Marine Cpl. Paul C. Holter III

Died January 14, 2005 serving during Operation Iraqi Freedom

21, of Corpus Christi, Texas; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died Jan. 14 in a non-combat-related incident at Camp Ramadi, Iraq.

Corpus Christi Marine killed in Iraq

Associated Press

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A 21-year-old Marine from Corpus Christi has died in Iraq, the Department of Defense said Tuesday.

Cpl. Paul C. Holter III died Jan. 14 at Camp Ramadi, Iraq. Officials said he died in a non-combat related incident, which was under investigation.

He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Pendleton, Calif. It was his second tour of duty in Iraq.

Holter was a 2001 graduate of Flour Bluff High School. He was remembered as a good student who came to be a leader in the school’s Navy Junior ROTC.

A family friend said military service was a family tradition for Holter, and that Holter met with several recruiters before choosing the Marines.

The friend, Steven Heist, said he and Holter communicated frequently over the Internet.

“He believed very, very strongly in what he was doing,” Heist said.

Holter’s second deployment had started in September and was scheduled to end in time for spring break.

After his release from the Marine Corps this coming summer, he planned to pursue a police career, Heist said.

Retired Cdr. Armando Solis, head of Four Bluff’s Navy Junior ROTC program, remembered Holter as a hardworking and dedicated student who joined the ROTC barely able to do a push-up.

“He was a pudgy little kid looking for something,” Soils said. “He became one of the best drill team members we had.”