In Memoriam

Marine from Central New York Killed in Iraq

ALBANY, N.Y. The Defense Department says a 21-year-old Marine from central New York died in Iraq.

According to the military, Sergeant Elisha R. Parker, of Taberg, was killed Thursday in combat operations against enemy forces in Al Anbar province. He was assigned to the First Combat Engineer Battalion, First Marine Division out of Camp Pendleton, California.

Parker was a 2002 Camden High School graduate, who has been inspired by the 2001 terrorist attacks to enlist and whose father had been in the military.

His parents, Renny and Donna Parker, were notified Thursday.

Pastor Bryan Lynch, speaking for the family, said Parker, who was on his third tour of duty in Iraq and was killed when an explosive detonated.

Lynch tells the Syracuse Post-Standard that Parker volunteered for the specialized duty of bomb disposal.