Thursday, April 06 2006 @ 04:33 AM EDT
Contributed by: River97
Views: 619
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 www.pittsburghlive.com -- A Westmoreland County man who would have marked his 10th anniversary in the Marines in September has died in fighting in Iraq.
Staff Sgt. Eric A. McIntosh, 29, of Trafford, was killed Sunday by enemy action in the al Anbar province of Iraq, the Defense Department announced Wednesday.
Two other Marines and a Navy medic were killed in the same battle. A second Pennsylvania Marine -- Lance Cpl. Jacob W. Beisel, 21, of Lackawaxen, Pike County -- died Friday from wounds sustained in fighting in the same area.
All five were assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
The Defense Department has yet to release further details of the battles, and a Marine spokesman for McIntosh's unit also declined further comment.
McIntosh moved from Indianapolis to Trafford in 1994. He attended Penn Trafford High School -- where he was known as "Dilly" -- and graduated in 1996.
One former classmate, Mike Ference, 28, of Trafford, said he remembers McIntosh as a fun-loving teen who enjoyed playing pick-up basketball games after school. Ference said McIntosh's classmates were surprised when he joined the Marines in September 1996, but they soon knew he made the right decision.
"When he came back from boot camp, you could tell he was born to be a Marine," Ference said.
Marine spokesman 1st Lt. Barry Edwards told The Associated Press that McIntosh was an infantry unit leader.
In 2004, McIntosh spent three months in Haiti as part of a task force that conducted more than 3,000 patrols and helped Haitian police confiscate 106 illegal firearms and arrest 166 militants, according to a 2004 Marine Corps news release. |
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I would like to say thank you for your service and sacrifice for our Country-not just in OIF, but for your service in Haiti as well. And to your family, I wish to extend my deepest sympathy.
Semper Fi Devil Dog!