Marine Sgt. Matthew J. DeYoung

Remember Our Heroes

Marine Sgt. Matthew J. DeYoung, 26, of Talent, Ore.

Sgt DeYoung was was assigned to 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. He died Feb. 18, 2011 in Helmand province, Afghanistan, while supporting combat operations.

DeYoung, an assistant team leader, was deployed to Afghanistan in November 2010 as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. He also served in Iraq from January 2006 to August 2006 and again from October 2007 to May 2008.

He joined the Marine Corps in November 2004 and was promoted to sergeant on June 1, 2008.

Talent Marine killed in Afghanistan remembered as family man, hero

A U.S. Marine from Oregon who was killed in Afghanistan was remembered Monday as a humble man who took pride in caring for his family.

Sgt. Matthew J. DeYoung, 26, of Talent died Friday while supporting combat operations in southwest Afghanistan's Helmand province.

His widow, Aisha DeYoung, flew to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware with other close family members to receive his remains Saturday.

"We're devastated, to tell you the truth," said Tommie Kell, Aisha DeYoung's sister. "It's something we knew was a possibility, but we never thought it could happen to our family." We are requesting privacy from the press and media during our time of grief and heart ache, Kell stated.

A member of a battalion known as "Swift, Silent, Deadly," Matthew DeYoung was an assistant team leader assigned to the 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

"He was first and foremost a hero," Kell said. "He knew he had to go over there and do a job. He's in the thick of danger over there. He's really in the front lines, and he never thought twice about it."

DeYoung joined the Marine Corps in 2004 and deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2006 and 2007. He was promoted to sergeant in June 2008, one month after returning from his second tour of duty in Iraq. He deployed to Afghanistan late last year.

He had been awarded the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.

Marine Sgt. Matthew J. DeYoung was killed in action on 2/18/11.