Marine Lance Cpl. Scott D. Harper, 21, of Winston, Ga.
LCpl Harper was assigned to 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died Oct. 13, 2011 in Helmand province, Afghanistan, while conducting combat operations.
Lcpl Harper, known as "Boots" in high school, graduated from Alexander High in 2008 where he was very active in the ROTC program and was on the golf team. He joined the Marines in 2008. He was promoted to Lance Corporal in 2009. This was his second deployment to Afghanistan. He had been there four months.
Lcpl Harper loved hunting, fishing and playing his guitar, which he had with him in Afghanistan.
Family released the following statement:
"Although we are heartbroken over Scott's death, we are so proud of his service. He will forever be our hero and his memory will live on in our hearts. Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers and kind words. Knowing that Scott touched so many lives brings us comfort."
High school friend, Chad Jenkins, said that Scott was "that guy." "You know, the guy who wanted to be friends with everybody and everybody wanted to be friends with him."
"His friends said he took up for the underdog," said Rebecca Murray, one of Harper's teachers at Alexander High. "He was very devoted to his friends, so it doesn't surprise me that he would devote his life to his country."
Father, Brian, last talked with his son the Saturday before his son died. Scott had called to see if the boots he had ordered had arrived. His family had mailed them out to him two days prior.
His father said that his son had wanted to be a Marine because he believed they were the best. "You know, the few, the chosen, and that’s what he wanted to be, one of the few and chosen."
Lcpl Harper's awards and decorations include:
Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Afghanistan Campaign Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
NATO Medal – ISAF – Afghanistan
Lcpl Harper was laid to rest on October 23 at Ephesus Baptist Church Cemetery in Winston, GA.
Lcpl Harper is survived by his mother, Deborah; father and stepmother, Brian and Angela; siblings, Amber, Mitchell, Joseph and Holly.
Marine Lance Cpl. Scott D. Harper was killed in action on 10/13/11.
No comments:
Post a Comment