Marine Corps Pfc. Brian K. Cutter

Died May 13, 2004 serving during Operation Iraqi Freedom

19, of Riverside, Calif.; assigned to 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died May 13 after being found unconscious in Asad, Iraq.

Pfc. Brian K. Cutter grew up in foster care and considered the Marines his family, his ROTC officer said. Cutter, 19, of Riverside, Calif., was found unconscious on May 13, and was later pronounced dead in Asad, Iraq. An article on the Marines Web site said Cutter was electrocuted in an accident only two days after arriving in Iraq. He was based at Camp Pendleton, Calif. Cutter looked forward to joining the Marines after his 2003 high school graduation, said Capt. Brian Frost, who leads the school's ROTC program. "He wanted to serve proudly in the Marine Corps," Frost said. "He was very excited about going into the Marines and starting a life of his own." Frost said Cutter often spent lunchtime in Frost's classroom with other ROTC students. "He was a wonderful young man," Foster said. "This is going to be very hard on everyone who knew him."

— Associated Press