LCpl. Dimitrios Gavriel, U.S.M.C. (KIA)

America became a great nation because of men like Marine Lance Cpl. Dimitrios Gavriel, who died last week fighting in Iraq.

Gavriel had everything going for him; a former state champion wrestler from Timberlane Regional High School in Plaistow, he had gone to Brown University and then on to Wall Street to work at major firms like Paine Webber and J.P. Morgan.

But then came the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Gavriel lost two good friends who were working at the World Trade Center and decided that he could not simply go on with his life. America was under attack, and, he said, it was his duty to protect the country that had been so good to his mother and father when they arrived from Greece and where the Gavriel family had been able to realize the American dream.

He begged the Marines to let him join, despite two knees damaged from years of wrestling. And finally, they let him join.

Put aside your politics and admire a man who had so much to lose and risked it all to fight for what he believed in.

One of Gavriel’s former wrestling coaches said that the heavyweight’s decision to join the fight was entirely in character.

"He looked for a higher purpose," said Don Woodworth, the assistant principal at Timberlane Regional High School. "It all fits. He was a loyal kid."

Gavriel found his higher purpose fighting with the American Marines in Iraq against those he believed threatened everything he loved.

As a 23-year-old, Gavriel wrote: "I have heard that great men often kept journals - I’d like to be great."

Dimitrios Gavriel, you were a great man. You are mourned by all who knew you and those who were not fortunate enough to get the chance.