LCpl. David Branning

(reprinted from The Washington Post, November 15, 2004)

2 Marines From Woodbridge, Baltimore Area Killed in Iraq

Relatives of Branning's described him as a graduate of Baltimore County's Dulaney High School who loved cooking and drawing and was led to join the Marines at least in part by his curiosity, according to the Associated Press.

"He wanted to see things, to find out about the world beyond Baltimore," according to his stepmother, Tia Steele, the Associated Press said.

"We're very sad," Megan Branning, a cousin of Branning's, told the Associated Press yesterday. "The war in Iraq has hit close to home in our family."

David L. Branning of Annapolis, Branning's second cousin, told the Associated Press that he spoke to the Marine's father, Daniel Branning, this weekend. Two Marines had visited him at his home in Albuquerque to give him the news.

"When you lose your 21-year-old son, your only son, I don't think he expected that to happen," David L. Branning said. "So when I talked to him, he was pretty devastated."

The family hopes to hold a memorial for Branning in Maryland early next month, he said.