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Cpl. Jordan Pierson

(reprinted from Boston.com, August 26, 2006)

Marine from Milford killed in Iraq

August 26, 2006

HARTFORD, Conn. --A marine from Connecticut was killed in combat Friday in Iraq, the U.S. Department of Defense announced Saturday.

Cpl. Jordan C. Pierson, 21, of Milford, died during combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division in Plainville.

No additional information was immediately available.

Pierson was the second marine from the 25th Marine Regiment to be killed in three weeks. Lance Cpl. Kurt Dechen, 24, of Springfield, Vt., was on a foot patrol in Fallujah, Iraq, on Aug. 3 when his unit came under fire and he was shot.

Thirty-two servicemen and women and civilians with Connecticut ties have died since March 2002 in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Pierson and another serviceman were hit with shrapnel earlier this year after a grenade exploded near them, The Hartford Courant reported in May.

Roberto Diaz, of Manchester, said he trained with Pierson in California and last saw him nine months ago.

"He was an excellent marine," he said. "He did his job to the fullest."