Branning's body will be sent to Yellow Springs, Ohio, where his sister, Annie Branning, 25 and an aspiring actor, lives. His father is moving there to be closer to his daughter, Steele said.
A memorial service in the Baltimore area was being planned for Dec. 4, at a location yet to be set, Steele said.
Branning, 21, who attended Waldorf School and Carver Center for Arts and Technology and graduated in 2001 from Dulaney High School, was killed Friday by enemy action in the fight for the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah, the Pentagon said.
The Cockeysville resident was a member of the Hawaii-based 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force. Word of his death was delivered Friday by two Marines who visited his father, Daniel C. Branning, at his home in Albuquerque, N.M., a family member said.
"When you lose your 21- year-old son, your only son, I don't think he expected that to happen," said David L. Branning, a cousin who lives in Annapolis. "So when I talked to him, he was pretty devastated."
For the Branning family, it was further heartache. Daniel Branning's first wife -- the mother of his two children -- died of breast cancer in the early 1990s.
"He is getting eaten up inside," said his second wife, Tia Steele of Govans. "It is that helplessness. I think it is going to wear on him."
Family members said they were surprised when David Branning joined the Marines in 2002.
His parents were pacifists, and he had not shown any interest in the military, Steele said. Branning explained that he wanted to see the world and earn money for college, she said, adding that he had been using his free time to read literature, including War and Peace and Atlas Shrugged.
"He wanted to know what was beyond here," she said. "He was also interested in the discipline. He was testing the self. We honored his decision. We weren't happy, but we didn't want to not support him."
When Branning finished basic training at Camp Lejeune, N.C., his first post was Hawaii, where he picked up hobbies including surfing, sky-diving and rock climbing. Back home, his family was optimistic that he might avoid combat, Steele said. But that was not to be.
The last time Steele talked to her stepson, she said, he couldn't tell her exactly where he was, but hinted well enough that it was understood. A reporter with National Public Radio was traveling with his battalion and the family would listen to her reports for news of Branning.
"We knew he was going into Fallujah," Steele said.
Branning was born in Philadelphia and spent his childhood in Baltimore's Mount Washington neighborhood. He moved with his family to Cockeysville as a teenager.
A talented sketch artist, Branning spent two years at Carver, but transferred to Dulaney High in order to participate in a work-study program with a job at the Oregon Grille restaurant in Hunt Valley.
During his last two years of high school, Branning attended classes and worked at Oregon Grille, a restaurant in Hunt Valley. He started out as a dishwasher but worked his way up to line chef.
"He was really good at it and he liked working there," Steele said. "He loved the pace, the demands of the job."
Branning was the second Marylander killed in Iraq in as many days. On Thursday, Army Spc. Thomas K. Doerflinger, 20, of Silver Spring died in Mosul when his unit came under small-arms fire.
"People have to understand that these are babies who are getting killed," Steele said. "David was just a boy. He was 21 years old. He thought he was a man, but you know, they are just kids. ... I want people to question why this is even necessary."
Branning's body will be sent to Yellow Springs, Ohio, where his sister, Annie Branning, 25 and an aspiring actor, lives. His father is moving there to be closer to his daughter, Steele said.
A memorial service in the Baltimore area was being planned for Dec. 4, at a location yet to be set, Steele said.
