Marine 1st Lt. Shaun M. Blue

Died April 16, 2007 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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25, of Munster, Ind.; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.; died April 16 while conducting combat operations in Anbar province.

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Marine from northwestern Indiana killed in Iraq

The Associated Press

MUNSTER, Ind. — A Marine from northwestern Indiana died during combat in Iraq, the military said April 17.

First Lt. Shaun M. Blue, 25, of Munster, was killed April 16 in Anbar province, but the Department of Defense did not release details on the circumstances.

Blue, who joined the Marines in 2004, was a member of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force based at Twentynine Palms, Calif. He was deployed to Iraq in January.

He was the sixth person from Indiana to have died in Iraq in the past three weeks. In all, 78 people from Indiana have died after being sent to the Middle East since the buildup for the invasion of Iraq began in 2003.

Blue was among the top 10 students in his 2000 graduating class at Munster High School.

“Talk about a kid that was mentally tough,” said Steven Tripenfeldas, his high school principal. “He was one of those kids who did things everyone else was afraid to do.”

Munster track and cross country coach Aaron Brown remembered Blue for his competitive spirit.

“He was the toughest kid I ever had,” Brown said. “The fact that he chose the career path that he did didn’t surprise me. It was perfectly suited for him.”

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Community attends funeral for Munster Marine

The Associated Press

MUNSTER, Ind. — Mourners packed a northwestern Indiana church to remember a fallen Marine as a good student and a man willing to help his neighbors.

1st Lt. Shaun Blue was killed April 16 during combat in Anbar province, Iraq.

“He was a strong-willed man, and he believed in what he did,” said Anthony Qualls of Griffith, who attended Munster High School with Blue.

Friends also remembered the 25-year-old as a dedicated community servant who repaired broken wheelchairs in his family’s garage.

“He would work on the tires and fix the brakes,” said Chris Melder, a neighbor of the Blue family.

Blue was among the top 10 students in the class of 2000 at Munster and graduated with a degree in philosophy from the University of Southern California before joining the Marines in 2004.

A line of people snaked across the parking lot of Burns-Kish Funeral Home in Munster on Monday, waiting to file through the chapel filled with photographs of Blue and red, white and blue flowers.

“We came to give him respect because he gave his life for our country,” said Alicja Pyrzak of East Chicago, who immigrated to northwest Indiana from Poland.

Throughout town, businesses, schools and churches displayed signs honoring Blue, who was active in Boy Scouts and cross country while growing up.

Blue, a member of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force based at Twentynine Palms, Calif., was deployed to Iraq in January.

He was the sixth person from Indiana to have died in Iraq in three weeks. In all, 78 people from Indiana have died after being sent to the Middle East since the buildup for the invasion of Iraq began in 2003.