Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro said Dec. 13 during the announcement, “The name selection follows the tradition of naming amphibious ships after U.S. Marine Corps battles, early U.S. sailing ships, or legacy names of earlier carriers from World War II.”

“It is an honor for me, and for our nation, to memorialize the Marines, the soldiers and coalition forces that fought valiantly and those that sacrificed their lives during both battles of Fallujah.”

The Second Battle of Fallujah, known as Operation Phantom Fury, was considered to be the bloodiest Iraq War battle, with hundreds of U.S. troops wounded. Today, many of those troops still struggle with physical wounds, post-traumatic stress disorder and taking their lives by suicide.

We want to know what you think of the name. Do you see it as a positive or a negative? Vote below in our poll.

If you have thoughts you agree can be published in a future story in print and online, email them to Marine Corps Times Editor Andrea Scott at ascott@militarytimes.com. Please include your military affiliation, and if a veteran, branch, rank and years served.

Marine veteran Hershel “Woody” Williams died Wednesday at 3:15 a.m. at the Huntington, West Virginia, Veterans Affairs hospital named after him, according to a statement from his foundation.

“Woody peacefully joined his beloved wife Ruby while surrounded by his family at the VA Medical Center which bears his name,” according to the statement on the foundation’s Facebook page. “Woody’s family would like to express their sincere gratitude for all the love and support.”

Born in 1923 on a dairy farm in Quiet Dell, West Virginia, Williams was the youngest of 11 children, according to the Weirton, West Virginia, Daily Times.

Initially disqualified for being too short, Williams enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1943, according to his biography. The demolition sergeant landed on Iwo Jima on Feb. 21, 1945, with 1st Battalion, 21st Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division.

Two days later, on Feb. 23, 1945, he famously destroyed enemy emplacements with a flamethrower, going forward alone into machinegun fire, covered only by four riflemen.

His citation states, “he fought desperately for 4 hours under terrific enemy small-arms fire and repeatedly returned to his own lines to prepare demolition charges and obtain serviced flamethrowers,” before wiping out one enemy position after another.

On one occasion, he “daringly mounted a pillbox to insert the nozzle of his flamethrower through the air vent,” which killed all enemy occupants and silenced its gun.

Williams received the Medal of Honor from President Harry S. Truman at the White House in October 1945 for “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.”

He retired after serving 20 years in the Corps and reserves, according to his foundation’s website. Following World War II, he worked for the VA for 33 years as a veterans service representative.

He had a special place in his heart for supporting Gold Star Families, an affinity which started at the beginning of World War II. While he was delivering Western Union telegrams containing the news of the loss of a loved one, he developed a deep understanding of the sacrifice of “those lost serving in the military for their country.”

With his foundation, Williams established more than 100 Gold Star Families memorial monuments across the United States, with 72 more on the way, according to his foundation’s website.

In 2020, the war hero got to see a Navy expeditionary mobile base ― the USNS Hershel “Woody” Williams ― commissioned in his honor.

He said at the time, “May all those who serve aboard this ship that bears my name be safe and proud. May she have God’s blessings for a long life of service to America, the greatest country on Earth.”

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, said in a Wednesday statement that Williams was “the embodiment of a true American hero.”

“Last Sunday, I was honored to visit with Woody one last time,” Manchin said. “We called VA Secretary Denis McDonough so he could thank Woody directly for his unparalleled service to our nation. In true Woody fashion, he wanted to discuss the importance of completing the Donel C. Kinnard Memorial State Veterans Cemetery in Dunbar ― his most recent Veterans project ― to ensure that the families of our fallen soldiers and Veterans have a safe place to lay their loved ones to rest, protected from the weather throughout the year.”

Details about memorial services and a funeral are not yet available, according to a statement on his foundation’s Facebook page. City flags in Huntington, West Virginia, will be flown at half mast to honor the Marine veteran.

Correspondence and condolences may be sent to the Woody Williams Foundation at 12123 Shelbyville Road, Suite 100, Louisville, Kentucky, 40243.

“Woody’s wish is that people continue to carry on his mission,” the foundation’s statement said.

Andrea Scott is editor of Marine Corps Times. On Twitter: @_andreascott.

Irma Garcia, 48, died attempting to use her own body to protect students in her fourth grade classroom, her son, Pfc. Cristian Garcia, told NBC News on Wednesday. A friend in law enforcement reportedly told the Marine his mother was seen heroically shielding her students.

Nineteen children were massacred by a lone gunman ― barricaded in the classroom 23-year veteran teacher Irma Garcia shared with co-teacher Eva Mireles, 44, who also was killed.

