IRAQ: Marine killed in border battle honored

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When the long history of the U.S. mission in Iraq is written, much of it may concern the turn-around of Anbar province from lost cause to a showpiece of U.S.-Iraqi cooperation.

Much of the credit for the change goes to the tough fighting in Ramadi and Fallouja and the alliances forged between the U.S. and the Sunni tribal sheiks.

But before those areas could be considered success stories for the U.S., there was equally tough fighting in the region where Iraq borders Syria. Because fewer journalists visit the region, there may be a tendency to overlook the battles in Al Qaim that preceded the changes in Ramadi and Fallouja.

Even before other sheiks closer to Baghdad decided to make common cause with the Americans, the sheiks in Al Qaim had decided to turn against the insurgency and toward the U.S.

While the public might not fully appreciate the Al Qaim fighting, the Marines have not forgotten.

Last week, Marines at the air station at Cherry Point, N.C., honored the memory of Lance Cpl. Daniel McVicker by naming a fuel facility after him. McVicker, 20, of Alliance, Ohio, was killed Oct. 6, 2005, when his vehicle hit a roadside bomb at Al Qaim.

-- Tony Perry, San Diego