Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

22, of Tampa, Fla.

assigned to the 4th Assault Amphibian Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve, Gulfport, Miss.; attached to Regimental Combat Team 2, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward); killed Aug. 3 when his amphibious assault vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device during combat operations south of Haditha, Iraq. Also killed were Marine Lance Cpls. Michael J. Cifuentes, Grant B. Fraser, Aaron H. Reed, Edward A. Schroeder II and William B. Wightman.

Kevin G. Waruinge was a teenager living in his native Kenya when his family won a lottery to receive a visa to the United States and a chance for a new life. Once here, he wanted to give back. “He just couldn’t wait to be a Marine,” said the Rev. Bruce Turner, pastor of West Gate Baptist Church. “That’s what he wanted.” Waruinge graduated high school in 2001, joined the Marine Corps Reserve that same year and became a U.S. citizen in 2003. “He was an African boy who was all-American,” said Turner, of the honor student and athlete.

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