Marine Lance Cpl. Chadwick A. Gilliam

Died January 3, 2009 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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29, of Mayking, Ky.; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died Jan. 3 at Camp Buehring, Kuwait.

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Ky. Marine dies of cardiac arrest in Kuwait

The Associated Press

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — A Marine from Kentucky died of an apparent cardiac arrest at a U.S. base in Kuwait.

The Marine Corps said Tuesday that 29-year-old Lance Cpl. Chadwick A. Gilliam of Mayking, Ky., died Saturday. An autopsy is pending.

Gilliam was a member of 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines, 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit from Camp Lejeune. He was an infantryman and joined the unit June 25, 2007, and was promoted to lance corporal last year.

WYMT-TV in Hazard reports that Gilliam attended the old Whitesburg High School in the mid 1990s. One of his former teachers, Scottie Billiter, said Gilliam inspired other students. Billiter, now an assistant principal at Letcher County Central High School, said had a wide array of interests, from the football team to the Spanish club. Billiter was Gilliam’s home room teacher in 1995.

“There is not one of those kids that I had in my home room that I could tell one bad thing about because I have nothing but great fond memories of him. He was definitely a big part of that. He was a big part of who we were,” Billiter said.

A funeral service for Gilliam will be Saturday at noon EST at Letcher Funeral Home. Visitation is scheduled for Friday from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the funeral home.

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Marine had multiple interests

The Associated Press

When he heard Chadwick A. Gilliam died in the line of duty, Scottie Billiter, his old home room teacher, dusted off an old yearbook.

“There is not one of those kids that I had in my home room that I could tell one bad thing about because I have nothing but great fond memories of him. He was definitely a big part of that. He was a big part of who we were,” Billiter said.

Gilliam, 29, of Mayking, Ky., died Jan. 3 at a U.S. military base in Kuwait. He was assigned to Camp Lejeune.

Chris Damron, Gilliam’s brother-in-law, said he didn’t anguish about enlisting. “He’d said that it was just something he wanted to do. All his life he wanted to be a Marine,” Damron said.

Billiter said Gilliam was the type of student that wanted to be involved in just about anything, from the Spanish Club to the football team.

Gilliam’s family and friends said he was a natural leader who inspired others with his kindness. “All the Marines seemed to really look up to Chad. He was a leader in the Marine Corps,” Damron said.

He is survived by his parents, Mary and Paul.