Two more Marines from Florida were killed this week in al-Anbar province in Iraq, where Marines and Iraqi troops led the offensive on insurgents in Fallujah.

They were Capt. Patrick M. Rapicault, 34, of St. Augustine, and Lance Cpl. Antoine D. Smith, 22, of Orlando. They were killed Monday, the Defense Department reported.

Both were members of the 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force based at Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Rapicault joined the Marine Corps on May 24, 1993. His personal awards include the Purple Heart, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon and National Defense Service Medal.

Smith joined the Marine Corps on May 29, 2001. His personal awards include the Navy and Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon and National Defense Service Medal.

Before joining the Marines, Smith had lived for several years with his mother in an apartment two blocks off Parramore Avenue in west Orlando, a neighbor there said.

Rapicault went to high school in Mississippi and graduated from Delta State University before joining the Marines, said his sister, Christine Cappillino, of New York. His parents, Gabriel and Nicole Rapicault, live in St. Augustine.

He also worked as a Navy SEAL, Texas Ranger and paratrooper for the Marines, his sister said.

"He was just a personable person who wanted to make a difference," Cappillino told The St. Augustine Record.

Rapicault was the assistant operations officer for 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment. He had spent weeks battling insurgents in the so-called Sunni Triangle west of Baghdad. The Oct. 25 edition of Time magazine which described how Rapicault and his men tracked down insurgents and prepared to attack Fallujah.

During the patrol, Rapicault's humvee was disabled by mortar fire - the sixth time he had been hit, according to Time reporter Phil Zabriskie.

As of Tuesday, the Pentagon said 1,210 U.S. service members have died in Iraq since the conflict began 20 months ago. At the beginning of November the Pentagon count stood at 1,119, and it rose rapidly as the Fallujah fighting intensified and insurgents struck back in other cities and towns.