Marine Sgt. Marquis R. Porter

Died January 11, 2009 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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28, of Boston; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died Jan. 11 as a result of a non-hostile incident in Asad, Iraq.

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Boston native was radio operator

The Associated Press

BOSTON — A North Carolina-based Marine sergeant from Boston has died in Iraq in a noncombat related incident.

The Pentagon said Jan. 16 that 28-year-old Marquis Porter died Jan. 11 in Anbar province. The Marines did not release a cause of death and said the incident is under investigation. He was from Boston's Brighton neighborhood.

Porter was a radio operator assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

He joined the Marine Corps in June 1998 and previously served in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from July 2004 to February 2005.

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Marine showed curiosity for the world

The Associated Press

All of his life, Marquis R. Porter was curious about the world around him.

“When I first met him and asked him questions about himself, I asked him what his favorite TV show was, and he said ‘NOVA.’ I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, and he said an entomologist,” said Craig Meyer, who was Porter’s mentor in the Big Brother program for two decades.

Porter, 28, of Boston, died Jan. 11 in a non-combat incident in Anbar province, Iraq. He was a 1998 high school graduate — on both the lacrosse and wrestling teams — and was assigned to Camp Lejeune.

It was Porter’s second tour to Iraq. He first deployed there from July 2004 to February 2005. He joined the Corps in June 1998.

When he was home from war, Porter tried to mentor young men, directing them toward a successful future, said his older sister, Celese Jackson.

“He was always one to talk to younger kids and try to get them to go on the right road, to tell them what they should be doing and what they shouldn’t be doing,” she said.

He is survived by his wife, Desha, and daughters Victoria, 4, and Madisyn, 2.