Marine Lance Cpl. Cory Ryan Geurin

Died July 15, 2003 serving during Operation Iraqi Freedom

18, of Santee, Calif.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, Twentynine Palms, Calif.; died in an accident July 15 in Babylon, Iraq. Geurin was standing post on a palace roof when he fell approximately 60 feet.

Ever since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Cory Ryan Geurin wanted to be a Marine.

“He said, ‘Mom, they’re messin’ with my country and I won’t let it happen,’ ” said his mother, Darlene Geurin of Santee, Calif.

He signed his enlistment papers two months after the terrorist attacks and before he even finished high school, where he was captain and most valuable player of the wrestling team during his senior year.

Geurin died July 15 when he fell about 60 feet from the roof of a palace in Babylon, Iraq, where he had been standing guard.

He had called home the morning of his death to say he planned to stay in the Marines after his tour in Iraq. “He was so proud of himself,” his mother said. “He believed in what he was doing. He was a leader.”

— Associated Press