United State Marine Corps League

This page is dedicated to the Marines from the State of Connecticut who gave all for their nation during war on terror, We make a promise to all who view this page, that we will get the names of them all. Never forget these young men who gave all so you can live in peace, surrounded by your freedoms that these Marines gave to you. Please remember them, don't let them become just name or face on some wall.

WAR ON TERROR 2002-2009

"And when he goes, to Saint Peter he will tell, another Marine reporting Sir, I severed my time in Hell

A Empathy left on a piece of cardboard left my a unknown Marine on the Island of Guadalcanal.

Marine Staff Sgt. Phillip A. Jordan, age 42, of Enfield, Ct, March 6, 2002: Iraq

Marine Staff Sgt. Phillip A. Jordan, 42, of Enfield, Conn. assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; killed in action near Nasiriyah, Iraq.

His buddies called him “Gump.”

Staff Sgt. Phillip Jordan was so nice to so many people that his pals couldn’t resist comparing him to the movie character, Forrest Gump. He was the kind of guy who really did help little old ladies across the street. “He was the nicest guy you could hope to meet. The nicest,” said his wife, Amanda Jordan, from her home in Enfield, Conn., near Hartford. “His entire life was his family and the Marines.

”The Jordans marked their ninth wedding anniversary last Wednesday. Amanda Jordan said she last spoke to her husband 10 days ago in a phone call from Kuwait. He said he called because he knew that the onset of war would keep him from calling on the actual date.The Jordans have a 6-year-old son, Tyler. “He’s having a really tough time with this,” she said.

He loved the Marines. He said that’s what made him what he is,” his wife said. “If he were here, he’d say he died doing what he was supposed to be doing.” Jordan, 42, grew up near Houston and claimed Brazoria, Texas, as his hometown. But he didn’t have much of a childhood. His mother was killed by a drunken driver when he was a toddler. His father died of heart failure when he was 13. At 6-3 and a buff 230 pounds, Jordan was a standout high school football player. He remained avid about sports and was a good enough bowler that he talked about turning pro after leaving the Marines.Jordan joined the Marines when he was 27, after a battle with Hodgkin’s disease.

Marine Cpl. Kemaphoon A. Chanawongse, age 22, of Waterford, Ct. March 23, 2003: Iraq

Marine Cpl. Kemaphoom A. Chanawongse, age 22, of Waterford, Conn.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; killed near Nasiriyah on March 23. He was listed as missing until April 14, when the Defense Department announced his remains had been identified.

Kemaphoom Chanawongse, known to his friends as “Ahn,” came to the United States from Thailand when he was 9. He grew up in Waterford, Conn., with his mother and stepfather, played youth soccer and graduated in 1999 from Waterford High School.

Chanawongse was one of the first casualties of the war. He was listed as missing March 23 during fierce fighting near the Iraqi town of Nasiriyah. For weeks, his parents and friends held out hope that he would be among the missing who would come home. More than 200 people attended a candlelight vigil and prayed for his safety.

Their hopes died when three Marines and a chaplain visited the flag-draped home of his mother and stepfather, Tam and Paul Patchem. to tell them their son’s remains had been identified.

“Everybody in the community had been praying for his safe return. But it was simply was not to be,” said Rep. Rob Simmons, R-Conn., who stayed in close constant touch with the family. “I spoke to them this morning, and his stepfather said that Ahn is now at peace. They were holding out hope, but over the past week-to-ten days they were beginning to realize that the chances of finding him alive were diminished.”

Chanawongse had always wanted to be a Marine, his family said. His grandfather was a military man in Thailand.

Marine Cpl. Kevin J. Dempsey, age 23, of Monroe, Ct. November 13, 2004: Iraq

Marine Cpl. Kevin J. Dempsey, 23, of Monroe, Conn.; assigned to 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; killed Nov. 13 by enemy action in Anbar Province, Iraq.

To the Marine Corps, he was Cpl. Kevin J. Dempsey of Monroe, Conn. To a lot of people in the state that now mourns his death, he was Jack.

Jack the wrestler. Jack the football player. Jack the New Canaan High School graduate. Jack, who enlisted with the Marines not long after 9/11.

