Marine from Camp Pendleton killed in Afghanistan

 

A 19-year-old Marine from Camp Pendleton has been killed during a combat foot patrol in Afghanistan, the Pentagon announced Thursday.

Lance Cpl. Ardenjoseph A. Buenagua of San Jose, Calif., died Wednesday in Helmand province, long a Taliban stronghold. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in July 2009 and was on his first combat deployment.

Buenagua was assigned to the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, at Camp Pendleton.

--Tony Perry in San Diego