Marine Lance Cpl. Scott E. Dougherty

Died July 6, 2004 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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20, of Bradenton Fla.; assigned to 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C.; killed July 6 by enemy action in Anbar province, Iraq.

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Florida family grieves death of Marine killed in Iraq

Associated Press

BRADENTON, Fla. — The grandfather of a 20-year-old Marine thought it was his grandson home early from a second tour of duty in Iraq when he saw a man in uniform walking up his gravel drive.

But the smile on Cyril Dougherty’s face faded when he realized it was another Marine coming to his home to tell him Lance Cpl. Scott Eugene Dougherty had been killed.

“I saw a uniform coming down the driveway, and I really thought it was Scotty coming home early to surprise us,” Cyril Dougherty recounted of the Tuesday visit. “But then I saw the other two holding up his sister Nicole, who was sobbing. That’s how we found out.”

His family said Scott Dougherty was killed Tuesday when his Humvee struck a tank mine in Iraq. He was a member of the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

“He was on a mission, and his vehicle ran over a tank mine, flipped over a ravine and exploded,” said Keith Dougherty, the slain Marine’s father. “They told me it was quick, that he didn’t suffer.”

Scott Dougherty enlisted in the Marines in 2002 after graduating from high school. He was just two days out of combat training when he was deployed to Iraq for five months.

He returned for a second tour of duty three months ago, his father said.

“He died doing what he loved doing. If I could have been there beside him, I would have been,” Keith Dougherty said. “He was proud of what he was doing. This is what he wanted to do with his life. This was his dream.”

The Dougherty family gathered at grandparents Cyril and Janet Dougherty’s home Wednesday, grieving the loss of a young man they described as fun-loving, patriotic and energetic.

With the classic Marine Corps bulldog tattoo on one arm and an American flag with the words “These colors don’t run” on his back shoulder, Scott Dougherty was committed to Corps, his dad said.

“He told me, ‘If the opportunity arises again, I’d sign up again in a heartbeat,’ ” he said.

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Marine killed in Iraq remembered as a hero

BRADENTON, Fla. — Through her tears, the mother of a Marine from Bradenton killed earlier this month in Iraq said that what her son and other soldiers are fighting for far from home will “make a difference.”

Friends and family gathered throughout the weekend to honor the life of Lance Cpl. Scott Dougherty, 20, who was killed July 6 when the Humvee he was riding in struck a tank mine in Iraq. He was on his second tour of duty in Iraq; Dougherty first served five months, and was three months into his second tour when he died.

“What these boys and girls are doing over there, it’s going to make a real difference someday,” said Dougherty’s mother, Debra.

Dougherty’s funeral was Saturday in Sarasota. A memorial service on Friday in Bradenton was replete with full military honors; a flag-draped coffin flanked by Marines in full dress uniforms, along with red, white and blue ribbons presented to each mourner.

There also were posters covered with photo collages remembering Dougherty’s life; one read, “Our Fallen Hero. We’ll mourn his death. We’ll celebrate his life.”

Dougherty was a member of the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Lejeune, N.C. Two other members of his battalion died in the same incident, as did a fourth North Carolina-based Marine.

— Associated Press