SUPERIOR, WI, USA
U.S. Marines
LCPL, I CO, 3 BN, 7TH MAR (2-28 BCT, 2D MARDIV) 1ST MARDIV, TWENTYNINE PALMS, CA
AR RAMADI, IRAQ 02/25/2006
A Marine from northern Wisconsin with only 15 days of active combat duty left in Iraq was killed by a roadside bomb. Lance Cpl. Adam Van Alstine, 21, of Superior, was killed Saturday, February 25, 2006 in Ramadi outside of Baghdad, his sister, Dawn Meyers of Cottage Grove, Minn., said Monday.
Another sister, Jennifer Van Alstine, said her brother’s dream was to serve in the Marines. He had wanted this since he was a little boy, she said. He lived and breathed to be in the Marines.
She said her brother also wanted to be in Iraq.
I believe wholeheartedly that if he would’ve come home, he would have been back there as soon as he could, she said. I’m angry that he was there, but I am proud of him. He wouldn’t have been complete if he wouldn’t have been there.
Meyers said Adam Van Alstine sent her and her husband a congratulatory card he had made recently when he learned she was pregnant. He said in the card, I don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl yet, but he or she is the reason why I do what I do without thinking twice about it — so he or she can enjoy the greatest country in the world.
Both of Van Alstine’s parents are deceased.
Van Alstine moved to the Twin Cities area after graduating from Superior High School in 2003 and entered the Marines in November, 2004.
Van Alstine was an active boxer and trained at Horton’s Gym in Duluth, said his coach, Chuck Horton. Horton said boxing was a rite of passage for Van Alstine. That was what motivated him to stay in school, he said. I was proud of him for his work ethic. Jennifer Van Alstine said her brother had recently told her how excited he was that he got to use a gym to box in Iraq.
He is survived by his sisters, Jennifer Van Alstine and Dawn Meyers, and brother Michael Garrity.
Van Alstine was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.; attached to the 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward);