Marine Lance Cpl. David Mendez Ruiz

Died November 12, 2005 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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20, of Cleveland; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.; attached to 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward); killed Nov. 12 by an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Amiriyah, Iraq. Also killed was Lance Cpl. Scott A. Zubowski.

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Cleveland Marine killed in Iraq

The Associated Press

CLEVELAND — Two Marines, including one from Cleveland, were killed in Iraq by a homemade bomb, the Pentagon said Nov. 15.

Lance Cpls. David A. Mendez Ruiz, 20, of Cleveland, and Scott A. Zubowski, 20, of Manchester, Ind., died Nov. 12. They were wounded while conducting combat operations in Al Amiriyah, Iraq, the Pentagon said.

They were assigned to 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, out of Twentynine Palms, Calif. The unit was attached to 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward).

The military said earlier that two 2nd Marine Division Marines died Nov. 12 of injuries suffered when their vehicle was bombed in Al-Amiriyah on the western edge of Baghdad.

Ruiz was born in Guatemala and came to the U.S. with his family when he was 6, WKYC-TV said. A former classmate, Rob Joffre, told the station that Ruiz was cheerful and enjoyed spending time with his school buddies.