Maj. Robert Korl, the commanding officer for 8th Engineer Support
Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, gives his command remarks
during a memorial service in honor of Staff Sgt. Joseph D'Augustine
at the Protestant Chapel aboard Camp Lejeune, N.C., June 29, 2012.
D'Augustine was an explosive ordnance disposal technician who was
killed-in-action while supporting 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine
Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, in Helmand Province, Afghanistan,
March 27, 2012. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Anthony L. Ortiz |
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CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. 6/29/2012) - Marines and sailors with 8th
Engineer Support Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group filled the
pews of the Protestant Chapel here, June 29, during a memorial
service to commemorate the life of one of their own.
Saff
Sgt. Joseph D'Augustine, an Englewood, N.J., native, was
killed-in-action while supporting 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine
Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, in Helmand Province, Afghanistan,
March 27, 2012.
While serving with 3/7, D'Augustine was
responsible for the neutralization of 73 improvised explosive
devices and the destruction of over 1,000 lbs of homemade
explosives.
“He was a great Marine and good at his job,” said
Staff Sgt. Steven Tamm, an EOD technician with 8th ESB. “He got
selected for staff sergeant his first time around, but he wouldn't
brag about it. That's not the type of guy he was.”
As the
ceremony continued, Sgt. Kyle Street, an EOD technician with 8th
ESB, spoke on behalf of his lost friend.
“I never met anyone
who didn't like him,” he said. “We formed a bond at [military
occupational specialty school]. He is a great friend and great
Marine ... I will miss him forever.”
With the ceremony nearing
its end, Lt. Cmdr. Danny B. Purvis, the battalion's chaplain, closed
the ceremony with remarks of his own.
“Hearing everyone talk
about [D'Augustine] upsets me that we didn't have a chance to meet,”
he said. “If all I know about him is what I know today, then it is
enough.
“There are three hundred million people in this
country and
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less than one percent have the courage he had. Then if those odds
weren't enough, he did a job that an even smaller percentage of
people would even try to do. He was a great man, son, brother
and Marine.” |
For his actions, D'Augustine was posthumously promoted to
his current rank of staff sergeant and awarded the Bronze
Star with a combat distinguishing device.
By 2nd Marine Logistics Group
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2012
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