Army Cpl. Marcos O. Nolasco

Died May 18, 2004 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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34, of Chino, Calif.; assigned to Battery B, 1st Battalion, 33rd Field Artillery, 1st Infantry Division, Bamberg, Germany; died May 18 in an electrocution accident in Baji, Iraq.

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Calif. soldier dies after accidental electrocution

Associated Press

CHINO, Calif. — Army Cpl. Marcos Nolasco told his sister he wasn’t worried about dying in Iraq because he was sure his family would be well-cared for.

Nolasco, 34, died early Tuesday in Baji, Iraq after he was accidentally electrocuted, the military said in a news release. His sister, Carmen Duran, said officials told her live electrical wires fell into the water as Nolasco showered.

Nolasco, who was assigned to the B Battery, 1st Battalion, 33rd Field Artillery, 1st Infantry Division, in Bamberg, Germany, had been in Iraq since January, relatives said.

Nolasco was born in Guadalajara, Mexico but moved with his family to San Diego at age 5. He joined the Marines after graduating from high school and was stationed in Okinawa, Japan, where he met his wife, Mariko.

The couple had a 10-year-old son, Angel, Duran said.

After his term with the Marines ended, Nolasco joined the Army in 1994 and moved to Germany.

Duran said she and her brother were close and often exchanged letters and phone calls during his deployment.

“He said that he was never afraid of death,” she said. “He told me if it ever was his time to leave, he said his son would be taken care of for the rest of his life and the only thing that mattered to him was taking care of his family.”