Marine Pfc. Dustin M. Sekula

Died April 1, 2004 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

18, of Edinburg, Texas; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.; killed April 1 by hostile fire in Anbar province, Iraq.

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Dustin Sekula was skilled at ranching and loved roping steers. He even used his high school lunch period to practice roping on a fake steer. Still, he turned down an agriculture scholarship to college to join the Marines. "Give it to somebody that needs it," his Future Farmers of America teacher, Dan de la Vina, recalled Sekula saying. Pfc. Sekula, 18, was killed April 1 by enemy fire in Anbar province, Iraq. An infantry mortarman from Edinburg, Texas, he was based at Twentynine Palms, Calif. His mother, Lisa Sekula, signed a consent form that allowed Dustin to join the Marines at age 17. "I had to put my 'mama' feelings aside and do what my baby wanted me to do," she said. "I'm thankful I can stand here and say Dusty loved me and I loved him and I have no regrets." Survivors also include his father, Daniel Sekula.

— Associated Press