Another member of Camp Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment was killed in Afghanistan over the weekend.
According to the Department of Defense 25 year old Sgt Ian Tawney of Dallas,Ore., died when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) went off Saturday. The squad leader is the 10th member of the 3/5 to be killed in combat operations since October 8th.
An IED blast also killed Lance Cpl. James D. Boelk, 24, of Oceanside, Calif., on Friday.
"He was my best friend and my backbone," said Boelk’s sister, Allyssia.
“He was always there. He would always be there for me,” Allyssia Boelk said. “I will always remember his dependability and his smile.”
Lance Cpl. Boelk was a rifleman. This was his first deployment.
Four of Boelk's fellow Marines with the 3/5 lost their lives in Helmand Province Oct. 13th when a bomb hit their convoy.
Lance Cpl. Joseph Rodewald, 21, was a machine gunner from Albany, Ore. He planned to marry his girlfriend, Kandi Hargett, when he returned from Afghanistan, according to a published report.
“Today I lost my brother Joe in combat while he was serving in Afghanistan. I am gonna miss him so much... He is the greatest man I know, a true American hero. I love you Joe,” Josh Rodewald posted on Facebook.
Pfc. Victor Dew, 20, was an anti-tank assault man from Granite Bay, Calif. He had just gotten engaged to his girlfriend, Courtney Gold, according to a hometown newspaper.
“Victor Dew was my fiancé. The love of my life, and I regret every moment that he didn’t get to see his wedding before he departed this world. It would be one year from this very day that we would be showing our love to the world and to god. Blessed be the brave men that died that day with my heart and soul. Send your prayers to these men and their families. This is a tragedy that goes beyond tears and screams,” wrote Courtney Gold.
Dew graduated from Granite Bay High School in 2008 and had enlisted with the Marine Corps in September 2009 on the same day as Lance Cpl. Phillip D. Vinnedge, a 19-year-old anti-tank assault man from Saint Charles, MO..
Vinnedge, on his first combat deployment, also died in the IED blast along with Cpl. Justin Cain, a 22 year old , machine gunner from Wisconsin. Cpl Cain enlisted in the Marine Corps June 19, 2007. He had looked forward to going to Afghanistan, according to a longtime friend in his hometown.
"That's what he wanted to do," Katelyn Birringer said. "He wanted to be there, and wanted to fight for our country. He really wanted to do that."
Lance Cpl. Irvin Ceniceros, 21, of Clarksville, Arkansas, Lance Cpl. Joseph Lopez, 26, from Rosamond, Calif. and Lance Cpl. Alec Catherwood, 19, of Byron Ill. were killed during combat operations on Oct. 14th.
Lance Cpl. John T. Sparks, 23, of Chicago, Ill., was shot and killed in Helmand Province on Oct. 8th.A memorial service was held for the machine gunner at a Forward Operating Base in Sangin on Saturday.