On Thursday morning, the Marine’s father, Joe Garcia ― Irma Garcia’s grieving high school sweetheart and husband of more than 24 years ― dropped flowers off at her memorial. It wasn’t long after that he himself died, perhaps of a broken heart.

He “pretty much just fell over” and had a heart attack after returning home, nephew John Martinez told The New York Times.

The Marine Corps community must rally around Pfc. Cristian Garcia amid these overwhelming losses, said Uvalde, Texas, resident and Marine veteran Layla Martinez.

“This is a Marine Corps brother, yet his family is in total shambles right now,” she told Marine Corps Times in a Thursday phone call. “We’ve had a tragic loss in our Marine Corps family. … I want him to know that we are here for him. We’re not abandoning him.”

Reserve Marine Pfc. Cristian Garcia, 23, is an admin clerk with 4th Recon Battalion out of Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, the Marine Corps said.

He just graduated boot camp in October 2021, according to his mother’s Facebook page.

Pfc. Cristian Garcia did not have a comment at this time.

Tuesday’s rampage was the nation’s deadliest school shooting since Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, where 20 students and six adults were shot and killed in 2012.

In Uvalde, Texas ― a largely Hispanic town of 15,000 some residents about 75 miles from the Mexican border ― alleged 18-year-old gunman Salvador Ramos was inside the elementary school classroom for more than an hour before he was killed in a shootout, authorities said Thursday.

The motive for the rampage remains under investigation, with authorities saying Thursday night the alleged gunman had no known criminal or mental health history, though there were some warning signs.

Martinez, who served in the Marine Corps from 2005–2009 as an air delivery specialist and got out as a lance corporal, said she and other veterans in town already have been discussing how they can bolster a safe presence on school grounds when classes start again in the fall.

“We do care about our community and the children,” she said.

The registered nurse, who returned to Uvalde, Texas, after her time in the Marine Corps, says she has friends who lost children and grandchildren in the shooting and that her heart goes out to Pfc. Cristian Garcia.

“I could never imagine having to go through something like this and then losing my father on top of it,” she said. “And now my siblings are without their mom and dad. He’s going to have to take that role. That would be a lot, especially at his young age. I want him to know our Marine Corps family is there for him and he knows we’re here for him.”

Maj. Jim Stenger, Marine Corps spokesman, said, “I offer my sincerest condolences to any Marine who may have been affected by this tragedy. I am confident the Marines ― veterans in the community and back at the unit ― will rally around the grieving as they mourn their loved ones.”

Irma Garcia loved to “BBQ with [her] husband, listen to music, and take country cruises to Concan,” according to her page on the school’s website.

Irma and Joe Garcia shared four children: Pfc. Cristian Garcia at the top, followed by brother, Jose, who attends Texas State University. Lyliana just finished sophomore year of high school, and Alysandra just finished seventh grade.

A GoFundMe account for the family had raised more than $1.6 million as of Thursday evening, with another, now closed, fundraiser garnering more than $500,000.

San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller will hold a Mass on Thursday evening at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Uvalde, Texas, for the Garcia family and the wider community, the archdiocese said.

A 3 p.m. visitation and 7 p.m. recitation of the rosary for Irma Garcia will take place Tuesday at Rushing-Estes-Knowles Mortuary in Uvalde, Texas, according to an online obituary.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated Wednesday at 10 a.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, followed by interment at Hillcrest Cemetery in Uvalde, Texas.

Nephew John Martinez told The Washington Post on Wednesday that he wanted Irma Garcia “to be remembered as someone who sacrificed her life and put her life on the line for her kids.”

“They weren’t just her students. Those were her kids, and she put her life on the line, she lost her life to protect them. That’s the type of person she was.”

The students killed were Nevaeh Bravo, 10, Jacklyn Cazares, 9, Makenna Lee Elrod, 10, Jose Flores, 10, Ellie Garcia, 9, Uziyah Garcia, 10, Amerie Jo Garza, 10, Jayce Luevanos, 10, Tess Mata, 10, Miranda Mathis, 11, Xavier Lopez, 10, Alithia Ramirez, 10, Annabell Rodriguez, 10, Maite Rodriguez, 10, Alexandria “Lexi” Rubio, 10, Layla Salazar, 10, Jailah Nicole Silguero, 10, Eliahana Cruz Torres, 10 and Rojelio Torres, 10.

Stefanie Dazio of The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Born Dec. 20, 1937, in Caledonia, Arkansas, Canley was 84 years old. He had enlisted in the Corps in 1953 and retired as a sergeant major in 1981, with three deployments to Vietnam.

