www.usvetdsp.com/main.shtml
Kemaphoom A. Chanawongse
Rank/Branch: Cpl./Marines
Unit: 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary
Brigade at Camp Lejeune
Age 22
Date of Birth
Home City of Record: Waterford, Conn.
Date of Loss: 23 March 2003
Country of Loss: Iraq
Loss Coordinates: Combat near An Nasiriyah
Status: MIA/Iraq __ Declared Dead__ Apr 16, 2003 U.S. Government Report
Category:
Acft/Vehicle/Ground:
Personnel in Incident: Lance Cpl. Thomas A. Blair, Pfc. Tamario D.
Burkett, Cpl. Kemaphoom A. Chanawongse, Lance Cpl. Donald J. Cline Pvt.
Jonathan L. Gifford, Pvt. Nolen R. Hutchings, Lance Cpl. Patrick R. Nixon,
Lance Cpl. Michael J. Williams
Source: Compiled by Last Firebase Veterans Archives Project from one or
more of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources,
correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews.
Date Updated: April 17, 3003
REMARKS: March 2003__ "They're not going to give up," Paul Patchem
declared after hearing that his 22-year-old stepson,
Cpl. Kemaphoom A. Chanawongse was missing in Iraq. "I know the
Marines. They won't give up on him."
Patchem and his wife, Tan, were celebrating the arrival of a
two-week-old letter from Cpl. Chanawongse, when a Marine
knocked on their door. They immediately thought the worst.
Pentagon officials said that Cpl. Chanawongse was part of a group
that was told to
secure a bridge near An Nasiriyah, and that they encountered what
appeared to be Iraqi civilians seeking to surrender but were
surprised when the men opened fire.
"They had uniforms underneath their clothes,"
Pentagon officials said
"Eleven soldiers were killed. Eight soldiers ran to a
more secure area. No one has seen them since."
"Actually, it was kind of relieving to know he's just missing,"
Patchem said. "I have to think positive. His mother and I know
this is not happy news, but it's better than it could be."
Cpl. Chanawongse enlisted shortly after graduating from Waterford
High School in 1999, his family said.
Tan Patchem didn't originally want her son to join the military.
"He came to me and said he wanted to be a Marine," she said.
"That's what he wanted to do. It's tough, but we know he
loved to be in that uniform. He loved being a Marine.
I'm his mom. He's my baby. I felt like, 'Can he do it?'
I know the Marines are tough, but he understood that.
"I'm glad I didn't stop him," she added.
Cpl. Chanawongse is trained to operate amphibious vehicles as
part of the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine
Expeditionary Brigade, based in Camp Lejune, N.C.
Members of Cpl. Chanawongse's unit called him "Chuckles," or
"Chug" for short, Patchem said. "He's a very funny guy.
He makes everybody laugh."
There are 12 soldiers in his unit, and Patchem said one
soldier's mother serves as the unofficial "Platoon Mom,"
keeping everyone up to date. The Marines are in contact
regularly, he said, and have told him they will do everything
they can to find the missing soldiers.
"I have confidence," he said. "However I'm worried that these
troops aren't going to find their way."
Cpl. Chanawongse's older brother, Kemapawse, 24, is studying
in Thailand. Both brothers are Americans, whose ancestry
is Thai, Patchem said.
The Department of Defense announced today that Marine Cpl. Kemaphoom A. Chanawongse, 22, of Waterford, Conn. was killed in action during operations on the outskirts of An Nasiriyah on March 23. He had previously been listed as Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN).
Chanawongse was assigned to 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Apr2003/b04162003_bt251-03.html