Grieving Begins for Marines Killed in Gulf : Casualties: For families of 11 from Southland bases, a painful wait gives way to mourning and memories.

The cruel suspense ended for families and comrades Thursday as the names of 11 young Marines who are among America’s first combat dead of the Gulf War reached their homes in hamlets and cities across the nation.

From the military bases of Camp Pendleton and Twentynine Palms in Southern California--where all 11 had been stationed--to their hometowns in tiny places such as Wood Lake, Minn., and giant ones, such as New York City, the unbearable wait ended and the grieving began.

The Marine Corps confirmed the identities of the Marines killed two days earlier during the first in a series of four Iraqi ground attacks Tuesday night and Wednesday morning along the Saudi Arabian border.

At Camp Pendleton, where 23-year-old Cpl. Stephen E. Bentzlin lived, his widow, Carol, recalled talking to him only last week. “Perhaps he had a premonition of this tragedy, because he wanted to talk about the details, should he not return,” she said in a statement read by Marine officials.

“He tried to prepare me for this,” said Bentzlin, who has three young children. “He said, ‘Somebody’s gonna get hurt, Babe.’ But I didn’t think it would be Steve.”

In Bountiful, Utah, James T. Stephenson, a former Marine who served in Vietnam, choked with emotion while telling how President Bush had just telephoned to express his sorrow over the death of his son, Lance Cpl. Dion J. Stephenson, 22.

“He offered his condolences,” said Stephenson. “I told him that we’re 100% behind him. The President was definitely affected when I talked to him. He’s a good man. He’s my President.

“I want it to be known that my son’s death was not in vain.”

Across the country, families and friends recounted touching details about the men they had lost and sought fitting tributes for them.

Lance Cpl. Thomas A. Jenkins, 21, of Coulterville, Calif., of the 1st Combat Engineers at Camp Pendleton, had been a search and rescue volunteer in civilian life. In his honor, a flag at Yosemite National Park was lowered to half-staff.

Lance Cpl. Michael E. Linderman Jr., 19, of Douglas, Ore., served with the 3rd Light Armored Infantry Battalion at Twentynine Palms near Barstow in San Bernardino County. Friends remembered that he had surprised his music teachers by entering the military.

Lance Cpl. David T. Snyder, 22, of Kenmore, N.Y., with the 1st Light Armored Infantry Battalion at Camp Pendleton, had wanted to be a Marine since he was a child, his mother remembered.

Pfc. Scott A. Schroeder, 20, of the suburban Milwaukee community of Wauwatosa, who belonged to the 3rd Light Armored Infantry Battalion from Twentynine Palms, was remembered fondly by friends as a man with a ready smile.

Lance Cpl. Daniel B. Walker, 20, of Whitehouse, Tex., was with the 1st Armored Infantry Battalion, Camp Pendleton. His father, Bruce Nolan Walker, said, “Daniel was proud to be a Marine. He and I both feel like Saddam Hussein is a madman. I think (my son) died bravely and proudly.”

Not all the Marines were steeped in the tradition of the corps. Cpl. Ismael Cotto, 27, who joined three years ago and was also in the 1st Light Armored Infantry Battalion, disliked the service from the beginning, according to family members.

His family back in the Bronx begged him not to go to the Middle East. “The only one who wanted him to go was George Bush,” said his brother, Carlos. Cotto lived with his wife, Christine, and their 3-year-old daughter, Chrissie, in Oceanside.

Little information was immediately available on the other casualties whose names were among those released by the Defense Department late Thursday.

They are:

Lance Cpl. Frank C. Allen, 22, of Wianae, Hawaii, with the 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment from Camp Pendleton.

Lance Cpl. James H. Lumpkins, 22, of New Richmond, Ohio, with the 3rd Light Armored Infantry Battalion, Twentynine Palms.

Sgt. Garett A. Mongrella, 25, of Belvidere, N.J., with the 3rd Light Armored Infantry based at Twentynine Palms.

Marine Capt. Michael C. Berryman, for whom no hometown was given, has not been accounted for and was officially listed as missing in action after his aircraft was shot down.

It will take time for the Marines’ bodies to be returned home for final resting places determined by their families.