He died in Bend, Oregon, with his family at his side, the Corps said Thursday in a press release.

Canley received the Medal of Honor in October 2018 from then-President Donald Trump, after a separate decade-long battle: one with the Pentagon’s red tape to approve his award.

Canley originally was awarded the Navy Cross for 1968 actions at Hue City, Vietnam, Marine Corps Times previously reported. In 2005, there was a push to have his medal upgraded ― and for 13 years the Marines leading the effort were hit with setbacks and bureaucratic delays until he finally received his recognition, 50 years after his bloody street battles in Vietnam.

In 1968 in Hue City, Canley had been serving as company gunnery sergeant for Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment. Canley and his Marines “fought off multiple attacks” while patrolling the streets and relieving another Marine company.

During these bloody firefights, Canley “repeatedly rushed across gunfire-swept terrain” and carried wounded Marines to safety, according to his award citation.

After the company commander was severely wounded during what later became known as the Tet Offensive, Canley took command for three days.

“Under his leadership, Alpha Company Marines destroyed fortified enemy positions throughout the city as Sgt. Maj. Canley continued to carry wounded Marines to safety,” his award citation says.

On Feb. 4, 1968, in an effort to draw the enemy out and locate its position, “Canley moved to an open area, receiving machinegun fire” while his Marines destroyed the threat and completely took over the occupied building from the enemy.

Just two day later in a hospital compound firefight, Canley “twice scaled a wall in full view of the enemy to carry wounded Marines to safety.”

John Ligato, a former Marine private first class who had served under Canley, previously told Marine Corps Times, “We’d all be dead if it wasn’t for the gunny.”

Canley will be buried at a later date at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia with full military honors, the Marine Corps said.

In addition to the Medal of Honor, his awards included the Bronze Star with Combat “V,” the Purple Heart, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with Combat “V” and the Combat Action Ribbon.

Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Troy Black said in a statement, ”The actions in the face of danger Sgt. Maj. Canley took are incredible and remarkable.“

“Sgt. Maj. Canley was a leader and a warfighter who undoubtedly contributed to the battles won in Vietnam. His first priority was and has always been his Marines ― a true example of Semper Fidelis.”

His legacy will live on with the 90,000-ton expeditionary sea base John L. Canley, which is preparing for its christening in San Diego on June 25, the Corps said. It will be forward-deployed to the Western Pacific.

Sixty-four Medal of Honor recipients are now alive today, according to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.

Andrea Scott is editor of Marine Corps Times. On Twitter: @_andreascott.

It was the largest single-day loss of life in the Marine Corps since the battle of Iwo Jima in Japan during World War II.

Two hundred and twenty Marines, 18 sailors and three soldiers did not make it out alive.

As the 38th anniversary of the attack on the Marine barracks draws near, we at Marine Corps Times want to know: Where were you that day? How did you find out? What do you remember?

We don’t want to lose your memories or the important stories that could be told about that day and its aftermath.

Email responses to Marine Corps Times editor Andrea Scott at ascott@militarytimes.com. Your responses may be used in a story unless you note otherwise.

Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller will resign his commission, per a plea agreement confirmed at a special court-martial trial held Thursday morning at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

In the trial’s sentencing phase, which started Thursday afternoon, he faces a maximum punishment of forfeiting two thirds pay for twelve months. He also will receive a punitive letter of reprimand.

Scheller, who appeared to be mostly relaxed on Thursday, seemed to understand his fate, saying, “Either people love me or hate me,” acknowledging that his continued service in the Marine Corps would be a “distraction.”

Questions by the judge, Col. Glen Hines, focused not so much on Scheller’s motivations, but rather the impact that his comments had on good order and discipline.

Scheller’s first viral video showed him speaking in uniform and was posted to Facebook and LinkedIn on Aug. 26 after 11 Marines, one Navy corpsman and one soldier were killed in a suicide bombing in Kabul.

That first video, which as of Thursday had nearly 1.5 million views on Facebook and LinkedIn combined, garnered him much support and attention, but after that, “the system had turned its back against me,” Scheller said Thursday.

In the video he asked if the secretary of defense or chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which includes the Marine Corps commandant, had thrown their rank on the table and said, “Hey, it’s a bad idea to evacuate Bagram Airfield, a strategic air base, before we evacuate everyone? Did anyone do that? And when you didn’t think to do that, did anyone raise their hand and say, ‘We completely messed this up.’”

