Marine Lance Cpl. Marcus M. Cherry

Died April 6, 2004 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

18, of Imperial, Calif.; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; killed April 6 by hostile fire in Anbar province, Iraq.

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Funeral held for 18-year-old Marine

Associated Press

EL CENTRO, Calif. — An 18-year-old Marine killed in combat in Iraq was remembered as a man whose short life touched many people.

“He brought life. He brought charm,” youth pastor James Whitehead said Saturday during services for Lance Cpl. Marcus Miguel Cherry at Christ Memorial Community Church.

Cherry was killed April 6 in the town of Ramadi, which has seen an outburst of violence between insurgents and U.S. troops.

Cherry was from Imperial, about 110 miles east of San Diego. He was the fourth Imperial Valley serviceman to die in Iraq since April 2003.

Cherry graduated from Imperial High School last year after having played on the varsity football team. He joined the Marine Corps on June 9. He was inspired by his older brother, Andre Jr., a Marine who was sent home from Iraq following Cherry’s death and attended the funeral.

Cherry’s fianc©e, Shannon Severe, read a poem she wrote for him after his death.

“For everyone on this earth, there will be that special someone to love and for me there will always be you. I am so proud of you,” Severe said.

A Marine honor guard gave Cherry a 21-gun salute and released doves at the burial site at Evergreen Cemetery in El Centro.

“He was heroic, he was blessed and he was a great man,” said Cherry’s father, Andre Cherry Sr., as he held tightly to the flag presented to him by the military.

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Marine from Imperial is killed in Iraq

IMPERIAL, Calif. — An 18-year-old Marine from Imperial was among several Camp Pendleton-based servicemen to be killed this week in Iraq, the Marine Corps announced Thursday.

Lance Cpl. Marcus M. Cherry, a rifleman, died Tuesday in the Al Anbar province, which has seen an outburst of violence between insurgents and U.S. troops.

His mother, Genevieve King, told the Imperial Valley Press that her son was among 12 Marines killed in combat in the Iraqi city of Ramadi.

Cherry graduated from Imperial High School last year, after having played on the varsity football team.

He joined the Marine Corps on June 9 and was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines Echo Co. His stepfather, James Tyler, said Cherry was an infantryman and a fire team leader.

His personal awards include the National Defense Service Medal.

Cherry’s brother, Andre, was also deployed to Iraq, Tyler said. Andre Cherry was en route home to Imperial following the death of his brother, he said.

— Associated Press