Marine Capt. Brent L. Morel

Died April 7, 2004 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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27, of Martin, Tenn.; assigned to 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; killed April 7 by hostile fire in Anbar province, Iraq.

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Brent Morel always seemed to be getting out of trouble. Whether it was ending arguments as a bar bouncer, breaking up a scuffle between neighborhood kids or sparring in a college boxing match, Morel could quickly end any fight. Morel, 27, who lived in McKenzie, Tenn., and was stationed at Camp Pendleton, Calif., couldn't escape the Sunni Triangle in Fallujah, where he died on April 7. His platoon was ambushed during a reconnaissance mission. College friend Eric Wells said he remembers Morel stopping a bar brawl of about 20 people near the University of Memphis. "Brent had a broken leg and was on crutches, but he just dove right in the middle of it and took out the ringleaders," Wells said. "He's the toughest guy I ever knew." Morel, an avid hunter, graduated from the University of Tennessee at Martin in 1999 with a degree in history. He became a commissioned officer in the Marines the next week. Morel married Amy Mullins a week after that. "He became a different person when he married Amy," Wells said. "He was totally dedicated to her. He knew a week after he met her that she was the one."

— Associated Press