Kevin "Jack" Dempsey, 23, died Saturday in an explosion in Al Anbar Province in Iraq - the latest in a list of troops killed this month in that province, where the U.S. has been waging an all-out assault on the remaining insurgents in Fallujah. The Department of Defense says at least 38 U.S. troops have died and almost 300 have been wounded in the occupation of the city west of Baghdad.

Dempsey was in the 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, attached to the II Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

The day after Dempsey died, Army Gen. John Abizaid, commander of U.S. forces in the war, spoke with troops in Fallujah, saying that the city was under control. He said the last few pockets of insurgents were being pursued, and they would be knocked out to the last man.

That brand of tough dialogue matches the tough, dedicated Marine that friends describe Dempsey as being.

"He just loved the Marines to death," said Wayne Hildebrand, a friend who wrestled on the same team as Dempsey, the New Canaan Rams.

Marine Lance Cpl. Lawrence R. Philippon, age 22, of Hartford, Ct. May 8, 2005: Iraq

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — Marine Lance Cpl. Lawrence R. Philippon, age 22, of Hartford, Conn. assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; killed May 8 by enemy small-arms fire while conducting combat operations in the vicinity of Qa’im, Iraq. As a member of the Marine Corps Color Guard, Lance Cpl. Lawrence Philippon carried the flag at the funeral for President Reagan.

But his heart was in Iraq, where he was killed Sunday by small-arms fire. His father said his son had asked to be assigned to the front lines.

“He’d been begging them for a while. Even though he enjoyed the color guard, he really wanted to be in Iraq. That is where it is all happening,” Ray Philippon said.

Philippon and his wife, Leesa, learned Sunday that their son had been killed. It was Mother’s Day and their 24th wedding anniversary.

The 22-year-old Marine was also engaged to be married in December to Olivia Lawrence.

“I never thought in any dream that I would first of all be marrying someone in the military, let alone sending someone off to war that just didn’t come back,” Lawrence said.

The Pentagon said early Tuesday that he was killed by small-arms fire Sunday during combat near Al Qa’im, Iraq. He was assigned to the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell on Tuesday ordered state flags flown at half-staff until Philippon is buried.

“We are all indebted to him for his service, and reminded of the sacrifices made by a great many men and women serving in our armed forces,” Rell said in a statement. “I know the people of Connecticut join with me in sending our sincerest condolences to his family.”

Philippon, a former hockey player at Conard High School, is the 24th military member from Connecticut to be killed in Iraq or Afghanistan since March 2002.

Philippon’s parents said they plan to bury their son at Arlington National Cemetery.

Marine Sgt. David Coullard, age 32, of Glastonbury, Ct. August 1, 2005: Iraq

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. — On Sunday, Marine Sgt. David Coullard sent his mother an e-mail from Iraq, letting her know he was safe.

Like every e-mail he sent her, it was brief. But it also had recent photos that his mother had been asking him to send. In one, the 32-year-old Glastonbury native is in front of bright blue water with a fellow Marine. In another, he’s posing in the desert with his weapon.

“Love you,” he ended the note, adding that his time was almost up on the computer.

On Monday, Anita Dziedzic found out her son was killed in Iraq. He was the 28th service member with Connecticut ties to be killed in Iraq or Afghanistan since March 2002.

Military officials said Coullard, a sniper in the Ohio-based 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines, and five comrades were engaged by terrorists and killed by small-arms fire in Haditha, which U.S. authorities say is a major entry point into Iraq for insurgents.

“My son had a job to do, that he volunteered to do,” his mother said Wednesday during an interview in the living room of her East Hartford home. “He was a Marine. He was a professional. He was a hero. He is a hero.”

Coullard entered the Marines about 10 years ago as a reservist. Though he’d been sent around the world to Parris Island, Norway, the Swiss Alps, Panama, Japan, the Philippines and other places, he was determined to serve in combat, his family said. So on Christmas Day, after waiting years for active duty, he told his family that he volunteered to go to Iraq.

“I personally think he just wanted to be in battle,” said his stepfather, Greg Dziedzic. “I think he wanted to do what he was trained for.”

