Dennis O’Brien, 35; Reporter Covered Iraq War for the Virginian-Pilot

Dennis O’Brien, who spent more than five months covering the Iraq war for the Virginian-Pilot, has died, the newspaper reported. He was 35.

O’Brien died Saturday in Norfolk, Va., the newspaper said. The cause of death was not disclosed.

O’Brien, whose articles from the battlefield were reprinted in newspapers across the nation, was among the first journalists to accompany and cover troops sent to Iraq.

The heart of his work came while embedded with Charlie Company of the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion of the 2nd Marine Division, based at Camp Lejeune, N.C., among the first units in Iraq at the start of fighting.

Although he had served with the Marines in the 1991 Persian Gulf War, his assignment had been as an air wing mechanic. O’Brien wrote that he had experienced his first taste of combat as a reporter.

O’Brien received more than 3,000 e-mails and letters -- many from families of those serving in the war zone -- thanking him for his efforts.

A native of New Jersey, O’Brien served in the Marines from 1987 to 1992. After the war, he attended the University of Delaware on the G.I. Bill. He went on to journalism school at the University of Maryland.

After a year with the Chicago Tribune, O’Brien joined the Daily Press in Newport News, Va., in 1997. He went to the Virginian-Pilot in July 2000 as a business writer and joined the paper’s military team in late 2001.

He is survived by his wife and 2-year-old daughter.