Marine from Irmo dies in Iraq, Roadside bomb kills David Weimortz, 28, who attended Dutch Fork, USC

By JASON RYAN
jpryan@thestate.com

The Marine and Irmo native was on patrol in Al Anbar province, nearly 45 days into his second tour of duty in Iraq as an assault man.

This tour was to be his last before the Marine was to return home in February and study law, his father, Terry Weimortz, said.

David Weimortz is the 41st member of the U.S. military with S.C. ties to die in the Iraq war and the second this month.

Saturday, 29-year-old Marine Sgt. John Paul Phillips was buried in Moncks Corner. He died Aug. 16 in a Texas military hospital of injuries suffered in March near Fallujah.

Weimortz graduated as a golf standout from Dutch Fork High School and then from the University of South Carolina, where he majored in history.

Weimortz was stationed at Camp LeJeune, N.C., but kept a room at his sister Kelly Weimortz’s house in Columbia, his father said Monday from his home in Crestview, Fla.

Before leaving for Iraq in mid-July, Weimortz visited family and friends, including playing a round of golf with his father.

“I kissed him, gave him a hug and that’s the last time I saw him,” Terry Weimortz said. “He died like a man. He’s a hero as far as I’m concerned.”

Weimortz said that though his son claimed his Christian faith had prepared him for death, he was still scared of the upcoming mission in Iraq where he was trained to fire heavy weapons that can destroy tanks and bunkers.

“What was so eerie was that he started giving me things,” Terry Weimortz said, listing a pair of sunglasses, a Tommy Bahama shirt and a uniform.

As a boy, he played many sports, his father said, and his first word was “ball.”

“He was 6 feet 6 inches, 225 pounds — solid man,” Terry Weimortz said.

After college, he worked for a publisher in Raleigh, for a car dealer in Charleston, and modeled products at NASCAR races before enlisting.

Weimortz joined the Marines in March 2003 and graduated from boot camp at Parris Island. His commendations included the Iraqi Campaign Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Medal, said Marine spokesman Lt. Barry Edwards.

In June 2005, Weimortz was attached to the headquarters section of the 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, and participated in Operation Sword.

The operation aimed to drive out insurgent fighters in Hit, located along the Euphrates River in the Al Anbar province.

A story published by Infoline Marine, an online service of Marine Corps public affairs, quoted Weimortz as saying the troops also tried to connect with the local citizens and show they were liberators, not conquerors.

The publication featured a photo of Weimortz exchanging a handshake with a local child outside Camp Ripper in Iraq.

“We not only flushed out insurgents, but we also helped the people so they can build the infrastructure of their society,” Weimortz said in the story.

Fighting in Iraq’s most volatile province helped him put life at home in perspective, he said.

“From the simplest things such as getting milk, to being stuck in traffic, or even going to college football games, it all comes to the surface and you realize how fortunate you are,” Weimortz said.

Weimortz also believed his efforts would help the Iraqis.

“This entire operation reminds me of a Boy Scout saying, ‘Leave your camp better than you found it,’” Weimortz told the publication. “Not only will I leave this base in better shape and more secure, but we will have left this country in a greater shape for their future.”

Weimortz joined the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division in June.

Terry Weimortz said his son warned him before his redeployment not to expect as many e-mails during this campaign because of his remote location.

Terry Weimortz also didn’t expect the hysterical call from his daughter on Saturday telling him of David’s death.

“She’s suffering, I’m suffering his mother’s suffering. It’s just unbelievable.”

Weimortz is also survived by his mother, Fran Fellers of Irmo, a stepbrother, Jody Weimortz Harley of Lexington, and a grandmother, Helen Asbill of Aiken.

Staff writer Chuck Crumbo contributed to this report. Reach Ryan at (803) 771-8595.