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LANCE CORPORAL JON T. HICKS, of Atco, was killed in action while serving in Iraq on Monday, September 10, 2007. |
| Camden Courier-Post - September 13, 2007 |
Atco man dies in combatA local Marine has died in Iraq, the second township man to lose his life in the nation's war against terror. Lance Cpl. Jon T. Hicks Jr., 20, was killed in combat Monday in Al Anbar province, the Defense Department said. "This is just devastating," said Judith Tapper, an Atco woman whose son, Navy SEAL David M. Tapper, 32, died in Afghanistan in August 2003. "When we put David's name on the marker in Atco, we hoped to heaven we'd never have to put another one up there," she said, weeping. She noted both men grew up on the same street, Maple Avenue. Hicks was the 25th service member from South Jersey or with local ties to die in Iraq or Afghanistan. He joined the Marines in January 2006 after graduating from Hammonton High School in 2005. Friends and neighbors streamed into his family's Maple Avenue house as word spread of the Marine's death Wednesday afternoon. "It's a very sad day for the township," Lori Toussaint, a member of the township committee, said after her visit. "Here was a young man with his whole life ahead of him. The family is devastated." The Marine infantryman is survived by his parents, Jon J. and Cathy, and a brother, Kyle C., all of Atco. He was the grandson of Charles and Myra Worrell of Westmont and Virginia Hicks of Atco. He also is survived by many aunts, uncles and cousins throughout South Jersey. The Hicks family did not want to speak to reporters on Wednesday, said Tapper, who went to her former neighbors' home to console them. Tapper said she moved from Melrose Avenue after her son's death, because her longtime home there held too many memories. Tapper, who leads a group that has restored the local war memorial on Atco Avenue, said local residents will work to erect a monument there for Hicks. "I know this community will be as proud of Jon as they are of David," she said. A second Marine, Cpl. Carlos Gilorozco, 23, of San Jose, Calif., also died in the incident that took Hicks' life, the Pentagon said. Details of the incident were not released. Both Marines were based at Camp Lejeune, N.C. They were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force. According to the Pentagon, 3,765 military personnel have died in Iraq since fighting began there in March 2003. Casualties total 374 in and around Afghanistan, it said.. |
| Camden Courier-Post - September 14, 2007 |
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Tributes in works for Atco Marine
The death of the 20-year-old Marine lance corporal was announced in the morning, said Principal James Donoghue, and was followed by a moment of silence. Hicks, an Atco resident, was killed in combat Monday in Al Anbar province, Iraq, according to the Department of Defense. "There's no explanation for what happens in life. Tragedies occur," Donoghue said. "What you try to do is teach the kids how to deal with them, how to respond. He died in service of his country and you recognize the fact he was answering a call." Donoghue remembered Hicks as an "everyday, average student" and "good kid." He was moved to Hammonton High School in 2002, his sophomore year, after Edgewood High School closed. One of the first Atco residents to attend Hammonton, Donoghue said Hicks handled the change well. "It was a tough couple years for those students," he said. "It was a new school, all new kids. It was a difficult transition, but Jon was a good kid." Donoghue said the school would likely memorialize Hicks, but that it was too soon to discuss those plans. Judith Tapper, an Atco woman whose son died while serving in Afghanistan in 2003, said the township will raise money for a memorial marker. The same was done for her son, Navy SEAL David M. Tapper. "They were both born and raised here," Tapper said of the servicemen. "They are the local boys." She visited with the Hicks family Wednesday evening to extend her condolences. The families lived two miles apart on Maple Avenue, but the Tappers moved after her son's death. She still lives nearby. "I just want to be a source of strength to them," she said of her visit. Hicks' family members said they did not wish to speak with a reporter. |
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A Mass of Christian Burial for Lance Cpl. Jon T. Hicks Jr. will be celebrated Sept. 20 at noon at Assumption Church, 318 Carl Hasselhan Drive, Atco, where friends may call after 9 a.m. Burial will be in Atco Cemetery. |
| Camden Courier-Post - September 13, 2007 |
Atco man dies in combatA local Marine has died in Iraq, the second township man to lose his life in the nation's war against terror. Lance Cpl. Jon T. Hicks Jr., 20, was killed in combat Monday in Al Anbar province, the Defense Department said. "This is just devastating," said Judith Tapper, an Atco woman whose son, Navy SEAL David M. Tapper, 32, died in Afghanistan in August 2003. "When we put David's name on the marker in Atco, we hoped to heaven we'd never have to put another one up there," she said, weeping. She noted both men grew up on the same street, Maple Avenue. Hicks was the 25th service member from South Jersey or with local ties to die in Iraq or Afghanistan. He joined the Marines in January 2006 after graduating from Hammonton High School in 2005. Friends and neighbors streamed into his family's Maple Avenue house as word spread of the Marine's death Wednesday afternoon. "It's a very sad day for the township," Lori Toussaint, a member of the township committee, said after her visit. "Here was a young man with his whole life ahead of him. The family is devastated." The Marine infantryman is survived by his parents, Jon J. and Cathy, and a brother, Kyle C., all of Atco. He was the grandson of Charles and Myra Worrell of Westmont and Virginia Hicks of Atco. He also is survived by many aunts, uncles and cousins throughout South Jersey. The Hicks family did not want to speak to reporters on Wednesday, said Tapper, who went to her former neighbors' home to console them. Tapper said she moved from Melrose Avenue after her son's death, because her longtime home there held too many memories. Tapper, who leads a group that has restored the local war memorial on Atco Avenue, said local residents will work to erect a monument there for Hicks. "I know this community will be as proud of Jon as they are of David," she said. A second Marine, Cpl. Carlos Gilorozco, 23, of San Jose, Calif., also died in the incident that took Hicks' life, the Pentagon said. Details of the incident were not released. Both Marines were based at Camp Lejeune, N.C. They were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force. According to the Pentagon, 3,765 military personnel have died in Iraq since fighting began there in March 2003. Casualties total 374 in and around Afghanistan, it said.. |
| Camden Courier-Post - September 16, 2007 |
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HICKS,
JON T., JR. LANCE CORPORAL |
