LA GRANDE, OR, USA U.S. Army SFC, HHC, 3D BATTALION, 116TH ARMORED CAVALRY (TF OLYMPIA), ONTARIO, OR KIRKUK AIR BASE, IRAQ 01/31/2005
Army Sergeant (Sgt.) 1st Class Mark C. Warren, 44, of La Grande, Oregon, died January 31, 2005, at Kirkuk Air Base, Iraq, serving during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The father of three enlisted in the Marines in 1981, served for four years, and had tours of duty in Lebanon and Grenada. He left the Marines in 1985 and worked as a railroad conductor. He joined the Army National Guard in 1990 and was the noncommissioned officer in charge of officer training at Eastern Oregon University in La Grande. He also taught military science at the school.
Mark was born on May 17, 1960, the son of Howard Warren and Wanda (nee Sutton) Warren in Hermiston, Oregon. He attended schools in La Grande and graduated from high school in 1979. In 1979 he married Carol Ann DuBosch in La Grande. Mark and Carol Warren had three sons, Christopher, Michael, and Ryan, but divorced in November 2004.
Mark’s son, Lt. Christopher Warren, also served in Iraq. Christopher Warren said his father’s last days were happy ones – he felt elation at helping Iraqi authorities monitor polling places during their election. For the past two months in Iraq, Christopher Warren had seen his father more regularly than when they lived in La Grande.
Lt. Christopher Warren escorted his father’s body home to render full military honors and bid a final farewell with his family. Nearly four hundred friends, family, and military and civilian coworkers attended a late-morning memorial service held at the Oregon National Guard Armory in La Grande. Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski, a fellow Marine, said Warren was, “a shining star of the Oregon National Guard and heroic son of La Grande.”
Mark enjoyed marksmanship, hunting, and woodworking. His outstanding marksmanship resulted in his assumption of duties as the Battalion Marksmanship Coordinator. In this duty, he helped organize, conduct, and participate in rifle marksmanship matches throughout the United States. Mark was a life member of the NRA, a member of the VFW, American Legion, Marine Corps Cryptological Society, and the United Transportation Union.
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