Saturday, June 24 2006 @ 04:05 PM EDT
Contributed by: River97
Views: 3,112
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www.stltoday.com -- A Marine who was a star athlete and prom king at Eureka High School and whose neighbors called him "a gem," was killed Thursday in Iraq.
The Pentagon confirmed Friday night that Cpl. Riley Baker, 22, of the Pacific area, was killed during combat operations in the Al Anbar province.

He had been assigned to the 3rd Battalion of the 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force out of Camp LeJeune, N.C.
Officials of the Rockwood School District said Friday that Baker's family had contacted his former coaches and teachers with news of his death.
"We are mourning the loss of one of our outstanding young men," said Kim Cranston, spokeswoman for Rockwood. "Our hearts go out to his family and the Eureka community."
Baker, son of Grier and Lisa Baker, graduated in 2002 from Eureka High. He was a state champion wrestler, having won his weight division in Class 3A in posting a 40-2 senior season. He was also an honorable mention All-Metro linebacker for the Wildcats football team.
On Friday, friends of the Bakers gathered at the family home on a wooded, ridgetop road four miles south of Pacific. They declined to talk to reporters.
Nearby residents Carl and Brigitte Jung called Riley Baker a good young man. "He was just a gem, a great kid," Brigitte Jung said. "He was always very polite, very respectful of his elders."
Another neighbor, Loretta Weitz, said she cried upon hearing the news. She said she thought of her grandson who had died in an auto accident in Texas last fall and said, "When young people die, it's not fair." |
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I would like to say thank you for your service and sacrifice for our Country. And to your family, I wish to extend my deepest sympathy.
Semper Fi Devil Dog!
A Fellow Marine;former member of 8th Marines