Marine Staff Sgt. Charles Cartwright, 26, Oceanside; killed in combat
Ever since childhood, Charles Cartwright had wanted to be a Marine. He joined the service Sept. 10, 2001, soon after graduating from Walkersville High School near the town of Union Bridge, Md., where he grew up.
Cartwright, 26, who lived most recently in Oceanside, was killed in combat Nov. 7 in western Afghanistan’s Farah province, on the Iranian border. A reconnaissance scout, he was serving his fifth tour of duty.
In the weeks since his death, his friends and family have recounted his devotion to his family and country on a memorial Facebook page set up in his honor.
“He always has been and forever shall be the baby brother, the kid and the man I respect, love and cherish most in this world. My heart is broken, but I know he holds the half I’m searching for and I will get it back when we meet again,” his sister, Rebecca Ann Cartwright, wrote in a posting on the page.
Their father, H. Michael Cartwright, declined to comment on behalf of the family, and friends said the family had asked them not to speak with the media in the aftermath of Cartwright’s death.
More than 800 people have joined the young man’s memorial page, recalling childhood memories and posting pictures of his life. The photos show him at high school wrestling meets and proms as well as in desert fatigues, carrying a large weapon. There are also pictures of Cartwright’s wedding, showing him with his bride, Marissa, whom he married 11 months before he was killed.
Cartwright’s hometown, Union Bridge, is a close-knit rural town in western Maryland with fewer than 1,000 residents. It was hit hard by his death, and residents decorated the streets with yellow ribbons and American and Marine Corps flags, according to local media reports.
Hundreds attended his funeral, which was held at the local fire station, where his father is an assistant chief.
“One of the most important things in [Charles Cartwright’s] life was tradition, and so it is that Charlie followed in the footsteps of his grandfather, who was at Pearl Harbor, and his dad, who was an Army Ranger,” the Rev. Richard L. Michael of St. James Lutheran Church said during the funeral, according to a local newspaper, the Carroll Eagle.
During the funeral, the military posthumously awarded Cartwright his third Purple Heart and promoted him to staff sergeant.
In Oceanside, where Cartwright lived while he was stationed at Camp Pendleton, he learned to surf and ran a marathon. On Veterans Day, after his death, fellow surfers held a paddle-out ceremony for him near the famed San Onofre surf spots.
Cartwright was assigned to the 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion, Marine Corps Special Operations Command, and had previously completed three tours of duty in Iraq and one in Afghanistan.
In addition to his wife, father and sister, Cartwright is survived by his mother, Carol Ann Cartwright of Union Bridge.
Other survivors include his maternal grandmother, two uncles and their wives, and four cousins and their families, according to Hartzler Funeral Home in Union Bridge.
