Six Marines from same Ohio-based unit killed in Iraq

By THOMAS J. SHEERAN
Associated Press Writer

August 2, 2005, 4:24 PM EDT

BROOK PARK, Ohio -- Six Marine reservists attached to the same suburban Cleveland unit were killed while on sniper duty in Iraq, a military official said on Tuesday.

"Every single one of them is a hero," said Lt. Col. Kevin Rush of the Headquarters and Service Co. 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines based in Brook Park, a suburb of about 21,000 people southwest of Cleveland.

All six were killed on Monday in northwest Iraq. All were from northeast Ohio.

Rush did not have specific details about how they were killed and said unit members in Iraq were under a military imposed communications blackout to make sure none of the names were disclosed until the Pentagon was satisfied that the victims' families were notified.

The mother of Sgt. Nathaniel Rock, 26, of Toronto, about 90 miles southeast of Cleveland, said military officials told her Monday that her son had been killed.

Rock spent six years in the Marines after graduating from high school in 1997 and then joined the reserves, Adriana Rock said. At home in Ohio, he worked as a part-time police officer in Martins Ferry.

"He was very proud to be a Marine," she said.

The battalion was activated in January and went to Iraq in March. The unit's Web site lists 25 of its Marines who have been killed this year.

Lima Company, a unit of the battalion based in Columbus, has lost 11 servicemen since the beginning of the war, an official with the company said Friday. It suffered four deaths during one operation in May.

The 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines has a distinguished history in combat. It was activated on May 1, 1943, and fought in several battles in World War II. It helped capture a key airfield at the Battle of Iwo Jima in the Pacific, according to the unit's Web site.

Rush, who briefed reporters at the headquarters, said he expected the bodies to be returned to the United States by way of Germany and Dover Air Force Base, Del., later this week.

He said the Marines were succeeding in their mission in fighting the insurgency and preparing Iraq for another round of elections. The Marines had been trained in infantry tactics, Rush said.

"They've all sacrificed in more ways. Just going to Iraq is a sacrifice. They did it in hero fashion and every one of them should be commended," Rush said.

The mood was somber but businesslike at the nondescript, one-story brick Marine training center, located on a residential block near a local fire station. The unit's few Marines not serving in Iraq shuttled media around the headquarters but would not speak with reporters because of the gag order.

"The six Marines killed in action yesterday in Iraq represent the best of the best of this nation," said Rep. Dennis Kucinich, an outspoken critic of the war whose district includes the headquarters. "These brave and courageous soldiers will forever be remembered as heroes."

The battalion has about 800 members, including 180 in Brook Park. In addition to Columbus, it also has units in Akron, Moundsville, W.Va., and Buffalo, N.Y.