Coullard grew up in Glastonbury and graduated from Glastonbury High, where he played soccer. He was quiet, and from the time he was about 9 years old he talked about joining the Marines, his mother said.

After a brief stint at Manchester Community College, that’s exactly what he did. He threw himself into it completely, his family said, going to every function, studying intensely and loving to wear his dress uniform.

“If the floor shine was missing, we knew David had buffed his shoes with it,” Anita Dziedzic said laughing.

About a month ago, he was injured on duty when he was shot in the buttocks, his mother said. He quickly returned to duty, but bravely told her every detail of the injury during a cell phone call while she was at work, she said. In e-mails, he also told his family he believed his men were doing good work, and that some of it had made the news.

“I kind of was amazed at his professionalism,” his mother said.

Anita Dziedzic raised her only son as a single mother, and said she felt compelled to do things with him that a father would do. So she took him to target practice, and took a hunting course with him. He became a skilled hunter, so skilled that you could put him in the woods with nothing and he’d survive, his family said.

One time, she said, he told a friend he was spending Father’s Day with his mother, because she was the one who had always been there for him.

He loved hunting deer and boar, and frequently left deer hanging in the garage, his mother said. But he was also careful, making sure only to kill what can be eaten, and never leaving an animal injured in the woods. Once, his mother said, he spent a whole day trying to find a deer he’d hit who got away.

“He tracked a deer for 24 hours to make sure it was down,” she said. “He tracked that thing all over Glastonbury.”

As word spread of Coullard’s death Wednesday, the phone rang constantly at his mother and stepfather’s home. His body arrived Wednesday at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, and his family expected him to return home early next week. A funeral was being planned at St. Paul Roman Catholic Church in Glastonbury.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell ordered all state flags to be lowered to half-staff until sundown on the day of the Marine’s burial.

“We owe Sgt. Coullard a debt of gratitude for so selflessly taking such a heroic path in the service of our country,” she said. “The sacrifice Sgt. Coullard made for each and every one of us is immeasurable, and I ask that everyone pause to consider his loss and appreciate his courage and bravery.”

Killed with Coullard were Sgt. Nathaniel S. Rock of Toronto, Ohio; Cpl. Jeffrey A. Boskovitch of North Royalton, Ohio; Lance Cpl. Brian P. Montgomery, whose wife lives in Mentor, Ohio; Lance Cpl. Daniel N. Deyarmin of Tallmadge, Ohio; and Lance Cpl. Roger D. Castleberry Jr., whose wife lives in Cedar Park, Texas, the Marines said.

Coullard was working on studying for the next phase of his heating and air conditioning licenses, but if he had been asked to return to active duty again he probably would have, his mother said. Recently, United Local 777, Plumbers & Pipefitters, HVAC&R, selected him for an attitude award named in memory of another fallen serviceman.

Anita Dziedzic cried at moments on Wednesday. In others, she told stories of her son, trying to honor his life with dignity. When his death becomes too much to handle, she said, she remembers the words her son told her when her mother died years ago.

“He said, ‘Mom, you’re going to be OK,”’ she recalled. “So I guess I’ve told myself that all through this. That I’m going to be OK. I’m going to be OK.”

Marine Capt. Brian S. Letendre, Age 24 of New Britain, Ct May 3, 2006 in Iraq

For Marine Capt. Brian S. Letendre, New Britain was one community among many he lived in during his six-year career in the military. But for those in Connecticut who knew the Virginia native, he was not simply passing through.

They described a friendly man who developed strong connections in the area in a short time. And they were saddened to hear of Letendre's death in combat in Iraq on Wednesday.

Letendre, 27, lived in New Britain with his wife, Autumn, and 3-year-old son, Dillon, for about 18 months while he was assigned to the Marine Reserve unit in Plainville.

Marco Villa and Beatriz Vazquez bought the Letendre's' Pendleton Road house six months ago.

"He was super, a great guy. He loved his job, and he took great pride in it," said Villa.

They said the Letendres sold the house because he anticipated being sent to Iraq soon, and his wife wanted to stay with her family in Indiana while he was overseas.

