Marine Sgt. David M. Caruso

Died November 9, 2004 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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25, of Naperville, Ill.; assigned to 2nd Force Reconnaissance Company, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; killed Nov. 9 by enemy action in Anbar province, Iraq.

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Illinois Marine killed in Iraq this week

By Jan Dennis

Associated Press

Sgt. David Caruso had called home to Naperville every week since joining the Marines five years ago, but he told his parents last week they wouldn’t hear from him for a while because his unit in Iraq was “going to do some stuff.”

“He told me not to worry about him. I told him that’s like telling me not to breathe,” his mother, Gloria Caruso, said Friday.

The 25-year-old was killed in a firefight Tuesday as U.S. troops fought to capture the city of Fallujah from Islamic insurgents, his parents and military officials said.

Caruso was one of six Marines from Illinois, all assigned to different units, to die this week in Iraq. Five were part of the U.S. offensive launched on Fallujah. As of Friday morning, 22 U.S. troops had died in that offensive, military officials said. They called the high number of Illinois casualties a coincidence.

“Usually with something like that there’s really no connection,” said Lance Cpl. Lucian Friel, a spokesman for the Defense Department.

Caruso, a 1998 graduate of Waubonsie Valley High School in the Chicago suburb of Aurora, had his sights set on the Marines since he was in eighth grade, his mother said.

“He said ‘We live in a great country, Mom, and I think everyone should give something back,”’ Gloria Caruso said.

He had always been a high achiever, setting goals and generally exceeding them, his parents said. He worked in reconnaissance for Marine special operations, and also passed the Army’s Ranger school.

At 16, Caruso became an Eagle Scout, then spent the next two years earning the three Palms that are the only remaining honors for Eagle scouts.

“We never had to push him. We usually had to try to hold him back,” his mother said.

Joseph Caruso said he first noticed his son’s drive when he was three or four years old and he was giving him a ride on the back of a bicycle.

“He said he wanted to get out and run. I figured he’d run a little bit then get back on. He ran at least a half a mile. He just always strived to do more,” Joseph Caruso said.

Friendly but a little on the shy side, Caruso was an honor student and played football in high school. Since joining the Marines, he had taken up photography, filling photo albums with shots taken during leaves in China, Vietnam and other stops.

“Looking back now, it’s almost like he knew he had to try to do a lot in a short amount of time,” his mother said.

Caruso had been in Iraq since August, and was assigned to the 2nd Force Reconnaissance Company, II Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Lejeune, N.C.