Posted at 5:09 p.m., Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Two Kane'ohe Marines killed in Iraq
Advertiser Staff
Two Marines based at Kane'ohe Bay were killed Monday while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Al Anbar province, Iraq, the Pentagon said.The deaths of Sgt. David R. Christoff, 25, of Rossford, Ohio and Lance Cpl. William J. Leusink, 21, of Maurice, Iowa bring the death total to 10 for the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force since it arrived in Iraq in March.
Christoff's father, David, said his son was on foot patrol when a large roadside bomb exploded.
Three other Kane'ohe Bay Marines with the 3/3, known as "America's Battalion," were killed within the past two weeks.
The battalion headquarters is at Haditha Dam northwest of Baghdad, but its 900 Marines and companies are spread throughout the "Triad" of Haditha, Haqlaniyah and Barwana near the Euphrates River and down to the Baghdad-Jubbah-Dulab region.