And it will take time for reports to filter back from the battlefield about how, when, and exactly where they died.

No matter the circumstances, the deaths will forever sear the hearts of loved ones and other members of the Marine Corps brotherhood.

“The mood around here is somber,” said Camp Pendleton spokeswoman Capt. Rose-Ann Sgrignoli, whose voice was strong but whose hands were trembling as she read the statement written by Carol Bentzlin, whose husband, Stephen, fought with the 1st Battalion 9th Marines.

Bentzlin said: “At the moment, I am unable to speak personally to the media and hope you understand my situation. I am grief-stricken over losing Steve. I knew it was a possibility, but I hoped and prayed he wouldn’t be hurt.

“Steve loved his country and was proud to serve it. He loved what he was doing and I hope his death contributes in some way to our freedom here,” she said.

“I loved my husband with all my heart and soul. It’s going to be terrible for our three children and myself. But we’ll make it, because that’s what Steve would expect. We have lots of family and friends here who are helping.”

Her statement concluded: “Good night, Steve. I miss you. I love you. You’re a hero.”

The message was virtually the same in Kenmore, N.Y., near Buffalo, where Theresa Snyder sadly recalled that her son, David, “was just an average American kid. He was a kid with a great sense of humor. He wasn’t a great athlete, but if heart counted for anything, he would have been the all-star.”

She said, “From the time he was 12, he knew he was going to be a Marine.” She said her two other sons have no plans to enter the military.

The news of David’s death was brought to her door at 1 a.m. Thursday morning by Capt. David Elwing, an inspector-instructor at the Naval Marine Corps Reserve Center in Buffalo.

Elwing and a first sergeant were invited in. Mrs. Snyder sat on the couch, her husband standing beside her.

“They took the news very, very well,” Elwing said. “There was apprehension that went to controlled tears. But both of them held up extremely well.”

Near Coulterville, the hometown of Lance Cpl. Jenkins, an unusual honor was tendered at Yosemite National Park, where the park service lowered the American flag.

Park spokeswoman Marla LaCass said, “Typically, when we lower the flag to half-staff, it is in recognition of the passing away of a federal employee such as a congressman or a park ranger.

“In this case,” she said, “the whole county wants to show respect for this young man, and we are part of the county.”

Little could be immediately learned about Schroeder, who was graduated from Wauwatosa East High School in 1989. Principal Thomas Kneusel said, “What I remember about him was his nice smile . . . he was always smiling.”

Schroeder’s name will be the 88th on a plaque listing students who died while serving in the military.

The father of Lance Cpl. Dion Stephenson, who was telephoned by the President, talked stoically of his son’s career, and said another son, Shaun, is a Marine lance corporal. A third son is 10.

James Stephenson said he did not necessarily encourage his two elder sons to enter the Marines, but the family has a long military history.

“It’s something we believe in, to serve our country, to love it,” said Stephenson. “My eldest son said he wanted to liberate Kuwait, not from the standpoint of wanting to be in combat, but for the sake of the people, especially the children.”

Times staff writers Paul Feldman, John Glionna, Kevin Johnson, Eric Lichtblau and Louis Sahagun contributed to this report.

COULTERVILLE’S SORROW: Residents of the tiny Sierra mining town mourn the loss of Tommy Jenkins. A19

MARINE CASUALTIES

The Pentagon identified these Marines as killed in action:

Lance Cpl. James H. Lumpkins, 22, New Richmond, Ohio

Lance Cpl. David T. Snyder, 21, Erie, N.Y.

Lance Cpl. Michael E. Linderman Jr., 19, Douglas, Ore.

Lance Cpl. Thomas A. Jenkins, 21, Coulterville, Calif.

Pfc. Dion J. Stephenson, 22, Bountiful, Utah

Cpl. Stephen E. Bentzlin, 23, Wood Lake, Minn.

Not Pictured:

Lance Cpl. Frank C. Allen, 22, Wianae, Hawaii

Cpl. Ismael Cotto, 27, New York, N.Y.

Lance Cpl. Daniel B. Walker, 20, Whitehouse, Tex.

Sgt. Garett A. Mongrella, 25, Belvidere, N.J.

Pfc. Scott Schroeder, 20, Wauwatosa, Wis.