July 15

Lance Cpl. Cory Ryan Geurin, USMC

The Department of Defense announced on July 16 that Lance Cpl. Cory Ryan Geurin, 18, of Santee, Calif., was killed in Babylon, Iraq, on July 15. He was standing post on a palace roof in Babylon when he fell approximately 60 feet.

Geurin was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, Twentynine Palms, Calif.

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State Flags Flown At Half-Staff To Honor Fallen Santee Marine

NBCSandiego.com ~ SAN DIEGO -- Flags at the state Capitol will be flown at half-staff though Saturday to honor the 18-year-old Marine from Santee who was killed in Iraq.

The Pentagon says Lance Cpl Cory Ryan Geurin died Tuesday when he fell about 60 feet from the roof of a palace in Babylon, Iraq, where he had been standing guard. The cause of the fall is under investigation.

Geurin, who was the captain and most valuable player of the wrestling team during his senior year at West Hills High School, decided to become a Marine after the World Trade Center was destroyed. His mother, Darlene, remembers him telling her about a week after the attack: "Mom, they're messing with my country, and I won't let it happen."

Geurin began boot camp in San Diego on July 15, 2002, and left in January for Twentynine Palms. His mother noted that he died exactly one year after entering boot camp.