Army Spc. Marlon P. Jackson

Died November 11, 2003 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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25, of Jersey City, N.J.; assigned to A Company, 94th Engineer Battalion (Combat) (Heavy), 130th Engineer Brigade, Vilseck, Germany; died Nov. 11 of injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device exploded on a road in Tampa, Iraq.

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Spc. Marlon P. Jackson was a quiet young man of simple pleasures: basketball, Chinese food and Caribbean music. From Iraq, he asked family to send music magazines and sports clippings. And he never forgot to say thank you. "He always thanked me for everything I did. He was so appreciative," said Vanessa Selby, his self-described stepmother. Jackson, 25, of Jersey City, N.J., was killed Nov. 11 in a roadside bombing near Baghdad. He was stationed in Vilseck, Germany. He is survived by his mother, Lois La Grenade, and father, Leighton Jackson. Before joining the Army in 1999, Jamaica-born Jackson attended community college. He had become a big brother to Selby's son Khabir, 22, and tutored him in his free time. "He was just becoming a young man, trying to be responsible," Selby said.

— Associated Press