Marine Cpl. Jeffrey G. Green

Died May 5, 2004 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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20, of Dallas; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, at Camp Pendleton, Calif.; found dead in the Euphrates River on May 5 in Anbar province, Iraq. The cause is under investigation.

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Jeffrey Green was so focused on becoming a Marine in high school that he helped talk another student into joining the service instead of the seminary. "I think his whole outlook was to a future with the Marines," said his grandmother, Virginia Green. "He liked the excitement and loved the training." Green, 20, of Irving, Texas, was found dead May 5 in Iraq’s Anbar province after he tried to swim across the Euphrates River on a covert operation. He was based at Camp Pendleton, Calif. Green was an avid "Star Wars" fan who enjoyed camping, fast cars and motorcycles. He was a Boy Scout who achieved Life Scout rank. Though he was excited about the military, Nancy DeStefano, who was Green's adviser in high school, said she believes the inquisitive boy had other motives as well. "I think the military was a place for him to continue this search for himself," she said. He is survived by his parents, Richard and Wendy Green.

— Associated Press