Marine Master Sgt. Adam F. Benjamin

Died August 18, 2009 serving during Operation Enduring Freedom

34, of Garfield Heights, Ohio; assigned to 8th Engineer Support Battalion, Combat Logistics Regiment 2, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died Aug. 18 while supporting combat operations in COP Payne, Afghanistan.

Gunny, lance cpl. die in Afghanistan

Staff report

Two North Carolina-based Marines were killed this week supporting combat operations in Afghanistan, according to the Defense Department.

Gunnery Sgt. Adam F. Benjamin, 34, of Garfield, Ohio, died Aug. 18 and Lance Cpl. Leopold F. Damas, 26, of Floral Park, N.Y., died Aug. 17. Both died in Helmand province. Both were assigned to units with the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, but it’s not clear if the incidents were related.

Benjamin was assigned to Camp Lejeune’s 8th Engineer Support Battalion, according to a news release. No other information about him was immediately available.

Damas was a rifleman with the Lejeune’s 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines. He joined the Corps in January 2006. In February, he returned from his second seven-month tour in Iraq since 2007, and then left for Afghanistan in May.