U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)
News Release
IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 129-10
February 19, 2010
DOD Identifies Marine Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Lance Corporal Kielin T. Dunn, 19, of Chesapeake, Virginia, died February 18, 2010, while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
For additional background information on this Marine, news media representatives may contact the II Marine Expeditionary Force public affairs office at 910-451-7200.
Lance Corporal Kielin T. Dunn was a rifleman assigned to 1st Battalion, 6th Marine regiment, Regimental Combat Team 7, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, according to a II Marine Expeditionary Force press release. He joined the Marine Corps in August 2008 and was promoted to Lance Corporal May 1, 2009.
Dunn deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in December 2009, according to the release. His awards include the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and NATO International Security Assistance Force Medal.
VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia – A Marine from Chesapeake has died while supporting combat operations in Afghanistan.
The Department of Defense said Lance Corporal Kielin T. Dunn, 19, died Thursday in Afghanistan’s Helmand province.
The circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear.
Dunn was part of the 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Morgan said Dunn’s battalion is involved in an offensive operation the Taliban stronghold of Marjah that began February 13, 2010.
CHESAPEAKE, Virginia – Kielin Terrell Dunn, 19, passed away while serving his country in Marjeh, Helmand Providence of Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom on February 18, 2010.
Lance Corporal Kielin Terrell Dunn was born in Mobile, Alabama, April 4, 1990. At a young age, he served as an usher, participated in community service and was baptized at Christian Worship Center in San Diego. He was an honor roll student at Jolliff Middle School and ROTC member at Western Branch High School in Chesapeake. He received numerous school awards including The Golden Pyramid “Best Academic Practice” and National Achievers Society Award from the San Diego Urban League in 2002 at De Portola Middle School.
Lance Corproal Dunn was a very loyal and dedicated Marine. He served his country with honor and made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of freedom. He was preceded in death by a grandfather, Willie Dunn Jr. Left to cherish his memory are his parents, Terri Dunn Campbell and Gary Campbell; his grandparents, Ella Harris of Mobile, Alabama, Gale and Calvert Campbell of Blue Ridge, Virginia; a sister, Nicole Campbell and a brother, Jonathan Campbell of Chesapeake; many aunts, uncles and cousins.
The family will receive friends Tuesday, March 2, from 10 a.m. to noon and from 6 to 9 p.m. at Smith and Williams Funeral Home, Kempsville Chapel, where a celebration of his life will be held Wednesday, March 3, at 11 a.m. A graveside service will be held Thursday, March 4, 2010, at 9 a.m. at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.
Marine slain in Afghanistan is laid to rest in Arlington
By Christy Goodman
Courtesy of The Washington Post
Friday, March 5, 2010
A brisk wind filled the American and the Marine Corps flags as the Campbell family walked arm in arm, following their son and brother’s caisson to Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery on Thursday.
Marine Lance Corproal Kielin T. Dunn, 19, of Chesapeake, Virginia, was buried with full military honors. Dunn died Feb. 18 while supporting combat operations in Afghanistan’s Helmand province.
Dunn had wanted to be a Marine since fifth grade, said his mother, Terri Campbell, a retired Army vehicle mechanic. “For him, there was no other branch,” she told The Washington Post.
He was so dedicated that he joined the JROTC at Western Branch High School to ensure an advanced rank once he completed boot camp. He took extra courses to graduate early in August 2008, and he immediately joined the corps. He was deployed to Afghanistan in December 2009.
“It wasn’t easy by any means. When you are driven and have a goal in mind, you do what it takes to get there,” said retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Michael Kloskin, senior JROTC adviser at Western Branch.
After Dunn completed boot camp, he came back in his dress blues to visit the cadets.
“He wasn’t a real tall individual, [but] if you want to call it pride, he stood seven feet tall. He was gleaming all over because he was now a Marine,” Kloskin said. “It really made a difference.”
Dunn’s friends described him as energetic, caring and a great break dancer. Kelsey Stillwagen, 19, a JROTC cadet with Dunn, said he was always laughing and jumping around.
“He was a big goofball, but deep down he had a heart of gold,” Stillwagen said. “He would go out of his way to help his friends and his family.”
Dunn is the first member of the Western Branch JROTC to die in combat since the program began in 1972. A memorial scholarship has been set up in Dunn’s name to assist cadets planning to attend a four-year college.
“I talked to him a couple weeks before he deployed and I told him to be safe and come home soon, but I didn’t expect him to come home this soon under a flag. I’m so proud of him,” Stillwagen said.
Karri Jackson described Dunn as her son’s very best friend. Her son, Lance Corporal Tyler L. Jackson, went through boot camp and training with Dunn and was in Afghanistan with him.
“He is heartbroken,” Jackson said. “We have all just been heartbroken over it. He was like a part of the family.”
Calvert W. Campbell, a retired member of the Air Force and Dunn’s step-grandfather, said he admired his grandson for making the decision to serve his country.
“Sometimes these things are ignored and put off on the side, but I hope he gets every honor and everything that is due him,” Campbell said.
In Arlington, shortly after three rifle volleys were fired, Terri Campbell and her husband, Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Gary Campbell, stood and saluted Dunn’s casket as a bugler played taps. Dunn’s younger siblings, Jonathan and Nicole, stood at attention between their parents.
Dunn was a member of the 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 7, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade.
He was awarded the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and NATO International Security Assistance Force Medal.
DUNN, KIELIN TERRELL
- LCPL US MARINE CORPS
- DATE OF BIRTH: 04/04/1990
- DATE OF DEATH: 02/18/2010
- BURIED AT: SECTION 60 SITE 9055
- ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY
Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.
Reviewed by: Michael Howard