Monday, June 25, 2012

Marine Dies Before Meeting Infant Son

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Pfc. Steven P. Stevens II, 23, of Tallahassee, Fla., died June 22 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.  He was assigned to 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Stevens enlisted in the Marine Corps. in June of 2009, after attending Florida A&M University for two years on a swimming scholarship.  He was on his first deployment to Afghanistan and had already been awarded a Purple Heart Medal in addition to other decorations.

Adding even more sadness to this, is the fact that Pfc. Stevens, who grew up in Detroit, leaves behind an infant son he never got to meet.  Stevens went to Afghanistan on March 21, just days before his wife, Monique, gave birth to their son on March 29.

“I’m sorry that he never got a chance to see his son,” said his grandmother Dorothy Atkins, 85. “I wish he could have had that blessing.”

Family members say the thought of traveling the world and studying abroad was enticing to him.

He is survived by his wife, son and parents.

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