Marine from Tucson dies of wounds sustained in Iraq ARTHUR H. ROTSTEIN Associated Press   TUCSON, Ariz. - A Marine from Tucson has died of a cardiac arrest stemming from burns he suffered during combat in Iraq, the Department of Defense said Friday. Master Sgt. Kenneth E. Hunt Jr., 40, a machine-gunner, sustained burns over 60 percent of his body July 24 when the vehicle he was riding in struck an anti-tank mine. He died Wednesday at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. Hunt was in the turret of an armored Humvee as part of a six-vehicle team responding to reports of makeshift explosives in Al Taqaddum, in the overwhelmingly Sunni province of Anbar west of Baghdad - the heart of the Iraqi insurgency. His vehicle struck the mine after a large explosion near one of the other vehicles had wounded four Marines. Hunt was taken to a hospital facility at Bilad, Iraq, before being flown to Brooke two days later. Hunt's family declined interview requests but issued a statement. "The family wants to ensure the correct story is told," the statement said. "Freedom is not free, and this is part of the sacrifice we must endure to maintain our way of life. The family is sorry for their loss, but understands the sacrifice. "Master Sergeant Hunt could have retired and not made this deployment, but he chose to remain on active duty and deploy. To him it was payback for the freedoms he and his family enjoyed." Hunt was assigned to Marine Wing Support Group 37 of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force, based at the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma. Hunt, who joined the Marines in April 1983, had deployed to Iraq on Feb. 11, said Marine spokeswoman Capt. Beatriz Yarrish in Yuma. He had been based in Yuma since August 1999, said 1st Lt. Kevin Schultz. Hunt also had been stationed at Camp Pendleton, Calif., Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego and the Marine Corps Barracks Naval Air Station, North Island, in San Diego. Hunt is survived by his wife, Maria, and two children.