http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/vaapwire/MGBT4CGPKED.html Winchester Marine dies after being wounded in Iraq
Apr 15, 2003
WINCHESTER, Va. (AP) _ A 20-year-old Marine from Winchester died in combat in Baghdad, the fifth Virginian killed in the war against Iraq, the Defense Department said Tuesday.
Lance Cpl. David Edward Owens Jr. was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division in Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Owens' mother, Debbie Owens, remembered her son Tuesday as a man who was ready for a challenge and proud to serve his country. She said the family was notified Saturday that he had been injured in battle and told that wounds did not appear to be life-threatening.
But on Monday afternoon, an Army chaplain and a Marine lieutenant colonel arrived at the family's doorstep.
"I knew then that he didn't make it," Debbie Owens told The Winchester Star. He had been shot in the chest during a battle in Baghdad.
"Our whole life was centered around him," she added.
Owens, an only child, last saw his parents when he was home during a 10-day leave over the New Year's holiday, before leaving for Kuwait from California on Jan. 28. He told them he wasn't worried about the deployment, that it was what he had been training for.
"That was his job," his mother said. "He was very proud to be a Marine."
Since his deployment, his mother received two letters, the last dated March 3. David Owens Sr. said his son's unit was constantly on the move during the war.
Owens graduated from high school in 2000, then drifted from job to job, his mother said. He decided he wanted to become a state trooper, and headed to the Marines as a means of pursuing that goal. He joined in November 2000, signing up for four years of active duty and four of inactive service.
He loved hunting and athletics. He was a successful wrestler and football player in high school. Debbie Owens said her son was always trying to make her laugh and that he would want his parents to go on with their lives.
He would say to her, "You don't need to be crying. Why are you crying?" she said. "We couldn't ask for a better child."
The family said a funeral is planned for sometime next week.
Before Owens' death, the last Virginia casualty was Army 2nd Lt. Jeffrey J. Kaylor, 24, of Clifton, who was killed in a grenade attack on April 9.
In addition, Army Capt. James F. Adamouski, 29, of Springfield, was killed April 2 when the Black Hawk helicopter he was in crashed. Marine Sgt. Michael V. Lalush of Troutville died March 30 after the Huey helicopter he was in crashed.
Virginia's first casualty was 31-year-old Marine Staff Sgt. Donald C. May Jr., who died after his tank fell off a bridge into the Euphrates River. May was buried Saturday in Chesterfield County.
