Cpl. Henry W. Bogrette, 21, of Richville, N.Y., died while conducting combat operations in Anbar province in Iraq. He was assigned to Combat Logistics Battalion 6, 2nd Marine Corps Logistics Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Lejeune.

"He wanted a better life, and he chose the Marine Corps to do it with," his brother Jeffrey Bogrette, 19, said Monday from New York. "Now I feel the Marine Corps took that away from him."

Jeffrey Bogrette, who is a Marine based at Camp Pendleton, Calif., said their grandparents scraped and scrounged to keep food on the table for their household, which expanded to include the two boys after their father died. It meant luxuries and even necessities were sometimes sacrificed.

Henry Bogrette was known for his straightforward personality and his regard for his beloved Camaro. He also had a penchant for nice clothes and other fancy things. He saw the Marines as a way to attain everything he wanted.

"He wanted to get out of the Marines and get a job as a state trooper," Jeffrey Bogrette said.

Henry Bogrette graduated from Herman-DeKalb Central High School in DeKalb Junction, N.Y., in 2004 and enlisted in the Marine Corps in September of that year. According to officials with the 2nd Marine Corps Logistics Group, Bogrette joined his unit April 10, 2005.

Henry Bogrette was less than a month into his second tour of duty in Iraq when he was killed.

Jeffrey Bogrette said he looked up to his older brother, so much so that he joined the Marine Corps to follow in his footsteps. Jeffrey even named his first child after his brother.

Besides his brother, Henry Bogrette is survived by his grandmother, Joan Neuman of Richville, N.Y.; and three sisters, Susie Bogrette of South Carolina, Shannon Bogrette of Wichita, Kan., and Jackie Bogrette of Massena, N.Y.