“Within eight hours,” Scheller said Thursday, the infantry Marine had been relieved from his job as battalion commander at the Advanced Infantry Training Battalion at the School of Infantry–East at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

He continued to post videos and messages about accountability and “taking down the system” to social media, including some posts that reportedly landed him in the brig.

Scheller’s confinement followed Facebook posts, which, according to a statement sent to Marine Corps Times by Scheller’s parents, broke a “gag order” that required him to remain silent.

Scheller was sent to the brig Sept. 27, but was released on Oct. 5 after his lawyers came to an agreement with the Marine Corps.

Scheller was then charged with Article 88 (contempt toward officials), Article 89 (disrespect toward superior commissioned officers), Article 90 (willfully disobeying a superior commissioned officer), Article 92 (dereliction in the performance of duties), Article 92 (failure to obey order or regulation) and Article 133 (conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman), Capt. Sam Stephenson, a spokesman for Training and Education Command, previously told Marine Corps Times in an email. On Thursday Scheller pleaded guilty to all six charges against him.

Before the trial, Tim Parlatore, an attorney representing Scheller, said that his client would accept responsibility for his actions.

The Associated Press and Philip Athey contributed to this report.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated during breaks in the trial, as computers are not allowed in the courtroom.

Lt. Col. Stuart P. Scheller Jr.’s first video, released Thursday, sparked controversy and support on its way to accumulating more than 800,000 views on Facebook as of Monday morning.

The infantry Marine and battalion commander of the Advanced Infantry Training Battalion at School of Infantry–East at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, said he made the video for his “growing discontent and contempt” of “ineptitude at the foreign policy level.” The video was released the night that 13 service members, including 11 Marines, were killed in an attack at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.

“The reason so many people are upset on social media right now is not because the Marine on the battlefield let someone down,” Scheller said, noting that those service members always have risen to the occasion. “People are upset because their senior leaders let them down, and none of them are raising their hands and accepting accountability or saying, ‘We messed this up.’”

He went on to ask if the secretary of defense or chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which includes the commandant, threw their rank on the table and said, “Hey, it’s a bad idea to evacuate Bagram Airfield, a strategic air base, before we evacuate everyone? Did anyone do that? And when you didn’t think to do that, did anyone raise their hand and say, ‘We completely messed this up.’”

Scheller’s first video came with an influx of support.

“I would follow this man through the gates of hell with an MRE spoon,” a Marine veteran who served under Scheller in 2017 wrote Marine Corps Times in a message.

At the time Scheller was a major and company commander at The Basic School 26-week course at Quantico, Virginia.

On Facebook, one commenter wrote, “Absolutely honored and proud of you for saying what needed to be said. The cost of incompetence is permanent for those young men.”

The post garnered 2,400 likes as of Monday.

On Friday, in a public Facebook post, Scheller wrote that he had “been relieved for cause based on a lack of trust and confidence as of 14:30.”

Marine Corps Times reached out to Scheller for comment and did not receive a response.

“My chain of command is doing exactly what I would do… if I were in their shoes,” Scheller wrote Friday. “I appreciate the opportunities AITB command provided. To all the news agencies asking for interviews… I will not be making any statements other than what’s on my social platforms until I exit the Marine Corps.”

Friday evening Maj. Jim Stenger confirmed that Scheller was relieved of command by Col. David Emmel, commanding officer of the School of Infantry–East, “due to loss of trust and confidence in his ability to command.”

Although Scheller initially stated that he would not be making any further statements on social media, he released a second video over the weekend in which he said he was resigning his commission from the Marine Corps.

“I could stay in the Marine Corps for another three years, but I don’t think that’s the path I’m on,” Scheller said in his Sunday video, reportedly taken from an abandoned school bus in North Carolina. “I’m resigning my commission as a United States Marine effective now. I’m sure there’s some more admin or knows what to do that, and I’ll work through that.”

Scheller went on to say that he has no interest in retirement or VA benefits he would qualify for. Instead, he still seeks accountability from senior leadership.

“I think [senior leaders], accepting accountability would do more for service members and PTSD and struggling with purpose than any other transparent piece of paper or message,” Scheller said.

While Scheller’s first video was well-received by those who spoke to Marine Corps Times, his second video raised concern surrounding Scheller’s well-being.

A Marine who served with Scheller, but wished to remain anonymous due to the videos’ attention, said that the recent deaths of 11 Marines, a Navy corpsman and a soldier in Kabul, Afghanistan, could be taking a toll.

“He’s always been an infantry officer, meaning there’s a 100 percent guarantee that he has seen Marines get blown to pieces for absolutely no reason while the top brass advanced their careers with impunity despite their many failures,” said the Marine, who deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Despite these concerns, the Marine echoed the sentiment of the first Marine’s sentiments: that Scheller was a superb leader of Marines.

