Marine Lance Cpl. Drew M. Uhles

Died September 15, 2004 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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20, of DuQuoin, Ill.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif.; died Sept. 15 of injuries sustained in enemy action in Anbar province, Iraq.

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Illinois Marine killed in Iraq

Associated Press

DU QUOIN, Ill. — A 20-year-old Du Quoin Marine serving in Iraq died from shrapnel wounds, his father said.

Drew Uhles died at a military field hospital in northern Iraq early Wednesday morning, said his father, Dan Uhles. The Du Quoin High School graduate had been assigned to an area between Husaybah and Qaim along the Syrian border, Dan Uhles said.

Veterans posted American flags along Du Quoin’s main road Thursday to honor Uhles, and a memorial service at a local park was scheduled for Sept. 19 — Uhles’ 21st birthday.

Du Quoin, a town of 6,600, is about 19 miles north of Carbondale.

Dan Uhles said his son joined the Marine Corps, a goal he had had for a long time, after graduating from high school. “Nobody else in the family had been a Marine, and he felt he’d regret it if he didn’t serve,” Dan Uhles said.

Uhles has a sister who served in the Navy during the first Gulf War and a brother who recently completed a tour of duty with the National Guard in Iraq, Dan Uhles said.