Fallen Marine not forgotten

Photo By Sgt. Anthony Ortiz | Marines and sailors with 8th Engineer Support Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, listen as Lt. Cmdr. Danny B. Purvis, the battalion’s chaplain, speaks to all in attendance during a memorial service in honor of Staff Sgt. Joseph D’Augustine at the Protestant Chapel aboard Camp Lejeune, N.C., June 29, 2012. For his actions, D’Augustine was posthumously promoted to his current rank of staff sergeant and awarded the Bronze Star with a combat distinguishing device.  

CAMP LEJEUNE, NC, UNITED STATES

06.29.2012

Courtesy Story

II Marine Expeditionary Force   

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - Marines and sailors with 8th Engineer Support Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group filled the pews of the Protestant Chapel here, June 29, during a memorial service to commemorate the life of one of their own.

Staff Sgt. Joseph D’Augustine, an Englewood, N.J., native, was killed-in-action while supporting 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, March 27, 2012.

While serving with 3/7, D’Augustine was responsible for the neutralization of 73 improvised explosive devices and the destruction of over 1,000 lbs of homemade explosives.

“He was a great Marine and good at his job,” said Staff Sgt. Steven Tamm, an EOD technician with 8th ESB. “He got selected for staff sergeant his first time around, but he wouldn’t brag about it. That’s not the type of guy he was.”

As the ceremony continued, Sgt. Kyle Street, an EOD technician with 8th ESB, spoke on behalf of his lost friend.

“I never met anyone who didn’t like him,” he said. “We formed a bond at [military occupational specialty school]. He is a great friend and great Marine … I will miss him forever.”

With the ceremony nearing its end, Lt. Cmdr. Danny B. Purvis, the battalion’s chaplain, closed the ceremony with remarks of his own.

“Hearing everyone talk about [D’Augustine] upsets me that we didn’t have a chance to meet,” he said. “If all I know about him is what I know today, then it is enough.

“There are three hundred million people in this country and less than one percent have the courage he had. Then if those odds weren’t enough, he did a job that an even smaller percentage of people would even try to do. He was a great man, son, brother and Marine.”

For his actions, D’Augustine was posthumously promoted to his current rank of staff sergeant and awarded the Bronze Star with a combat distinguishing device.

• Date Taken: 06.29.2012
• Date Posted: 06.29.2012 17:02
• Story ID: 90888
• Location: CAMP LEJEUNE, NC, US