Marine Lance Cpl. Patrick T. O’Day

Died March 25, 2003 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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20, of Sonoma, Calif.; assigned to 1st Tank Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif.; killed in action while conducting convoy operations near the Euphrates River, Iraq.

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Marine Lance Cpl. Patrick T. O’Day married his high school sweetheart shortly before heading overseas and was looking forward to the birth of their first child, due in September.

“They were a young couple with a lot of dreams and hopes,” said his father, Tim O’Day. “I think he would’ve made a wonderful father. He always had a lot of patience, very understanding.”

O’Day, who lived in Santa Rosa, Calif., died in combat March 25. He was drawn to the Corps because of its allure as the toughest of the military branches, said his wife, Shauna O’Day. During boot camp, he developed stress fractures in his legs. But rather than accept a medical discharge, he spent six months in a rehabilitation platoon, then returned to boot camp and completed his training as a tank gunner.

“He was proud to be a Marine,” his wife said. “He liked their reputation and he liked their discipline.”

— Associated Press