Military officials said Letendre's wife and son are still living in Indiana; they could not be reached on Friday. Vazquez said Autumn Letendre worked as a teacher in the Farmington schools while they were living in New Britain.

The military said Letendre was killed in Iraq's Al Anbar province. His family said in a statement from Virginia on Friday that Letendre was serving his second tour in Iraq and had volunteered to train Iraqi troops.

"He was as good as they come - we're all very proud of him," said Bill Bann, a friend of Letendre's family.

The family said Letendre could have left the Marines but wanted to stay.

"He felt a call to something much greater than himself at an early age and followed his heart to where he felt he could help make this world a better place," Letendre's family said in the statement.

Letendre joined the Marines in 2000. He was part of the force that invaded Iraq in 2003 and won the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal for valor during the fighting then, according to a biography that Letendre's family released.

After returning from Iraq, Letendre was assigned to be the inspector-instructor for Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 25th Marines, a Marine Reserve unit headquartered in Plainville. His job there was working with the unit's members to make sure they were ready for deployment. When the Plainville unit was called up recently for its first Iraq duty, Letendre went over, too.

Laura Carlin is a member of the United Methodist Church in West Hartford and met the Letendres when they joined the church. She also baby-sat for Dillon.

Carlin said she was particularly impressed at how well Letendre worked with the families of Marines from Connecticut who were killed in action. She said part of his job was to inform the families and help with burial arrangements.

"Brian was a very kind, compassionate young man who loved his country, his family and served his men and their families honorably during their worst times," Carlin said. "He was only 27, but he was responsible and handled his job to the utmost. He firmly believed that this was what he was supposed to be doing and that his men needed him."

But as committed as he was to the military, Letendre was also accepting of differing views about the war in Iraq, Carlin said.

Charlie Company is part of the battalion known as "New England's Own" and is stationed in Fallujah under the command of Maj. Vaughn Ward. Many of the Marines with the unit concentrate on security in the city, but Letendre worked with Iraqi forces.

"He was one of the transition teams that worked with and dealt with Iraqi units," said Lt. Col. Gerald Larghe, who was assigned to take overthe Plainville Reserve Center after Letendre left. "His job was to train the Iraqi army units."

Larghe said he had been on the phone with the captain a few days ago as Letendre called to check in, "making sure everything was working right." So when Larghe heard Letendre had been killed Wednesday, he said, "It was a shock."

Letendre arrived in Plainville about two years ago. He was promoted to captain last year, and his record included two combat action ribbons, a commendation medal, and now a Purple Heart. According to the Marine Corps, Letendre had volunteered for the mission to teach infantry tactics to Iraqi recruits.

Meanwhile, Marines from Plainville were handling the duty they call "casualty assistance" for the family of Cpl. Stephen R. Bixler, 20, of Suffield, an active-duty Marine from a different unit who also died in Al Anbar province

Marine Cpl. Steven R. Bixler, age 20 of Suffield, Ct. May 4, 2006 in: Iraq

“Corporal Bixler was a vibrant, active man,” said Lieutenant Colonel James M. Bright, the battalion’s commander. “He died fearlessly leading and willingly sacrificing his own safety for those around him.”

Bixler was Boy Scout as a child, attaining the rank of Eagle Scout. He attended Suffield High School in Hartford, Conn., where he ran cross-country and indoor and outdoor track. He graduated in 2003 and joined the Marine Corps.

He graduated recruit training from M Company, 3rd Battalion, Recruit Training Regiment, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina. He completed the School of Infantry and was assigned the infantry military occupational specialty.

He was later assigned to 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment and deployed to Haiti and Iraq.

“Along the way, he became a noncommissioned officer, a leader of Marines,” Bright said. Later, he volunteered to join 2nd Recon Bn. He passed the screening and was awaiting eye surgery before attending the Basic Reconnaissance Course, when the battalion was searching for leaders to fill the ranks of the Provisional Rifle Platoon. He, once again, volunteered.

“He was exactly that type of Marine we were looking for,” Bright explained.

Bixler’s platoon commander, First Lieutenant Nicholas J. Lodestro, said his first impressions of the Marine was he was “loyal, knowledgeable and dedicated.”

