Kingwood Marine dies in Iraq

From the Houston Chronicle:

A 20-year-old Marine from Kingwood was killed in Iraq Thursday, only months after he had finished basic training, his family said.

Lance Cpl. Luke Yepsen was a Marine Corps infantryman who had just completed boot camp in August before leaving for Iraq in October. He was shot during combat Thursday in Anbar province.

"He looked trim and fit and healthy, and he was real proud of his new uniform," said Jim Bailey, remembering the last time he saw his nephew. "It's all so sudden, and he was so young."

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This hits home. Forgive the pun, but Kingwood is where I grew up. Back in the day, I was fairly patriotic myself. Obviously, I never joined up, but then we weren't in an extended war in the mid 80s when I was this kid's age. Who knows? He could be me, or any of my buddies with whom I went to high school--most of us were pretty conservative and patriotic; like Cpl. Yepsen, many of my pals went to Texas A&M, which is extraordinarily pro-military. I know we've lost nearly 3,000 servicemen since this thing began, but this one really makes me sad.

We've got to get out of there.

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