Vegas Marine killed in Iraq

Jace Radke

Monday, Nov. 15, 2004 | 10:52 a.m.

A 19-year-old Marine from Las Vegas died in Iraq on Friday, making him the ninth member of the military from Nevada killed in Iraq, Kuwait or Afghanistan since fighting began in the Middle East in late 2001.

Lance Cpl. Nicholas H. Anderson, a June 2002 graduate of Bonanza High School, died Friday in a vehicle accident in Iraq's Al Anbar Province, according to a Defense Department statement.

Anderson was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment. 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Pendleton, Calif.

A spokesman with military public affairs in Baghdad said that there had been a report of a Humvee rolling and killing a Marine on Friday, although he couldn't specifically say if the Marine was Anderson. A Marine spokesman at Camp Pendleton said this morning that he did not have further details about Anderson's death.

Anderson had been a member of the ROTC at Bonanza, located at 6665 Del Ray Ave., near Torrey Pines Drive and Charleston Boulevard, Joe Grsic, a counselor at Bonanza, recalled.

"He was an assertive, friendly kid," Grsic said.

Anderson also played varsity football for the Bengals, school officials said.

Anderson died in the same province where Marine Pfc. John Lukac, another 19-year-old from Las Vegas, died on Oct. 30. Lukac was one of eight Marines killed and nine injured when terrorists crashed a sport utility vehicle full of explosives into the convoy that Lukac was riding in.

Lukac was a member of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, based in Hawaii.

In addition to the Nevada members of the military, Airman 1st Class Jesse Samek, an Arkansas resident stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, was killed on Oct. 21 in Afghanistan when the HH-60 Pavehawk helicopter he was in crashed.

Seven other Nevada servicemen have been killed while serving in the war on terror in Iraq, Kuwait or Afghanistan since fighting began in the Middle East in late 2001.

Marine Cpl. William Salazar, a 26-year-old Las Vegas resident was killed Oct. 15 when a car bomb exploded near Qaim, along the Syrian border. Salazar was a member of Headquarters Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force.

Another Las Vegas resident, 43-year-old Army Staff Sgt. Cameron Sarno, was killed Sept. 1, 2003, when he was hit by a truck in Kuwait. Sarno was a member of the Nevada Army Guard's 257th Transportation Co.

Army Capt. Joshua Byers, 29, of Sparks, was killed on July 23, 2003, outside Ramadi, Iraq, when the convoy he was riding in was attacked with explosives. Byers was a member of Fox Troop, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment.

Another Sparks resident, Marine Lance Cpl. Donald Cline, 21, was killed on March 23, 2003, during fighting near An Nasiryah, Iraq. Cline was a member of the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade.

Marine Lt. Frederick Pokorney Jr., 31, of Tonopah, was killed the same day in the battle near that same city. Pokorney was a member of the 1st Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade.

Cpl. Matthew Commons, a Boulder City High School graduate, was killed March 4, 2002, in Afghanistan. Commons, a 21-year-old Army Ranger with the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, was on a mission to rescue a U.S. soldier captured by al-Qaida when he was killed.

Fallon High School graduate Army Spec. Jason Disney, 20, was killed in an accident at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan on Feb. 13, 2002.