Soldiers' Angels Mourns Lance Cpl. Michael A. Schwarz

From Renee of the Soldiers' Angels Living Legends Team:

We have a fallen hero from Soldiers' Angels, Lance Cpl. Michael A. Schwarz.

Mike, 20, of Carlstadt, N.J., died Nov. 27 from wounds suffered while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq.

He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Mike is survived by his parents, Kenneth & Pamela Schwarz.

Renee

"He just loved his country. He loved the idea of being a soldier and he loved being a Marine," said the Rev. Donald M. Pitches, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Carlstadt, who baptized the borough native some two decades ago.

Pitches described Schwarz as a 6-footer built "like a string bean."

"He's an all-American boy. He was happy-go-lucky, fun-loving and he loved the outdoors," Pitches said, describing how Schwarz reveled in his jaunts along muddy trails in his customized Jeep.

"Mike, that was his dream, to be in the Marines," said Jim Bononno, one of Schwarz's high school teachers. "That was one of his goals. Any kid who joins the military during a war, that says something special about him."


Please take a moment to read the Marine Lance Cpl. Michael A. Schwarz tribute at the Soldiers' Angels Fallen Heroes blog.

Remember our Heroes.