Marine Lance Cpl. David S. Parr

Died February 6, 2006 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

---

22, of Benson, N.C.; assigned to Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; killed Feb. 6 by an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations in Hit, Iraq.

* * * * *

Johnston County Marine killed in Iraq

RALEIGH, N.C. — A Johnston County man was one of four Camp Lejeune Marines killed in two roadside bomb attacks in western Iraq, his mother said.

Lance Cpl. David Parr, 22, died after an explosive detonated under his Humvee in the city of Hit on Sunday, said Diana Pasquinelli.

Parr was one of three Marines killed when an unusually large improvised bomb exploded under their armored Humvee about 1:30 a.m. Monday and destroyed it, according to a Washington Post reporter embedded with the Marines in Hit. Two Marines died quickly, and another died later of his wounds, said the story in Tuesday’s editions of the newspaper. Two more were injured.

A fourth Camp Lejeune Marine was killed in an attack in western Iraq on Sunday, the Defense Department said.

The Pentagon does not release the names of the dead until 24 hours after their relatives have been told. The names had not been released by early Wednesday.

Parr liked playing video games, but also loved watching the History Channel, especially featuring Marine Corps tradition, Pasquinelli said.

Parr attended high school in the Akron, Ohio, suburb of Barberton through his junior year, Pasquinelli said. He then moved to North Carolina with his family and graduated from South Johnston High School in 2001, she said.

After high school, he worked as a brick layer for a couple of years before joining the Marines.

“He just loved it and thought it was the best thing he’d ever done,” Pasquinelli said. “If he were still here, he’d probably do it all over again. He was probably going to make it his career.”

Until the bomb blast, Parr’s company of about 110 Marines led by Capt. David Handy of New Bern hadn’t lost a single member killed in action in its two months in violent Anbar province, the Post reported.

Parr’s mother said at the time of the attack her son’s company was three days away from flying out of Iraq to a safe assignment in Africa. He expected to be home in May, she said.

Parr had exchanged e-mail messages with several relatives over the weekend. His mother talked to him on the phone last week, and the conversation included him telling about the death of a 12-year-old boy he’d just seen.

“He asked for socks, so I sent him a dozen, she said. “I guess I should have put or to any Marine on the package.”

— Associated Press

* * * * *

Ohio native killed in explosion in Iraq

AKRON, Ohio — A 22-year-old Marine expected to come home on leave soon was killed in Iraq when his vehicle drove over an explosive device, family members said.

Lance Cpl. David Parr, a native of the Akron suburb of Barberton, was supposed to come home for a brief visit within a week, his sister, Misty Curley, who lives in Akron, said Monday.

In an e-mail message dated Saturday, Parr wrote, “I’ll be home soon.”

He was killed Sunday.

Parr’s mother, Diana Pasquinelli, said her son suffered an abdominal injury in the explosion.

“He was just a young Marine. I didn’t think he’d be in that much danger right now,” said Pasquinelli, who lives in North Carolina.

Parr attended Barberton High School through 11th grade before moving to North Carolina, she said.

“He was the hit of the crowd,” she said. “He loved to entertain people. People just swelled on the stories that came out of his mouth. He was a leader with a lot of respect for people.”

He was based at Camp Lejeune, N.C., and left for Iraq in October.

— Associated Press

* * * * *

Four Camp Lejeune Marines killed in two bomb attacks

BAGHDAD — Four Marines with units based at Camp Lejeune were killed by roadside bombings in western Iraq’s volatile Anbar province, the military said Tuesday.

Three Marines were killed by a bomb blast Monday in Hit, 85 miles west of Baghdad, according to a military statement. The victims were assigned to the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit that has operated in Anbar province since mid-December with an Iraqi Army battalion.

Another Marine, attached to the 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, died from wounds caused by a bomb blast Sunday in an unspecified location within Anbar, which includes the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi.

Family members said Lance Cpl. David Parr, 22, was killed Sunday when his vehicle drove over an explosive device.

Parr’s mother, Diana Pasquinelli, said her son suffered an abdominal injury in the explosion.

“He was just a young Marine. I didn’t think he’d be in that much danger right now,” said Pasquinelli, who lives in North Carolina.

He was based at Camp Lejeune and left for Iraq in October.

The native of the Akron suburb of Barberton was supposed to come home for a brief visit within a week, said his sister, Misty Curley of Akron.

The latest deaths bring the number of U.S. military personnel killed to at least 2,257 since the Iraq war began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

— Associated Press