Marine Lance Cpl. James D. Boelk

Died October 15, 2010 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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24, of Oceanside, Calif.; assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died Oct. 15 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

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Unit in Sangin loses 9 Marines in 4 days

By Dan Lamothe

Staff writer

Nine Marines with a battalion that recently deployed to Afghanistan were killed during a four-day period last week, putting the Marine Corps on pace for its deadliest month in combat this year.

Third Battalion, 5th Marines, out of Camp Pendleton, Calif., suffered the casualties, Pentagon officials said. The unit deployed the last week of September, and is patrolling Sangin, a violent district that the Corps took over from British forces last month. The unit replaced 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, out of Twentynine Palms, Calif., in northern Helmand province.

With two weeks left in October, the Corps has lost 15 Marines and one corpsman in Afghanistan this month. The worst months for Marine deaths this year were June and August, with 17 each. Fifteen were killed in Afghanistan in February, when the Corps launched a major assault on Marjah, a Taliban stronghold and narcotics hub.

The 3/5 casualties in October include:

* Sgt. Ian Tawney, 25. The squad leader was killed Saturday by an improvised explosive device while on a foot patrol, Marine officials said. He enlisted on March 14, 2005, and had deployed to Iraq in 2007.

* Lance Cpl. James Boelk, 24. The infantry rifleman was killed by an IED while on a foot patrol last Friday, officials said. He was on his first combat deployment.

* Lance Cpl. Joseph Lopez, 26. The infantry rifleman was killed by an IED while on a foot patrol last Thursday, officials said. He was on his first combat deployment.

* Lance Cpl. Alec Catherwood, 19. The infantry rifleman was shot to death while on a foot patrol last Thursday, officials said. He was on his first combat deployment.

* Lance Cpl. Irvin Ceniceros, 21. The machine gunner was shot to death while on a foot patrol last Thursday, officials said. He was on his first combat deployment.

Four additional Marines were killed last Wednesday in the same IED blast while riding in a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected All-Terrain Vehicle, or M-ATV, according to media reports. Those Marines include:

* Cpl. Justin Cain, 22. The machine gunner was on his first combat deployment.

* Lance Cpl. Phillip Vinnedge, 19. The anti-tank assaultman was on his first deployment.

* Lance Cpl. Joseph Rodewald, 21. The machine gunner was on his first combat deployment.

* Pfc. Victor Dew, 20. The anti-tank assaultman was on his first deployment.

Additional details about the deaths were not immediately available, but the Corps said the unit is now based in Sangin in a news release covering the death of Lance Cpl. John Sparks, 23. He was shot to death Oct. 8, becoming the first Marine to die on 3/5’s deployment, Marine officials said.

The most recent Marine casualty announced was Cpl. Jorge Villarreal, 22. A member of Pendleton’s 1st Battalion, 11th Marines, he died Sunday from an IED blast while on a foot patrol.