Marine Lance Cpl. Christopher Rangel

Died May 6, 2010 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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22, of San Antonio; assigned to 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died May 6 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

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New details on Lejeune-based casualties

Staff report

Military officials released new details May 11 regarding the three North Carolina-based Marines killed this week while serving in Afghanistan.

The most recent death occurred May 10, when Cpl. Kurt S. Shea, 21, of Frederick, Md., was killed while supporting combat operations in Helmand province. He was a radio operator assigned to 3rd Battalion, 10th Marines. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in June 2007 and deployed to Afghanistan in November. The incident is under investigation, according to a Marine Corps news release.

The two other Marines died as the result of hostile incidents. They were Lance Cpl. Joshua M. Davis, 19, of Perry, Iowa, and Lance Cpl. Christopher Rangel, 22, of San Antonio.

Davis, a machine gunner assigned to 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines, was killed May 7. He enlisted in March 2009 and deployed to Afghanistan in March of this year.

Rangel died May 6. He served as a fire team leader assigned to 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, and enlisted in April 2007. He had a previous deployment to Iraq in 2008 and arrived in Afghanistan in January.

Further details regarding the circumstances of their deaths were not immediately available.

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His childhood dream — joining the Corps — came true

The Associated Press

When relatives think of Christopher Rangel, a song sometimes comes to mind. It’s one from the children’s TV show “Caillou,” the one he used to dance to for his nieces and nephews, and cousins.

“He had a blast,” his uncle Robert Rangel said. “We would walk in before and we would find him singing it at the top of his lungs, like there was no tomorrow.”

Rangel, 22, of San Antonio, died May 6 in Helmand province, Afghanistan, when he was shot by a sniper. He was assigned to Camp Lejeune, N.C., and had previously served in Iraq.

He knew as a youngster that he wanted to become a Marine and couldn’t be talked out of it. He had played linebacker on the football team at South San Antonio West Campus High School, where he graduated in 2006.

He had a big appetite — it earned him the nickname “Mi Piggy” at home — to match a big heart, relatives said.

“He always had a helping hand if you need it,” Robert Rangel said.

The Marine married his wife, Linda, a petty officer in the Navy, on Jan. 2, 2009. Other survivors include his parents, Roland and Lisa Ann; seven brothers and two sisters; and the grandparents who raised him, Gloria and Alfredo Rangel.