Marine Lance Cpl. Alejandro J. Yazzie

Died February 16, 2010 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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23, of Rock Point, Ariz.; assigned to 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died Feb. 16 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

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Navajo lance corporal killed in Afghanistan

The Associated Press

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — A Marine from the small Navajo community of Rock Point has died in Afghanistan, community members and the Department of Defense say.

The remains of Lance Cpl. Alejandro Yazzie, 23, arrived Thursday at Dover Air Force Base, Del.

Yazzie, assigned to the Camp Pendleton, Calif.-based 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, died Tuesday while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, according to a Defense Department release.

Tribal officials say Yazzie was a 2004 graduate of Rock Point High School and is survived by his parents, three brothers, a sister and his grandmother.

No additional details on his history of service were immediately available.

According to tribal statistics, 11 Navajos serving in either Iraq or Afghanistan have been killed.

Funeral arrangements are pending.