Marine Lance Cpl. Nicholas R. Anderson

Died March 13, 2006 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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21, of Sauk City, Wis.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii; died March 13 in a non-hostile vehicle accident in Afghanistan.

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Wis. Marine dies in Humvee accident in Afghanistan

SAUK CITY, Wis. — A Marine from central Wisconsin died in an accident while on patrol in Afghanistan, his father said Tuesday.

Lance Cpl. Nicholas Anderson died Monday after the Humvee he was riding in rolled over as a group of Marines pursued a suspicious vehicle near Jalalabad, said his father, Sauk City Village President James Anderson. Anderson said his 21-year-old son suffered head injuries in the crash and died as he was being transported to a hospital.

Nicholas Anderson joined the Marines in January 2005 and began a six-month tour of Afghanistan two months ago with the 3rd Marines Weapons Platoon, his father said.

“I just know that he died fighting for what he believed in,” James Anderson said. “He wanted to be a Marine and even though it was a major risk he just wanted to go.”

James Anderson said his son, a 2003 Sauk Prairie High School graduate, enjoyed riding his motorcycle, lifting weights, going fishing and hanging out with friends.

He joined the Wisconsin Army National Guard when he was 18, but an injured shoulder forced him to drop out. He then enlisted in the Marines.

“I was very nervous when he first joined the Marines because two words jumped into my head: Afghanistan and Iraq,” James Anderson said. “I just supported him and prayed that it would end before he had to go over.”

— Associated Press

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Two Marines with Hawaii ties die in Iraq, Afghanistan

HONOLULU — Two Marines with Hawaii ties died this week in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

Lance Cpl. Kristen Figueroa, 20, of Honolulu, was killed in combat operations in Iraq’s Anbar province on Sunday.

Figueroa went to Iraq in September as a rifleman.

Based in Twentynine Palms, Calif., Figueroa was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force.

He is survived by his parents Alfrid and Sandey Marino of Honolulu.

In Afghanistan, a Marine assigned to Kaneohe Bay died Monday in a vehicle accident that was not caused by hostile action.

Lance Cpl. Nicholas R. Anderson, 21, of Sauk City, Wis., was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.

The military is investigation the cause of the accident.

— Associated Press