Cpl David M. Sonka
Cpl. David M. Sonka, 23, of Parker, Colo., died May 4, while conducting combat operations in Farah province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Marine Special Operations Battalion, Camp Lejeune, N.C. Dave attended Chaparral High School in Parker. Sonka joined the Marine Corps in August 2008 and graduated from recruit training in November 2008. He attended military police school in Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. Upon graduation, Sonka attended the Military Working Dog Handler Basic Course at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. From July 2009 to March 2012, he was assigned to III Marine Expeditionary Force K9 Section at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, Calif., and deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Sonka was then assigned to the Marine Special Operations Combat Support Battalion, Marine Special Operations Support Group at Camp Lejeune. While there, he completed a special operations training course, and Multi-Purpose Canine Course Phase I and Phase II. He then was attached to 2nd Marine Special Operations Battalion as a multi-purpose canine handler. Sonka’s personal decorations include a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal and a Combat Action Ribbon. Dave was serving his second deployment and had just arrived in Afghanistan a few weeks prior. Ft. Logan National
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Born: May 18, 1992 in Winter Haven, Florida
Born: April 28, 1991 in Jamestown, New York
Born: May 28, 1993 in Du Bois, Pennsylvania
Born: April 27, 1991
Born: December 17, 1991 in Baltimore, Maryland
Lance Cpl. Roger W. Muchnick Jr., 23, of Fairfield, Conn., is a Staples High School graduate from Westport. He was among seven Marines killed in a mortar explosion in Nevada. He was part of the 2nd Marine Division based at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. He served 2 tours in Afghanistan. Roger was in the Marines for about three years, had served in Afghanistan and was thinking about returning to college after his enlistment was up. He played on the football and lacrosse teams at Staples High School and went on to play lacrosse at Eastern Connecticut State University, where he studied business. LCpl Muchnick was a mortarman assigned to 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment. He joined the Marine Corps in June 2010 and was promoted to his current rank in May 2011. Muchnick’s awards include the Combat Action Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, and NATO Medal-ISAF Afghanistan. He was most recently deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2011. He was buried next to his great uncle, Navy Lt. Cmdr. William F. Coakley, a pilot who was shot down over North Vietnam on Sept. 13, 1966. St Ann
Born: January 6, 1987 in Breese, Illinois
Staff Sgt. Jonathan D. Davis, 34, of Kayenta, Ariz., died Feb. 22 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to Headquarters Battalion, 32nd Georgian Liaison Team, Regimental Combat Team 7, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif. He joined the Marine Corps in the fall of 1997 had combat experience in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Among his awards are, the Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the NATO Medal-ISAF Afghanistan, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal. Kayenta Cemetery in Kayenta, Arizona