Posted on: Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Honolulu, Wisconsin Marines killed
By Rod Ohira and Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writers
Kristen K. Marino
Nicholas R. Anderson
A Honolulu man who joined the Marines in September 2004 and expected to come
home from combat in Iraq next month was killed Sunday, the military said
yesterday.
Also, a Kane'ohe Bay Marine from Wisconsin was killed Monday in Afghanistan,
the military said. His mother said he had wanted a military career since
childhood.
With those two deaths, 64 Marines and sailors with Hawai'i-based units or
Hawai'i ties have been killed in Iraq or Afghanistan since the start of the
Iraq war in March 2003.
Lance Cpl. Kristen K. (Figueroa) Marino, 20, was born and raised on O'ahu.
He was killed during combat operations in Al Anbar province in Iraq, the
Department of Defense said. He was a rifleman assigned to the 3rd Battalion,
7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force,
Twentynine Palms, Calif.
Lance Cpl. Nicholas R. Anderson, 21, of Sauk City, Wis., was killed in a
nonhostile vehicle accident while on patrol in Afghanistan. The incident is
under investigation, the Department of Defense said. Anderson joined the
Marines in January 2005 and was assigned to B Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd
Marine Regiment at Kane'ohe.
He was deployed to Afghanistan in January.
Figueroa's stepfather, Alfred Marino, said he and his wife, Sandi, were
having coffee at 8:30 a.m. Monday when they heard someone knocking on the
door at their Kalihi home.
When he opened the door and saw uniformed Marines outside, Alfred Marino
asked, "Is he wounded?"
"They said, 'Can we come in and sit down?' and I knew," a tearful Marino
said yesterday.
Marino said his relationship with his stepson began 16 years ago. A Vietnam
veteran himself, Marino called his stepson "a hero."
"He was a young man with his whole life in front of him," Marino said. "When
he got out of the Marines, he wanted to be a fireman and take care of his
mother."
Figueroa had his last name legally changed to Marino two months ago, his
stepfather said.
Kristen (Figueroa) Marino, a graduate of the Hawai'i National Guard Youth
Challenge Academy, joined the Marine Corps in September 2004 and was sent to
Iraq last September. His service awards include the National Defense Service
Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, and War on Terrorism Service Medal.
"Me and my wife are very proud of our son," Alfred Marino said. "He believed
in what he was fighting for, what he was doing. He wanted to be a Marine,
and we feel it's an honor to die serving your country."
On Mother's Day, Sandi Marino received a gift of flowers and a diamond
necklace from (Figueroa) Marino, the youngest of her four children.
"He called two weeks ago," Alfred Marino said, "to tell us he was coming
home next month. We was all so happy. I was planning to make him his
favorite fried rice and Spam."
Beside his parents, (Figueroa) Marino is survived by sister Tasha Wallace;
brothers Anthony Figueroa of San Francisco and Hokulani Figueroa.
A service with military honors will be held here on a date to be announced,
the family said.
Anderson's mother, Barbara Anderson, said yesterday that she was still in
shock after learning that her son had been killed. She said from her home in
Sauk City that she last talked with her son on Friday.
"He was supposed to call me on Sunday, but he never did because he was out
on maneuvers," Anderson said. "I'm just a blank. I'm just in shock."
Anderson said her son seemed to be headed for a career in the military since
he was a child. He would always dress himself in camouflage and play with
toy guns, she said.
In high school, Nick Anderson joined the Army Reserve, but enlisted in the
Marine Corps after graduating.
"I'm not sure why he changed his mind. He never really said," Barbara
Anderson said. "He just said he wanted to be a Marine. He wanted to be the
best."
Nick Anderson was able to visit his family in Wisconsin in September and
during Christmas. By then, he already knew that he was headed for
Afghanistan, his mother said.
"He really never talked about it too much," Barbara Anderson said. "Of
course I didn't want him to go, but that's what he wanted to do. "I said,
'Are you sure?' and he said, 'Yes, this is what I want to do.' "
Nick Anderson kept in touch with the family via e-mail and by phone. He was
very close to his older sister, Jessica, and had drawings by her two
children covering a wall in his quarters in Afghanistan, Barbara Anderson
said.
"Most of the time, he was pretty positive. Once in a while, he was pretty
disappointed. I think he was just homesick," she said.
"I just wish he was home. I'm going to miss him terrible."
Nick Anderson also is survived by his father, James.