I have some very sad news to report.
I just found out that a Marine I served with in Iraq last year was killed by insurgents in Iraq last week. He believed in the cause so much he returned to Iraq to work for the Coalition Provisional Authority as a civilian. Here is a recent CNN article about him and he was also keeping a blog as well. He was a good man and he will be missed.
Rest in peace, Colonel Zangas.
Lt. Col. Robert J. Zangas
Level Green
Lt. Col. Robert J. Zangas, USMC Reserve, 44, of Level Green, died Tuesday, March 9, 2004, south of Baghdad, Iraq, while working for the Coalition Provisional Authority under the Department of Defense. He was born Jan. 3, 1960, in Honolulu, Hawaii, the son of Lt. Col. Charles Zangas, of San Diego, Calif., and the late Nancy Zangas. Bob graduated from the University of Colorado and was commissioned as a second lieutenant, earning his naval aviation wings in 1984. Bob served in Operation Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom in the First Marine Expeditionary Force. Bob was a sales representative with several companies, most recently with Quest Software. After returning from Iraq in September 2003, he worked as a civilian public affairs officer with the CPA, helping to restore radio and television communications in Iraq. Bob was a gentle and affectionate man and father with his children and family, always trying to spend quality time with them. In addition to his father, Bob is survived by his wife, Brenda Huffman Zangas, formerly of Butler; his loving children, Shannon, age 10, Scott, age 5, and Jacob, age 3, all of Level Green; four siblings, Kathy Stovicek (Larry), of Gaithersburg, Md., Patti Black (Keith), of Woodbridge, Va., John Zangas, of Washington, D.C., and Cassandra Vallery (Colton), of Fayetteville, N.C.; and his father's wife, Anne, of San Diego. Friends and family will be received at the JOHN M. DOBRINICK FUNERAL HOME INC., 602 Seventh St. (Rt. 130), Trafford, 412-372-3111, Wednesday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. and Thursday from 10 a.m. to noon. A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. in the Level Green Presbyterian Church, Olive Drive, Level Green, with the Rev. Dr. R. Dennis Macaleer officiating. Full military honors and a private interment will follow. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials to the Robert Zangas Memorial Fund, C/O Navy Federal Credit Union, Willow Grove M.S.C., Building #2, NAS Willow Grove, PA 19090 or the National Parkinson's Foundation Center of Excellence, University of Pittsburgh-Department of Neurology, 3471 Fifth Ave., Suite 811, Kaufmann Building, Pittsburgh, PA 15213.
The United States Marine
You can keep your Army khaki,
You can keep your Navy blue.
I have the world's best fighting man,
Uncle Sam ever knew.
His uniform is different,
The best you've ever seen.
The German's call him "Devil dog",
His real name is "Marine".
He was born in boot camp,
The place where God forgot.
D.I.'s breathing down his neck,
The sun so blazing hot.
He gets up every morning,
Before the rising sun.
He'll run his required miles and more,
Before the day is done.
He's deadly with a rifle,
A bayonet made of steel.
He takes the challenge given,
He's mastered how to kill.
And when he gets to Heaven,
St. Peter he will tell,
"One more Marine reporting sir,
I've served my time in Hell."
"I've fought so many battles,
And won them as you've seen.
There is no better fighting man,
The United States Marine!"
I just found out that a Marine I served with in Iraq last year was killed by insurgents in Iraq last week. He believed in the cause so much he returned to Iraq to work for the Coalition Provisional Authority as a civilian. Here is a recent CNN article about him and he was also keeping a blog as well. He was a good man and he will be missed.
Rest in peace, Colonel Zangas.
Lt. Col. Robert J. Zangas
Level Green
Lt. Col. Robert J. Zangas, USMC Reserve, 44, of Level Green, died Tuesday, March 9, 2004, south of Baghdad, Iraq, while working for the Coalition Provisional Authority under the Department of Defense. He was born Jan. 3, 1960, in Honolulu, Hawaii, the son of Lt. Col. Charles Zangas, of San Diego, Calif., and the late Nancy Zangas. Bob graduated from the University of Colorado and was commissioned as a second lieutenant, earning his naval aviation wings in 1984. Bob served in Operation Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom in the First Marine Expeditionary Force. Bob was a sales representative with several companies, most recently with Quest Software. After returning from Iraq in September 2003, he worked as a civilian public affairs officer with the CPA, helping to restore radio and television communications in Iraq. Bob was a gentle and affectionate man and father with his children and family, always trying to spend quality time with them. In addition to his father, Bob is survived by his wife, Brenda Huffman Zangas, formerly of Butler; his loving children, Shannon, age 10, Scott, age 5, and Jacob, age 3, all of Level Green; four siblings, Kathy Stovicek (Larry), of Gaithersburg, Md., Patti Black (Keith), of Woodbridge, Va., John Zangas, of Washington, D.C., and Cassandra Vallery (Colton), of Fayetteville, N.C.; and his father's wife, Anne, of San Diego. Friends and family will be received at the JOHN M. DOBRINICK FUNERAL HOME INC., 602 Seventh St. (Rt. 130), Trafford, 412-372-3111, Wednesday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. and Thursday from 10 a.m. to noon. A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. in the Level Green Presbyterian Church, Olive Drive, Level Green, with the Rev. Dr. R. Dennis Macaleer officiating. Full military honors and a private interment will follow. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials to the Robert Zangas Memorial Fund, C/O Navy Federal Credit Union, Willow Grove M.S.C., Building #2, NAS Willow Grove, PA 19090 or the National Parkinson's Foundation Center of Excellence, University of Pittsburgh-Department of Neurology, 3471 Fifth Ave., Suite 811, Kaufmann Building, Pittsburgh, PA 15213.
The United States Marine
You can keep your Army khaki,
You can keep your Navy blue.
I have the world's best fighting man,
Uncle Sam ever knew.
His uniform is different,
The best you've ever seen.
The German's call him "Devil dog",
His real name is "Marine".
He was born in boot camp,
The place where God forgot.
D.I.'s breathing down his neck,
The sun so blazing hot.
He gets up every morning,
Before the rising sun.
He'll run his required miles and more,
Before the day is done.
He's deadly with a rifle,
A bayonet made of steel.
He takes the challenge given,
He's mastered how to kill.
And when he gets to Heaven,
St. Peter he will tell,
"One more Marine reporting sir,
I've served my time in Hell."
"I've fought so many battles,
And won them as you've seen.
There is no better fighting man,
The United States Marine!"
SEMPER FIDELIS. Rest in Peace, Marine.