An Oklahoman was
one of two Marines
killed in Iraq on the
outskirts of Fallujah.
The deaths came on
the day Iraqi troops began replacing U.S. Marines under a plan to
end a monthlong siege
in the city, the Defense
Department said Monday.
Cpl. Scott M. Vincent,
21, of Bokoshe, died
Friday in Al Anbar province while conducting a
combat mission in support of Operation Iraqi
Freedom, said Maj.
Steve Sims of the Marine Reserve Anti-Tank
unit at Broken Arrow.
In addition to the two
dead Marines, six were
wounded, Sims said.
Vincent, who was an
active-duty Marine, was
on a vehicle security patrol that was hit by a
suicide car bomb, Sims
said.
Vincent also had
served in Afghanistan.
He extended his service time by five
months so he could go
back to Iraq voluntarily
in February of this year
for a second tour in the
combat zone, Sims said.
Vincent was assigned
to Delta Company, 2nd
Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 1,
First Marine Division.
Also killed Friday was
Cpl. Joshua E. Wilfong,
22, of Walker, W. Va.,
assigned to the 2nd
Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, the
Defense Department said.
Vincent and Wilfong had been based at Camp
Lejeune, N.C.
Vincent graduated from Bokoshe High School in
2000 and enlisted in the Marine Corps in July of
that year, Sims said.
A memorial service is pending at Bokoshe High
School.
Bokoshe,
in LeFlore County in far southeastern
Oklahoma, is a town of about 560 people, according to the 2000 Census.
Michael Culwell, principal of Bokoshe High
School, said Vincent had been active in academic
teams and drama at the school.
Most of the school's teachers, he said, described Vincent "as a quiet but very bright young
man," and fellow students "knew he would become something great when he got out of school."
About this time last year, the principal said, Bokoshe had held a welcome-home ceremony for the
Marine, "and that is what makes this even more
difficult for us."
Vincent's death, Culwell said, made the Iraqi
war "hit home. It is a big loss for the community.
Our hearts go out to the family."
Rob Martindale 581-8367
rob.martindale@tulsaworld.com
