WAUKESHA, WI, USA U.S. Marines LCPL, F CO, 2D BN, 24TH MAR, (24TH MEU), 4TH MAR DIV, MILWAUKEE, WI YUSUFIYAH, IRAQ 12/13/2004
Marine Lance Corporal (Cpl.) Richard D. Warner Warner, 22, of Waukesha, Wisconsin, was killed by a bomb December 13, 2004, in Babil province, Iraq, while on a foot patrol. His Marine Reserve unit was headquartered in Milwaukee. Rich was a rifleman who was called to active duty June 1, 2004 and arrived in Iraq in September 2004.
Rich was born on September 1, 1982 to Robert and Mary Warner (his mother later remarried, and Pat Donohue became his stepfather) and had a sister, Kimberly Warner. He graduated from Kettle Moraine High School in 2001 and hoped for a career in the automotive business. He once visited Italy to see where Ferrari and Maserati sports cars are made. Rich had begun a career in the automotive industry as a sales professional at Wilde Honda until his deployment to Iraq.
He was an energetic high school student who dreamed of being a Marine and enlisted even before the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Rich joined the Marines shortly after high school out of a sense of obligation because his grandparents and other family members had served in the military.
Rich embraced life without hesitation and embodied the slogan “No Fear,” his stepfather said. “The greater the challenge, the more that Rich would throw himself into it,” Pat Donahue said.
Rich was the nephew of O.J. Simpson’s famous houseguest, Brian “Kato” Kaelin, the second youngest of six children born to Adelrich “Al” and Isabelle Kaelin, whose daughter, Mary, was Rich’s mother.
“We will always be so proud of him and his tireless effort and hard work as a U.S. Marine serving in Iraq,” the family said. “We can only continue to pray and hope for the safe return of his fellow Marines and a finality to this war.”
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