Marine Lance Cpl. Grant B. Fraser

Died August 3, 2005 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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22, of Anchorage, Alaska; assigned to the 4th Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska; attached to Regimental Combat Team 2, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward); killed Aug. 3 when his amphibious assault vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device during combat operations south of Hadithah, Iraq. Also killed were Marine Lance Cpls. Michael J. Cifuentes, Aaron H. Reed, Edward A. Schroeder II, Kevin G. Waruinge and William B. Wightman.

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Marine killed by improvised explosive device in Iraq

The Associated Press

One day while Grant B. Fraser was trundling around the house in his diapers and slippers, his father asked, “Sprout, why are you so happy?”

Grant paused, then answered, “Because mommy and daddy are happy at me.”

Fraser, 22, of Anchorage, Alaska, died Aug. 3 when his vehicle was hit by an explosive south of Hadithah. He was assigned to Elmendorf Air Force Base.

Friends and relatives remembered Fraser as spontaneous, mischievous and witty. They talked about the big ears that jutted out from his head, the “award-winning” smile, and his favorite nickname, Tnarg — “Grant” spelled backward.

He had a wide range of interests: Acting, mountain biking, skiing, playing the piano, scuba diving, rock climbing, tennis and sailing. He left the University of Alaska at Anchorage in 2002 and enlisted in the Marines.

“The day Grant enlisted was a watershed day for all of us,” said his godmother, Lynn Manley. “What a happy guy he was that day. I saw him after boot camp and there was a tree trunk where his long graceful neck used to be. Grant was exactly where he wanted tobe.”

He is survived by his parents, Sharon Long and James Fraser.