Cpl. Christopher Belchik (KIA)

(reprinted from The St. Louis Post Dispatch, August 23,  2004)

Local Marine killed in Iraq

When Christopher Belchik made up his mind to do something, nothing could stand in his way.

When he started golfing, he was shooting par within a year. When he decided to join the Marine Corps three years ago, he shed 30 pounds in just a few weeks to meet the corps' weight requirement.

"He went through a lot just to get in," said his brother, Brian Belchik. "He loved the Marine Corps so much."

Cpl. Christopher Belchik, a native of the Alton-Godfrey area, was killed in Iraq's Anbar province Sunday, the Defense Department has confirmed. Brian Belchik said he had been told that a mortar round killed his brother and injured several other Marines.

Christopher Belchik, 30, leaves his wife, Mary Belchik, in Alton, at a home that Brian Belchik had been helping to fix up for his brother's return. Christopher Belchik had been scheduled to return home Oct. 9.

"I really believed in my heart that he would make it home," Brian Belchik said. "I'm in shock."

Family members had urged him not to re-enlist.

Christopher Belchik had attended Alton High and later earned his GED. He had worked as a hod carrier for several years before meeting his wife. They married in June last year while Christopher was home on leave.

He had been in Iraq since February. Earlier, he had been in Iraq for several months and also had been in Kosovo.

His father, Stephen Belchik of Staunton, flies a Marine Corps flag beneath an American flag on a pole in front of his home. In the living room, a picture of Christopher in his dress uniform occupies a position of honor on a lamp table. The idea of losing his youngest son had concerned him.

"You always worry about it," he said. "I spent some time in the Navy in Vietnam, and I was aware of the risks."

Christopher's mother, Lynn Lenker of Godfrey, had spoken with her son just last week by e-mail. A webcam also had been set up so she could see her son.

Brian Belchik said his brother was trying to figure out what to get his wife for her birthday.

"He was very upbeat," Brian Belchik said. "He was excited about his wife's birthday. He's over there getting shot at, and that's what he was thinking of."

Brian Belchik said that his brother's body was en route to the United States and that he hoped a funeral for his brother could be held this week.

In addition to his wife, parents and brother, survivors include a sister, Julie Prats of Chicopee, Mass.

Belchik is the sixth St. Louis-area serviceman to die in the Iraq war.

Also, a Marine Corps Reserve unit with headquarters in St. Louis has suffered its first death in Iraq.

Killed Thursday was Cpl. Brad P. McCormick, 23, of Overton, Tenn.

McCormick belonged to Company I of the 3rd Battalion, 24th Marines, an infantry unit with its headquarters at Lambert Field. McCormick's company is based in Nashville, Tenn.

The Pentagon said only that McCormick had been the victim of enemy fire in Anbar province. The family was told that an explosion had killed McCormick as he was on a security patrol in the city of Najaf, according to the Cookeville (Tenn.) Herald-Citizen.

Since March, 900 members of the battalion have been on duty in Iraq. They're scheduled to return home in October.