April 7
2004


Captain Brent L. Morel, USMC

The Department of Defense announced on April 9 the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Capt. Brent L. Morel, 27, of Martin, Tenn., died April 7 from hostile fire in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. He was assigned to 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif. Pendleton, Calif.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
McKENZIE, Tennessee, Associated Press - A Tennessee native was among Camp Pendleton, Calif.-based Marines killed in fighting in Fallujah, Iraq, this week, a relative said Thursday. Capt. Brent Morel, 33, grew up in Memphis and his parents, Mike and Molly Morel live in McKenzie, 110 miles northeast of Memphis, Vickie Smith said. Smith's husband, Herman, is Morel's uncle. Morel was killed while on a reconnaissance mission in Fallujah, Smith said. The family was told of his death Thursday. Smith said military officials said several other Marines were wounded in the attack. Morel attended the University of Tennessee-Martin before enlisting in the Marines. He was stationed at Camp Pendleton, where his wife, Amy, lives. The couple have no children. He also is survived by his grandparents, Paul and Georgette Smith of Martin.

Lance Cpl Philip E. Frank, USMC

Elk Grove Times -- A U.S. Marine who was inspired to enlist after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks was killed April 7 in combat in Iraq. Relatives of Lance Cpl. Phillip E. Frank, 20, of Elk Grove Village, said he was a young man dedicated to his country's cause overseas. His 19-year-old wife, Keri, and his parents, Roy and Georgette, learned of his death on Easter Sunday. Keri Frank, whose friendship with Phillip stretches back to junior high school, said her husband's commitment to protecting the nation and preventing further terrorist attacks led him to join the Marines. "He knew there were dangerous things going on in the world. He wanted to make it safer for his friends and loved ones. It's just what he always wanted to do," she said. Keri Frank said the realization of her husband's death is just sinking in at this point.

'Spirited young man'

Phillip Frank was born July 5, 1983, and grew up in Cliffwood Beach, N.J. His family said he was "an outgoing, happy, spirited, energetic, young man who was loved by all." He moved to Illinois shortly after his high school graduation in 2002 and lived with his cousins Robin and Gary Van Cleave. He and Keri married in August 2003. Frank enlisted in fall 2002 and entered boot camp in January 2003. He was killed during fighting in Iraq's al Anbar province, according to a Department of Defense statement. A Marine in the Golf Company of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, Frank was a recipient of the National Defense Medal. "Phil was a proud Marine who loved his country and wanted all in this world to experience the freedom we have here in the U.S.," his family wrote in his obituary. Frank is one of more than two dozen soldiers based out of Camp Pendleton, Calif., who have been killed in Iraq. Frank's division was involved in fighting with Iraqi insurgents in the Sunni Triangle west of Baghdad. It includes the towns of Fallujah and Ramadi.

In his honor

Outside Van Cleave's home Tuesday, the U.S. and Marines flags flew at half-staff. Van Cleave's neighbor Bill Geisinger called Phillip Frank a good kid. "It's a horrible tragedy, but beyond that, he was doing a job that has to be done. Anytime you have to send a 20-year-old to war it's sad. He wanted to be a Marine, that's what he was after," Geisinger said. A four-year veteran of the Navy, Geisinger said when he saw the flag across the street at half-staff, he recognized the symbol immediately. "I knew what happened before he (Van Cleave) came over and told me," he said. Flags at the Elk Grove Municipal Center and throughout the village also have been lowered in Frank's honor. Elk Grove Mayor Craig Johnson said he has offered the family the village's assistance during their time of need. "He was a new member of the community, but he also had a lot of family here. We are remembering him as one of our own," Johnson said. At Tuesday's Village Board meeting, village officials offered a moment of silence and a prayer for Frank and his family.

Not since Vietnam

Johnson said he believed Frank was the first Elk Grove soldier to be killed in action since the Vietnam War. A total of 674 troops have been killed in Iraq since the war began in March 2003. Frank was a victim of one of the war's deadliest months -- a total of 78 soldiers were killed and 561 were wounded so far in April. Frank is survived by his wife, Keri (nee Johnson); his parents, Roy and Georgette (nee La Scola); a sister, Cyndi; his aunts and uncles, Patty Phillips of Elk Grove Village, Marilyn and Sal Cordasco of Little Egg Harbor, N.J., Jackie and Mary Ann Frank of Ormond Beach, Fla., Anne Wohltman of Lake Ariel, Pa., Joyce and Louis Fishberg of Highland Park, N.J.; his mother- and father-in-law Christine and Rip Johnson; and brothers-in-law J.C. and Kenny Johnson. He was preceded in death by his uncles Robert Phillips and Ronald Wohltman. A wake will be from 3 to 9 p.m. Friday at Grove Memorial Chapel, 1199 S. Arlington Heights Road, Elk Grove. A funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Our Saviour's Lutheran Church, 1234 N. Arlington Heights Road, Arlington Heights. The funeral procession will be accompanied by Elk Grove police. Interment will be in All Saints Cemetery, Des Plaines.


~ H O M E ~