KIRKLAND – A Marine from Kirkland has died in Iraq during a rocket attack on his base. He had been in Iraq for just 10 days.
Lance Cpl. Shane C. Swanberg, 24, was at Forward Operating Base, Camp Ramadi, when the rocket attack occurred early Thursday. He was the only U.S. soldier killed in the barrage.
In an e-mail his family received Wednesday, Swanberg told his mother he’d be going out on his first patrol the next day. He never left camp.
“I pray that he just didn’t know what happened,” his father, Brian Swanberg, said Friday.
After his military service, Shane planned to attend college and get into real estate, his father said.
His father said Swanberg wanted to serve his country after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. A 2000 graduate of Juanita High School, he joined the Marine Corps in 2002.
After basic training, Swanberg was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force based in Twentynine Palms, Calif. He was trained to operate TOW missile launchers, Humvees and turret-mounted M60 machine guns.
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