“He was a warrior I felt comfortable to serve with,” said 26-year-old Lodestro from Jamestown, New York. “He was the man in front protecting us. He was a dedicated, unselfish, charismatic warrior."

Sergeant Mike C. Phelan, a 22-year-old fellow Recon Marine from Seyreville, New Jersey, said Bixler had several nicknames from “Scuba Steve” to “Smelly Steve.”

“They were all terms of endearment,” Phelan said. “There were two Steve’s. There was the quiet leader … and the other – loud, surfing, lady-chasing.”

Phelan described Bixler as man with a great sense of humor, but profound insight.

“He used to say when it rains, it’s not the atmosphere changing,” Phelan recalled. “But God crying for us and what we’re about to do.”

The short, quiet ceremony was marked by Bible verses and prayers honoring Bixler. Corporal Jeffrey D. Sullivan, a 22-year-old from Annapolis, Maryland, assigned to 2nd Recon Bn.’s A Company, played “Amazing Graze” on the bagpipes.

Final Roll was called and three times, Corporal. Stephen R. Bixler’s name was called only to be answered by silence. “Taps” followed in a final farewell.

“He was a loving son and brother, devoted friend … Marine,” Bright said. “No more could be asked of any man. When final roll is called and Stephen no longer answers, Steven’s still here. He’s emblazoned on our hearts.”

Bixler’s awards include the Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon with gold star in lieu of second award, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon with bronze star in lieu of second award.

Bixler is survived by his parents, Richard and Linda Bixler.

Marine Cpl. Xhacob Latorre, Age 21 of Waterbury, Ct., died December 8, 2009 : Afghanistan.

The DoD says Cpl. LaTorre died Dec. 8th "of wounds sustained while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan."

LaTorre graduated from Crosby High school in 2005. His family still lives in Waterbury.

"I know the city of Waterbury will rally in support of the family and for his dedicated service," said Mayor Michael Jarjura (D-Waterbury).

LaTorre leaves behind a wife and son.

In a statement posted on Facebook, Cpl. LaTorre's sister said "Thank you so much for loving Xhacob and for the time you all shared with him. He was unique and will always be with us."

Cpl. LaTorre was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force out of Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Waterbury lowered the flag over City Hall to half staff in Cpl. LaTorre's honor.

Gov. Jodi Rell ordered all flags in the state to be lowered to half-staff until sundown after LaTorre's funeral.

“On behalf of all Connecticut residents, I extend heartfelt condolences to Corporal LaTorre’s family and friends,” Governor Rell said. “He made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our country and our way of life, and we will honor his selfless service by lowering our flags. Corporal Latorre is truly a hero.”

There was no word on funeral arrangements

Marine Lance Corporal Tyler Griffin of Voluntown, Ct. Died April 3rd, 2010 while on combat operations in Afghanistan

Voluntown, Conn. - Town officials tell News Channel 8 that a 19-year old Voluntown Marine died recently in Afghanistan.

Born and raised in Voluntown, Marine Lance Corporal Tyler Griffin was a 2008 graduate of Griswold High School. He was also a member of the Voluntown Baptist Church, and his pastor, Rev. David Larsen, says the entire community is in shock.

Rev. Larsen tells us that Tyler's family is in Washington retrieving their son's body. No funeral arrangements have been made yet.

The U.S. Department of Defense has not officially released any information regarding Griffin's death. Griffin's aunt said on a Face book post that her nephew was killed Wednesday by a roadside bomb.

A Face book page has already been set up to memorialize the young Marine.

Voluntown First Selectman Ronald J Millovitsch issued the following statement to News Channel 8:

"There's only 2,600 people in the town and this is devastating. There are no words to describe how I or the town feels. If there is anything we, as the town, can do to make this time easier for the family, we will most definitely do so. Our hearts are with the family during this difficult time."

Gov. Jodi Rell has ordered flags in the state to be flown at half-staff.

"Tonight, all of Connecticut mourns a brave and patriotic young man who has given his life for his country and our freedom," Governor Rell said in a written statement. "We cannot help but be inspired by the example Lance Corporal Griffin set, even as we join his family and friends in grieving for him. His service will never be forgotten."

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