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Howard S March Jr


BUFFALO, NY, USA U.S. Marines LCPL, G CO, 2D BN, 8TH MAR, (RCT-5, I MEF FWD), 2D MAR DIV, CAMP LEJEUNE, NC AL TAQADDUM, IRAQ 09/24/2006


Marine Lance Corporal Howard March Jr was killed Sunday while battling enemy forces in the Al-Aanbar province. News 4’s George Richert spoke to his family Tuesday afternoon.

His mother, Lisa Leeper said, “He was a very, very good boy, loving, protective, just a good boy.”

Twenty year old March, Jr. was killed on Sunday while serving in the Anbar province of Iraq, where the second Battalion 8th Marine Regiment routinely did roadside vehicle inspections.

Leeper said, “He was a wonderful decisive young man who knew what he wanted to do with his life and he did it.”

Lance Corporal Howard March also left an impression on the recruiters who helped him get into the only branch of the military that works by air, land and sea. U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant Keith Shepherd said, “He was a motivated young man and he always came in here with a smile on his face. In fact, I remember it like he was sitting here.”

He and his best friend joined the Marines right after they graduated from Hutch Tech two years ago. The body of Lance Corporal Howard March, Jr. will arrive Wednesday afternoon at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware and then be flown to Western New York this weekend. Howard S. March Jr.’s assistant principal, Rose Schneider found it fun to watch the young man come to school.

He was always smiling, always happy, she said. He’d walk in from the bus every day and say, ‘Hey, Ms. Schneider.’ It was always a pleasure to see him. He had a real positive personality.

March, 20, wanted to become a computer programmer. While he never was a discipline problem, at home or in school, March was still a boy. And when he had to, he’d flash his smile to extricate himself from trouble. He charmed me out of grounding him a couple times said his mother, Lisa Leeper. He would flash those teeth, give me that smile and say I’m so sorry,’ like he really meant it.

He came home eight months before being deployed. He popped in with this big smile and said, ‘Hey, Mom, what’s up?’ We couldn’t keep too somber without him lightening the mood, she said.

He also is survived by his father, Howard March Sr., and stepfather, William Leeper.

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