“Stuart Scheller was my commanding officer during my last deployment. He was the kind of officer who always put his Marines first,” he said. “Naturally, we knew there’s no way he was ever going to make general with that kind of selfless leadership style.”

The Marine Corps is “aware of the video Lt. Col. Scheller released on Sunday afternoon,” spokesman Capt. Sam Stephenson told Marine Corps Times Monday. “Currently, the Marine Corps is taking appropriate action to ensure the safety and well-being of Lt. Col. Scheller and his family. As this is a developing situation, we cannot comment further at this time.”

Scheller wrote an update on his LinkedIn page Monday afternoon, “When I went into work this morning, I was ordered by my commanding officer to go to the Hospital for a mental health screening. I was evaluated by the mental health specialists and then sent on my way. My CO is a standup guy, and I understand why he did it,” he wrote.

He later said in the post, “Third, for all my followers… I’m not going anywhere. Everyone is scared that the weight of the system is crashing down on me. But I know something you don’t… it’s the system that’s going to break. Not me.”

Scheller’s awards and decorations, according to Stephenson, include the National Defense Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (three times), Army Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal with combat “V,” Iraq Campaign Medal, Navy Unit Commendation (three times), Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation (two times), Humanitarian Service Medal (two times), Joint Meritorious Unit Award, NATO Medal-ISAF Afghanistan, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon (five times), Bronze Star Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (three times), Korean Defense Service Medal, Marine Corps Combat Instructor Ribbon, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the Afghanistan Campaign Medal.

Marine Corps Times reporter Philip Athey contributed to this report.

Eleven Marines, one Navy corpsman and one soldier were “killed as the result of an enemy attack while supporting non-combatant evacuation operations,” according to a Saturday press release from the Department of Defense, which released the names of the U.S. troops.

The names were released 24 hours after families of the deceased were notified.

For the Marine Corps, the deceased are:

• Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo, 25, of Lawrence, Massachusetts, assigned to 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Naval Support Activity Bahrain.

“Her service was not only crucial to evacuating thousands of women and children, but epitomizes what it means to be a Marine: putting herself in danger for the protection of American values so that others might enjoy them,” Marine 1st Lt. John “Jack” Coppolasaid told the Boston Globe Saturday in a statement. “She is a hero, and her legacy will never be forgotten.”

•Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, 23, of Sacramento, California, assigned to Combat Logistics Battalion 24, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

Gee entered active duty in the Marine Corps in 2017, according to a Facebook post from II Marine Expeditionary Force.

She was a ground electronics transmission systems maintainer assigned to Combat Logistics Battalion 24, a subordinate unit of Combat Logistics Regiment 27, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force.

Her previous assignments include recruit training at Parris Island, South Carolina; School of Infantry–East in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; Aviation Accession & Primary Military Occupational Specialty School in Pensacola, Florida; and Marine Corps Communications-Electronics School in Twentynine Palms, California, according to II MEF.

Her military awards include the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal and the National Defense and Global War on Terrorism Service Medals.

The other Marines were assigned to 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, California.

Maj. Gen. Roger B. Turner Jr., commanding general of the 1st Marine Division, said in a Saturday statement, “I extend my deepest, heartfelt condolences to the families, friends and loved ones of the 1st Marine Division servicemen who lost their lives while heroically safeguarding the evacuation of thousands of U.S citizens and faithful allies from Hamid Karzai International Airport.”

They “paid the ultimate price to defend our nation and extend the reach of freedom beyond our shores. We cherish the legacy these warriors leave behind and commit our resources to support the wounded and bereaved.”

The servicemen were members of 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, currently forward-deployed with the Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force–Crisis Response–Central Command, which deployed in February and is scheduled to return later this fall, Turner said in a statement.

“They were tasked to assist with the evacuation of the U.S. Embassy, U.S. citizens, special immigrant visa applicants, and those Afghans who worked alongside us, served alongside of us, and provided invaluable assistance to us,” Turner said.

• Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover, 31, of Salt Lake City, Utah.

His military occupational specialty was 0369, infantry unit leader.

His awards and decorations include the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Certificate of Commendation (Individual), Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, Letter of Appreciation, Meritorious Mast, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, NATO Medal-ISAF Afghanistan, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. Additional awards pending approval may include Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, according to a 1st Marine Division press release.

• Cpl. Hunter Lopez, 22, of Indio, California, a rifleman.

His awards and decorations include a Certificate of Appreciation, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, Letter of Appreciation, Meritorious Mast, National Defense Service Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. Additional awards pending approval may include Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.

