Marine Lance Cpl. Christopher S. Meis

Remember Our Heroes

Marine Lance Cpl. Christopher S. Meis, 20, of Bennett, Colo.

LCpl Meis was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died March 17, 2011 in Helmand province, Afghanistan, while conducting combat operations.

Colorado Marine Killed in Afghanistan:

A 20-year-old Marine from Bennett was killed in action Thursday while serving in Afghanistan.

Lance Cpl. Christopher "Steele" Meis was killed while on a mission in Helmand province, according to his family.

He was a machine gunner with 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, based in Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Meis' mother, Holly, said Friday that the Bennett High graduate knew from a very early age that he wanted to serve his country.

"He was a stand up guy who knew he wanted to be a Marine since the eighth grade," she said. "He was funny, considerate, a gentleman. He loved his family. He was all about family and all about country."

Meis made good on his promise to serve in the military and enlisted in the Marines in January 2010.

"He felt like they were the best and hardest branch to get into," Holly Meis said of her son's choice. "He felt like they were the best of the best. The few, the proud."

He was deployed to Afghanistan with Operation Enduring Freedom in January. He was promoted to lance corporal on March 1, less than three weeks before he was killed.

Meis and his unit were on a mission in Helmand province when they came under fire, according to the Defense Department. During the firefight, Meis was fatally shot in the chest.

His mother said that whenever her son phoned home, he always said he had found his calling.

"He loved being a Marine," she said. "He said he was going to make a career of it, and he told me last week he was going to re-enlist. He wanted to be the front guy; he wanted to make a difference."

His awards include the National Defense Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.

These are the only statements released from the family at this time as they ask for privacy to deal with their loss and heart ache.

Lance Cpl. Meis is survived by his parents Christopher and Holly Meis and a brother, Hunter, 16, all of Bennett, CO.

Marine Lance Cpl. Christopher S. Meis was killed in action on 3/17/11.