Soldiers' Angels Mourns 2nd Lt. Mark Gelina

From Renee of the Soldiers' Angels Living Legends Team:

We have a fallen hero from Soldiers' Angels, 2nd Lt. Mark C. Gelina.

Mark, 33, of Moberly, Mo., died November 4 from a non-hostile incident in Al Anbar province, Iraq.

He was assigned to 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Mark is survived by his wife, Stacy & their three children.

Renee

Gelina graduated from Missouri University in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering, was a member of the Marine Enlisted Commissioning Education Program, and a 10-year veteran of the Marine Corps.

At MU, Gelina was president of the Semper Fi society, planned the Navy/Marine Corps ball and mentored other students. He also trained and led teams in drill, rifle and pistol skills at competitions around the country.

“Just about his entire tenure here spoke to leadership,” said one of Gelina's former professors, Capt. J. Basil Read. “He was a Marine’s Marine. He was the type of leader that other Marines wanted to emulate.”

Read said that to his knowledge, Gelina was the first MU alum from the Marine Enlisted Commissioning Education Program to have been killed in Iraq.

“He got to do what he wanted to do, which was go lead Marines,” Read said.


The Patriot Guard Riders rode on 10, 11, 12 November and will ride again on Monday for 2nd Lt. Gelina.

I will post a link to the Marine 2nd Lt. Mark Gelina tribute at the Soldiers' Angels Fallen Heroes blog when it becomes available.

Update: Please take a moment to read the Marine 2nd Lt. Mark Gelina tribute at the Soldiers' Angels Fallen Heroes blog.

Remember our Heroes.