• Cpl. Daegan W. Page, 23, of Omaha, Nebraska, a rifleman.

His awards and decorations include the Korean Defense Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. Additional awards pending approval may include Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.

• Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez, 22, of Logansport, Indiana, a rifleman.

His awards and decorations include the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. Additional awards pending approval may include Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.

• Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza, 20, of Rio Bravo, Texas, a rifleman.

His awards and decorations include the National Defense Service Medal and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. Additional awards pending approval may include Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.

• Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz, 20, of St. Charles, Missouri, a rifleman.

His awards and decorations include the National Defense Service Medal and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. Additional awards pending approval may include Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.

• Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum, 20, of Jackson, Wyoming, a rifleman.

His awards and decorations include the National Defense Service Medal and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. Additional awards pending approval may include Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.

• Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola, 20, of Rancho Cucamonga, California, a rifleman.

His awards and decorations National Defense Service Medal and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. Additional awards pending approval may include Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.

• Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui, 20, of Norco, California.

His awards and decorations include the National Defense Service Medal and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. Additional awards pending approval may include Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.

For the Navy, the deceased is:

• Navy Corpsman Maxton W. Soviak, 22, of Berlin Heights, Ohio, assigned to 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, California.

His awards and decorations include the National Defense Service Medal and Good Conduct Medal, Flag letter of Accommodation. Additional awards pending approval may include Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.

“Max was a wonderful son who loved his family, his community, and was proud to serve in the U.S. Navy,” his family said in a statement. “He was excited about the opportunities the Navy would offer him and planned to make the Navy a career. We are incredibly proud of his service to our country.

Words cannot express how heartbroken we are with this news and we will miss Max tremendously. We are struggling to come to grips with this personal tragedy and prefer to grieve with close family and friends.

Maxton was an awesome young man who was well liked in the community, as evidenced by the outpouring of condolences from teachers, coaches, employers, family and friends. He was always proud of being part of a state champion wrestling team and state playoff final four football team two years in a row, but he was most proud to be a Navy Corpsman and a ‘devil doc’ for the Marines.

His final words to his mother over FaceTime when he was telling her goodbye was after she told him to be safe, were, ‘don’t worry mom, my guys got me. They won’t let anything happen to me.’ Today she realized that they all just went together.”

Soviak leaves behind 12 brothers and sisters who “are all hurting terribly.”

“As we mourn the loss of our son, we also mourn for the loss of the Marines and Soldier who were killed and pray for the speedy recovery of all of those wounded in Afghanistan. As you can imagine, this is a very difficult time for our family and we respectfully request that you honor our privacy.”

For the Army, the deceased is:

• Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss, 23, of Corryton, Tennessee. Knauss was assigned to 9th PSYOP Battalion, 8th PSYOP Group, Ft. Bragg, North Carolina.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated as Military Times learns more about each service member.

Andrea Scott is editor of Marine Corps Times. On Twitter: @_andreascott.

Staff Sgt. John Stefanowicz Jr. will be the first Marine to wrestle in the Olympics since 1992, when Buddy Lee competed in Barcelona.

And while Tokyo is on tight restrictions due to COVID-19 and its delta variant ― one deaf and blind U.S. Paralympic swimmer withdrew after she was told she couldn’t bring her mother as her usual personal care assistant ― Stefanowicz will be without his accustomed training partners for another reason: The year-round Marine wrestling team is being disbanded and all but one of his teammates already have been sent to other units. Stefanowicz will be the last man standing for the current All-Marine Wrestling team.

The standing, year-round team, in existence since the 1970s, is being ended by the Corps, according to the wrestlers and coach of the team.

Marine spokesmen say the Corps is not limiting opportunities for wrestlers who want to compete at the highest levels; the program now will be run like other Marine sports, run through the Semper Fit and the All-Marine Sports programs, which give athletes short opportunities to leave their units in order to compete at higher athletic events.

But it’s a move Marine wrestlers, who have been practicing full-time as a team until now, say will not lead to success on the mat.

Olympic dreams

Preparing for the Olympics while his team was disbanding weighed heavy on Stefanowicz’s mind.

“Training for the Olympics is one thing,” Stefanowicz told Marine Corps Times in an early July phone call. “But trying to train for the Olympics when guys are leaving the team and no one to take their positions has been … almost insurmountable.”

He said he spent the time trying to stay focused on training and leading his enlisted Marines, who also had to continue to train knowing the team was going away.

Stefanowicz, like most Marines on the team, he says, never joined the Corps just to compete or ride out his time on the team: Being a Marine always has come first. He asked for orders to his next assignment in February, before team news even got out.

The wrestling team has helped form better Marines, he says. They weren’t missing out, said Stefanowicz. The wrestlers were staying mission ready and continuing specialized training.

They were wrestling day-to-day, Stefanowicz said, but “in-between and before and after that, they were having to do more than their counterparts. And they’ve done that knowing their team is going away.”

The 29-year-old father of two was a gold medalist for Greco-Roman in the 2020 and 2021 Pan American games, a championship for the Americas. In 2019 he was a World Team member, at 82 kilograms.

Stefanowicz will be competing in the Olympics at 87 kilograms on Aug. 3–4 local time.

Other U.S. military Olympians will be competing in the 2021 games, which were delayed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Monday Army Reserve logistics officer 1st Lt. Amber English snatched a gold medal and broke an Olympic record in women’s skeet shooting by hitting 56 of 60 targets.

In all, the U.S Olympic and Paralympic team includes 17 soldiers, a Marine and a Coast Guardsman, according to a July Defense Department press release.

Army middleweight Staff Sgt. Naomi Graham became the first active-duty female service member to compete for the U.S. in boxing. She fell to a Russian athlete in her opening fight on Wednesday.

Two soldiers will be competing in Greco-Roman wrestling as well: Sgt. Ildar Hafizov, 60 kilograms, and Spc. Alejandro Sancho, 67 kilograms.

“The Marine Corps is very proud and supportive of Staff Sergeant Stefanowicz, his teammates, and his coaches,” Manpower and Reserve Affairs spokesman Maj. Jordan R. Cochran told Marine Corps Times in an email. “He is an exemplary Marine, a fearsome competitor, and a role model for our Corps and our country. We wish him the best in Tokyo and look forward to following his achievements both on and off the wrestling mat.”

Team disbanded

Through All-Marine Sports, athletes can qualify for participation at Armed Forces, national and even Olympic level events, Cochran said.

“The Marine Corps is not divesting of, or terminating, wrestling as an option for its wrestler athletes; like all other Marine athletes, our wrestlers can continue to train and pursue their passion through Semper Fit and the All-Marine Sports Program,” Cochran told Marine Corps Times in an email July 12.

But for wrestling, that will no longer mean having a full-time coach, full-time athletic trainer or full-time training facilities, according to Marine wrestling coach Jason Loukides, who said he was told that not long after the Olympics he will no longer have a job.

Marine Corps Times asked Manpower and Reserve Affairs for confirmation that there will be no hired coach or full time facilities, etc., and has not received a response.

Loudikes, a former Army wrestler and the 2015 USA Wrestling Greco-Roman coach of the year while leading the Marine Corps team, “is long respected as one of the top Greco-Roman minds and coaches in the world,” Rich Bender, executive director of USA Wrestling and U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee board member, told Marine Corps Times in a phone call.

And the team has found recent success.

“Going from one guy who is all-American and a World Team contender, to having multiple individuals make a World Team, and have an Olympian for the first time since 1992 doesn’t seem commensurate with the decisions that are being made about the program,” Capt. Daniel Miller, a team wrestler and the most recent assistant officer in charge of the All-Marine Wrestling team, told Marine Corps Times in a phone interview mid-July.

Though details are scarce on why the format is changing and who made that decision, “We’re being told it’s not the money,” Miller said, but manpower allocation.

The way the team historically has been run was through temporary additional duty assignments, or, most recently, overstaff positions for the 15 Marines on team, allowing them to come compete for up to 36 months and not leave a unit in the lurch, Miller said.

Somewhere amid the team sending paperwork to request permanent structure, the decision was made, Miller said, noting with the changes not even the former six-month TAD assignments will be allowed.

TAD approved for All-Marine Sports is four days to two months, according to the All-Marine Sports website.

“I understand not standing on a permanent position, but if a commander decides they want to give a Marine an opportunity and they are willing to cooperate with that individual, I feel we are taking that away from commanders,” Miller said.

And there’s a massive difference in having a full time-duty assignment to wrestle and to pursue an Olympic dream on your own, so to speak, Bender said.

The Army and Air Force still have full-time wrestling programs, Loukides said, noting the Army has a whole unit that supports putting athletes on the Olympic team.

The Army’s World Class Athlete Program, based at Fort Carson, Colorado, has developed 446 Olympians who have won 111 medals for the U.S. since 1948, Army spokesman Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Hewitt recently told Army Times.

