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 CAMP
PENDLETON, CA (June 1, 2012) - Marines and sailors, friends and
family members gathered for a memorial service to remember Sgt. John
Patrick Huling at the 11 Area Chapel, June 1.
Huling, 25, an
explosive ordinance support technician with 7th Engineer Support
Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group died while conducting combat
operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan, May 6.
“He was
always calm, cool and collective,” said WO-1 Eric Beatie, the EOD
1st Platoon commander, in a statement read at the memorial service
by CWO-2 Eric Rudis, the EOD Company operations officer with 7th
ESB. “He never wasted an opportunity to enhance his skill or
technique, or to learn something new or ask questions.”
“He's the type of Marine that really makes you look forward to
getting up and going to work in the morning, just to see what the
day will bring,” Beatie said in his statement.
Huling is a
graduate of Moeller High School in Cincinnati. He enlisted in the
Marine Corps in March 2006 and attended recruit training at the
Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He
reported to the School of Infantry at Camp Lejeune and completed
Marine Combat Training in 2006.
“I knew he was a special
person from the first time I met him,” said WO-1 John Smith, the
ordnance officer of 1st Maintenance Battalion, 1st MLG, who is a
long-time friend of Huling's. “He really cared about everything he
did.”
Initially, Huling served as an electro-optical ordnance
repairman and deployed to Iraq from July 2007 to Feb. 2008. In 2010
he re-enlisted as an explosive ordnance support technician and
immediately began on-the-job training with the EOD team. In November
2011 he graduated from the basic explosive ordnance disposal course
at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.. In April, Huling deployed to
Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
It was
a pleasure to be around him,” Smith said. “We deployed to Iraq in
2007 and I can't think of a better Marine to have around me.”
Huling is survived by his wife, Priscilla, and his parents, John
and Deborah Huling.
His awards include the Purple Heart,
Combat Action Ribbon, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal with one
bronze star, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign
Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal with one bronze star, Global War on
Terrorism Medal, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
International Security Assistance Force Medal-Afghanistan.
More photos available in frame below
By USMC Lance Cpl. Joshua Young
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2012
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