He was born on June 24,1981 and died March 21,2004.
Ken Joined the Marines in Dec.'99 and served thru Jan. '04, recieving an honerable discharge with the rank of Corporal. While serving our country, he endured being sent to Afghanastan directly after the 9/11 attacks, where he served in the 15th MEU as part of Charlie Co. 1st battallion 1st Marines, and was among the first Marines on the ground where they took control of an airfield near Kandahar dubbed Camp Rhino.
Ken was married to Rachel on Dec. 31 '02 in Vegas. They'd met when he was on leave in Perth Australia. They seperated in Oct. '03.
Just three days after his wedding, Ken was told he was being sent to Iraq and sailed for Kuwait on Jan. 17 '04. He was Team Leader of the First Platoon of Kilo Co. where he was involed in gound combat from the first day of hostilities until he returned home to Camp Pendlton, CA in May '03 He took the most pride in the fact that as Team Leader he was able to bring home all of his Marines safe and unharmed!
Ok so that is my brother the soldier. This is my brother!
As kids we did NOT get along. There were days I'd ask God why I was given such a rotten little brother! We chased each other with knives and other weapons. It was just bad! We had no common interests and not much else, other then blood in common. He always wanted or acted so much older the he was and was always so impatient to grow up, that just irked me.
When he came back from Boot Camp, he was deffinatly changed. We could suddenly be in the same room together and not try to hurt one another! We had a LOT of catching up to do, but it was a start. Over the last 4 years we had grown increasingly closer and I was really begining to like the man he had become! Ken was a very different little boy and thus had a hard time growing up. I tried to be there for him as much as I could be, living so far away. I always kept an ear open for him to chew on if he needed.
Now that he is gone, I feel so alone. Ive suddenly been thrust into the role of only child and its not a role I think I'll ever be comfortable with. I miss my brother more and more each day, but I truely belive that he has found the peace in death that he couldnt fine here in life with us. We will all continue to miss him and we will always love him. I wish I'd have told him how much I did love him and how much he ment to me more often, but Im sure he knows that now.
Ken was a private man, and Im sure he's just groaning knowing that Im doing a memorial page in his honor, but its not for him really. Its for me. I want people to know what a special person he was, even though he couldnt see how special he was or how much he ment to so many people while alive. Althought he life was far to short, he touched more people then you can imagine!
I guess what I most want people to know about my brother is that he was a really great guy! Sure he was kind of an odd child, but look at all he's accomplished, even in only 22 years. I only mentioned a few things he was part of, there is much much more he has accomplished. He may have lived a short life, but he also lived a very full life. I have to remind myself that what he did was HIS choice, and if it hadnt been his time, things would have turned out differently.
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