Loukides notes it may not be safe for Marine wrestlers to train on their own for one big match, like the annual Armed Forces competition, which the Marine Corps won in 2020 after a soldier had his results disqualified for doping, and come up against someone wrestling full time for the Army.

The other sports are easier for athletes to train for on their own, Miller said, like cross country. But for a team sport like wrestling, it seems impossible for success without consistent team training.

“Show up. Do a short training camp. Go compete. Get your ass kicked by the Army,” Miller said it will be like when that competitive-edge team practice is taken away.

From a recruiting perspective, Cochran said, the Corps’ primary recruiting population comes from high schools where wrestling is the seventh most popular sport, after football, track and field, basketball, baseball, soccer and cross country. He noted athletes from all of these sports can apply to represent the Corps via the All-Marine Sports Program.

“It’s the tenacity that a Marine brings to every match that is just inspiring,” Bender said.

“Every time I watch a Marine wrestle it makes me confident we have the right folks protecting us.”

Andrea Scott is editor of Marine Corps Times. On Twitter: @_andreascott.

Gunnery Sgt. Mario Madera-Rodriguez was found guilty of hazing, making false official statements, conspiracy charges and involuntary manslaughter ― but not guilty of felony murder, his most serious charge along with burglary, though the jury did find him guilty of a lesser offense of “housebreaking.”

His punishment, decided by the jury, will include reprimand, reduction in paygrade to E-1, performing hard labor without confinement for 90 days and confinement for six months, according to his defense lawyer.

Unlike the other three service members involved in the incident, Madera-Rodriguez will receive no punitive discharge, Vokey said, meaning no bad conduct discharge nor dishonorable discharge.

Madera-Rodriguez also will not have to forfeit any salary or pay any fines.

“It was an appropriate and just sentence given GySgt Madera’s lesser role in the hazing and the whole incident,” defense attorney Colby Vokey told Marine Corps Times in an email Monday.

Madera-Rodriguez was the final of four co-defendants to be sentenced for the strangulation death of Army Green Beret Staff Sgt. Logan Melgar.

On June 4, 2017, Melgar had been in his bedroom in off-site housing he shared with other special operators in Bamako, Mali, when the four service members and a local man broke through with a sledgehammer.

The plan was to subdue Melgar and take sexually compromising photos of him with the near naked local man.

Melgar woke up, however, so two Navy SEALS and two Marine Raiders placed him in a chokehold and started taping his wrists and ankles. That’s when Melgar stopped breathing.

The men stopped the attack and began lifesaving procedures, including a field-expedient tracheotomy, later taking Melgar to a nearby medical clinic where he was pronounced dead.

During the trial, prosecutors argued the men had violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice and knew the dangers of putting Melgar in a chokehold.

Navy Cmdr. Benjamin B. Garcia told jurors that Madera-Rodriguez chose to get duct tape to help tie up the Green Beret and then chose to help restrain him while a Navy SEAL applied the chokehold.

“They tied him up, and he could not tap out,” Garcia said.

An email to the public affairs team for the prosecution for comment on the sentence has not yet been answered.

The defense argued from the outset that Melgar’s death was not intentional and essentially was a hazing incident gone wrong.

Still, Madera-Rodriguez had taken a gamble by pleading not guilty and going to trial. If he had been found guilty of felony murder, the gunnery sergeant would have faced a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison, with possible eligibility for parole.

The other three defendants took plea deals.

Navy SEAL Chief SWO Tony E. DeDolph had pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and received 10 years in prison, reduction to E-1, forfeiture of pay and a dishonorable discharge. DeDolph, a former professional mixed martial artist, was the individual who put Melgar in the chokehold.

Marine Raider Staff Sgt. Kevin Maxwell Jr. had pleaded guilty to negligent homicide, conspiracy to commit assault, hazing, obstruction of justice and making false official statements. He was sentenced to four years of confinement, a reduction in rank to E-1 and a bad conduct discharge.

Navy SEAL Chief Special Warfare Officer Adam C. Matthews had pleaded guilty to conspiracy and related charges. He was sentenced to one year of confinement, reduction to petty officer second class and a bad conduct discharge.

The verdict came after deliberations following a three-week trial at Norfolk Naval Station, Virginia.

Vokey said the defense is pleased with the outcome.

“It was also appropriate and just given his truly remarkable prior service and bravery in the line of duty,” Vokey said, noting that a Silver Star Medal had been approved for Madera-Rodriguez’s actions in Mali in 2015 but never presented as a result of the hazing incident.

“GySgt Madera is grateful for the members’ attentiveness and attention to detail throughout the trial,” Vokey said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the minimum sentence the Marine would have faced if convicted of felony murder.