IRAQ: Wounded Marine's death a 'probable' suicide

For a year, Marine Sgt. Sean Webster had been assigned to the Wounded Warrior Battalion at Camp Pendleton, the Marine Corps' effort to make sure Marines and sailors wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan get the medical and psychological care they need.

Webster, 23, was severely injured by an anti-tank mine explosion in September 2005 near the Iraqi border with Syria. He underwent 14 surgeries to repair an arm and leg ripped apart by shrapnel.

At the Wounded Warrior Battalion, he felt at home. He was the barracks manager and provided encouragement to the other guys, urging them not to get despondent. Forty-one troops live at the barracks. Staffers are tracking another 600 to make sure they're getting appropriate help.

"I'm a wounded Marine and I know what these guys are going through," he told the North (San Diego) County Times in a story published June 20.

Like many wounded Marines, Webster wanted to remain in the Corps. "What I'd really like to do is stay as a staff member here," he told the newspaper.

On June 23, Webster's body was found in an isolated part of the base. His funeral is set for 2 p.m. Saturday at Christ Episcopal Church in Charlottesville, Va.

The Naval Criminal Investigate Service is probing the death as a "probable" suicide.

-- Tony Perry, at Camp Pendleton

Photo: Marine Sgt. Sean Webster worked with wounded Marines. Credit: Associated Press

Comments

[Trish Buckhalt]

God Bless our Marines......My son Sgt Fletcher, Eric....Knew this fine Marine! God Bless the family, my prayers are with them........

[Cassandra]

May flights of angels carry thee to thy rest.