Marine Lance Cpl. Robert P. Zurheide Jr.

Died April 12, 2004 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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20, of Tucson, Ariz.; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; killed April 12 by friendly fire in Anbar province, Iraq.

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Pendleton Marine from Arizona killed in Iraq

Associated Press

TUCSON, Ariz. — A 20-year-old Camp Pendleton Marine from Tucson was killed in hostile fire in Al Anbar province in western Iraq, according to the Defense Department.

Lance Cpl. Robert P. Zurheide Jr. died Monday while on his second deployment to Iraq.

Zurheide was a rifleman assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment of the 1st Marine Division. Al Anbar province is the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force’s area of responsibility.

Zurheide joined the Marine Corps on Oct. 9, 2001. His personal awards include the Combat Action Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal and the Sea Service Deployment ribbon.

Zurheide’s death came less than a month before his wife, Elena, was due to deliver their first child.

The couple, who met as eighth-graders at Chaparral Middle School and dated throughout their time at Desert View High School, were married on March 30, 2002.

Zurheide was deployed for his second tour in Iraq on March 1, just before his second wedding anniversary, and was set to return in October.

Chief Master Sgt. Armando Liendo of the Air Force junior ROTC at Desert View High said he had known Zurheide since he was a freshman.

“From the start, he knew where he wanted to go. His intent all along was to be a Marine,” Liendo said.

Zurheide’s father is a former Marine, and one of Robert Jr.’s two younger brothers also joined the Marines, according to Liendo.

Zurheide “was always a quiet young man,” Liendo said. “He wasn’t doing it to get noticed; he was doing it to do it. He was very attentive and structured in everything he did.”