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In Memoriam |
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In Memoriam |
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Sgt. Douglas Bascom, U.S.M.C (KIA)
Young Marine died for the people he went to protect
Douglas Bascom killed while leading his troops in Iraq
By Dick Foster, Rocky Mountain News
October 23, 2004
COLORADO SPRINGS - An evening last May has become a bittersweet memory for Jolene Bascom.
Her husband, Douglas Bascom, a sergeant in the Marine Corps, took a break from his duties at Camp Pendleton to celebrate their fourth wedding anniversary in uniquely southern California style.
"We were in Oceanside. He took me on a dinner cruise. He was considering volunteering to go to Iraq, and we just wanted to be together and spend as much time together as we could," she said Friday.
Douglas E. Bascom eventually did volunteer and arrived in Iraq in September.
On Wednesday night, Marines came to Jolene Bascom's door in Colorado Springs to say that her husband had been killed.
The 25-year-old sergeant was leading a squad in Al Anbar province when an improvised bomb exploded, wounding him fatally.
Clair Doughty, Jolene Bascom's father, was not surprised to learn that his son-in-law was in the lead, looking out for his troops.
"Doug was protective - protective of my daughter, protective of the men assigned to him. He knew people in the service who were over there and he felt a strong urge to be over there protecting them," he said.
Douglas Bascom grew up in an Air Force family and went to high school in England while his father was stationed there. The family was transferred to Colorado Springs in 1998. Bascom worked three jobs and attended college with his sights on a degree in computer engineering.
All of that changed when 17-year-old Jolene Doughty walked into the clothing store where he was working.
"I loved the way that he treated me. He's a very outgoing, expressive, fun-loving and very nonselfish person, and I could tell that he cared about other people," she said.
"I just knew that he was the person I wanted to be with for the rest of my life."
They wanted to get married, but Bascom needed a way to support his new bride, so he joined the Marines. Raised in the military, Bascom knew the life and liked its opportunity for travel and experience. But he opted for the Marines rather than his father's branch.
"Doug is a very physical person. He was also very hands-on and knew that the Air Force wouldn't allow him to experience some of the things he wanted," Jolene Bascom said.
They were married in 2000 after he finished boot camp.
Bascom finished his enlistment and left the Marines last year, but after a few months working at a bank in California he longed for the service and re-enlisted earlier this year.
"That's where his heart was," said Jolene Bascom, 23, who lives in Colorado Springs with her parents. "He always said what he loved about the Marine Corps was the bonds and loyalty between the co-workers. He said he knew they would die for him, and he would die for them."
Bascom had told his wife that there were times when he was "really scared."
"He would go through things that no one else could imagine having to go through, and he told me he made it through every day by thinking about how much he loved me," she said. "That's what was important to him."
Bascom's remains will be returned to the United States this weekend. Funeral services are pending.