Marines mourn drowned friends

Illinois-based men were strong swimmers; mission continues

March 27, 2003

By NAHAL TOOSI
(Milwaukee) Journal Sentinel staff

SOUTHERN IRAQ - While the hometown of LaHarpe Marine Cpl. Evan T. Jones mourned Wednesday, the body of a second Marine was recovered from the southeastern Iraqi canal in which they both drowned.

James, 20, and Sgt. Bradley S. Korthaus, 28, of Davenport, Iowa, members of Engineer Company C of the 6th Engineer Support Battalion, had been swimming across the Saddam Canal with three other Marines to evaluate the site for security reasons.

Both were combat engineer reservists with the Peoria County-based Company C, which deployed about 150 members in January. They were the first two deaths suffered by the 1,400-member battalion.

In LaHarpe on Wednesday, a town of about 1,400 people in northeastern Hancock County, a huge U.S. flag hung from the front porch of the family's home. Throughout the town, people had lowered their flags to half-staff. Ribbons dotted homes, businesses, trees and telephone poles.

"Everyone wants to do something, but no one knows what," said a local florist, who spent the day selling boxes of yellow bows. "This hits too close to home."

Media did not report on the deaths sooner at the request of the battalion's commanding officer, Lt. Col. Roger Machut, who wanted the next of kin to be notified first. James' parents, Mike and Donna, were told of his death late Tuesday afternoon by two members of his unit, who arrived at their home in dress blue uniforms.

Rescue and recovery efforts had started immediately after the men disappeared at 12:30 p.m. Monday. The search, completed Wednesday, was severely hampered by a vicious sandstorm.

The men went into the 75-meter-wide canal with much of their gear, including weapons, as Marines are trained to do. After they disappeared, several Marines jumped in to find them; helicopter teams also assisted. An underwater demolition team was eventually called in to search the 10- to 12-foot-deep canal.

Both men were considered strong swimmers, said Major Michael P. McCarthy, 39, the engineer company's commanding officer.

McCarthy said the reasons the two men went down remained unclear, though it was possible they overexerted themselves while trying to swim across. The water felt very cold, said McCarthy, who had waded in to try to help find them. There did not appear to be anything in the water that would have dragged the men down, he said.

The incident came during what has been an especially miserable and busy few days for the support battalion. The battalion, whose primary mission is the storage and supply of bulk fuel and water, has been on the move north from Kuwait and has positioned Marines at several spots in southern Iraq. The military has asked that neither the details of the battalion's operation nor this camp's exact location be revealed for operational security purposes.

The past few nights have been almost sleepless for many Marines, and the weather, particularly a relentless sandstorm that began Monday and reached a peak on Tuesday, has not helped.

Furthermore, the largely disconnected Marines have heard only bits and pieces of news about casualties suffered by the U.S. military further north, and that the Iraqis have taken several Americans prisoner.

Yet work continues here. Several of the Marines, particularly those who served with Korthaus and James in Engineer Company C, took the deaths hard. But some also said they had to focus on completing their mission.

"They were really good Marines," said Cpl. Brian Hooley, 23, of Hannibal, Mo. "It's a hard loss to have any Marines lost, but on top of that to have any two good Marines lost ... There's mixed emotions. You've got to grieve for them, for the loss, but at the same time you've got to finish doing your job."

James was studying to become a physical fitness trainer at Southern Illinois University and had joined the Marines in June 2000. He was exceptionally fit - a triathlete, in fact. Other Marines here said he was a very quiet person, though always positive and upbeat.

"It's a huge, huge loss," said James' aunt, Diane Kornegay. "They wanted a few good men, and in Evan they got the best."

In Davenport, Steve Korthaus said his son "wanted to be a Marine since he was 10 years old." The sergeant called home a week before he left for Kuwait in February and was eager to help rid Iraq of Saddam.

"He was ready. He was over-ready in fact," his father said. "He would have been mad if he didn't get to go."

Journal Star reporter Jodi Pospeschil

contributed to this story.