Marine Cpl. Jamie R. Lowe

Died January 11, 2010 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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21, of Johnsonville, Ill.; assigned to the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan; died Jan. 11 while supporting combat operations in Now Zad, Afghanistan. Also killed were Staff Sgt. Matthew N. Ingham and Cpl. Nicholas K. Uzenski.

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3 Recon Marines killed in Afghanistan

Staff report

OCEANSIDE, Calif. — Three Japan-based Reconnaissance Marines died Monday during combat operations in Afghanistan’s Helmand province, defense officials announced Wednesday.

Killed were: Staff Sgt. Matthew N. Ingham, 25, of Altoona, Pa.; and Cpls. Jamie R. Lowe, 21, of Johnsonville, Ill., and Nicholas K. Uzenski, 21, of Tomball, Texas.

The three Marines were assigned to 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, which is based in Okinawa, Japan.

Pentagon officials did not release information about their deaths. The NATO command reported that six NATO troops died Monday in separate incidents in Afghanistan, including three U.S. service members killed during a firefight with militants during a patrol in southern Afghanistan.

Ingham’s parents told the Altoona Mirror, a Pennsylvania newspaper, that their son, who was married and had done two combat tours in Iraq, played football and loved motocross.

“We lost a family member and a great Marine,” Maj. John South, 3rd Recon Battalion’s executive officer, said in a statement.

First Sgt. Ingo Rasch, Ingham’s company first sergeant in Afghanistan, said, “Seniors, peers and juniors valued his opinion and guidance. He was one of the finest staff (noncommissioned officers) I have ever served with.”

Ingham, who had enlisted in July 2002 and was promoted to staff sergeant in April, had earned several military awards and decorations, including the Combat Action Ribbon, Presidential Unit Citation, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, NATO Medal ISAF, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.

Lowe enlisted in August 2007 and arrived on Okinawa a year later. His awards and decorations include the National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, NATO Medal ISAF, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.

“He was driven to be the best, and it showed in everything he did,” Maj. Jordan Walzer, the corporal’s officer-in-charge in Afghanistan, said in the statement.

Rasch said Lowe “had a huge impact on the morale of his company and his platoon.”

Uzenski enlisted in January 2008, and his awards include the National Defense Service Medal, NATO Medal ISAF and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. “Marines fed off his energy and loved being around him,” Rasch said.

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‘He really loved what he was doing’

The Associated Press

Jamie R. Lowe’s parents wanted their son’s funeral to be upbeat and patriotic, just like he was, so they asked people to show up in blue jeans and played lively music.

Jeff Milner, who was Lowe’s best friend at Cisne High School in Cisne, Ill., before he graduated in 2007, told mourners being a Marine was all Lowe had wanted.

“He didn’t just want to be a regular Marine,” he said. “He wanted to be a recon Marine. That’s a pretty big goal to accomplish in such a short time.”

The 21-year-old from Johnsonville, Ill., died Jan. 11 while supporting combat in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to Okinawa, Japan.

“I talked to him on the phone from Afghanistan, and he told me he really loved what he was doing,” Milner said. “I don’t think he would have wanted it any other way.”

Bobby Mooney, who works with youth at Lowe’s church, said Lowe appeared to be a leader even when he was a young teenager on his first church trip.

“The other students looked at him to see what to do,” Mooney said. “Even older boys took their cues from him.”

Survivors include Lowe’s parents, Kevin and Teresa.