Marine Lance Cpl. Cline was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. First missing for nearly three weeks and then confirmed dead, he died during a brutal battle outside An Nasiriyah. A request went out for volunteers to help a mortar company that was pinned down with some wounded. Donald was one of the first to volunteer to help his brother Marines. He went across a bridge, which is now known as 'Ambush Alley' and helped rescue all of them. At 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighing 135 pounds, Donald was carrying men twice his size. Once he had rescued everyone and they were in a truck on the way back, he was hit with a rocket-propelled grenade and killed. Donald was a big basketball fan and loved to play the game despite his short stature. He enlisted in the Marines in 2000 with his parents' permission because he was only 17. He graduated from high school and went to boot camp, finishing on Oct. 20, 2000. He and his wife Tina were married the next day. Tina said that he was undersized and had big ears. To a drill instructor, that is like saying sic 'em to a bulldog. But he was determined to be a good soldier, a good Marine, and there was no quit in him. Donald had talked about becoming a police officer and living in Reno when he left the military. Tina Cline needed to see her husband one last time before they sealed the casket. "I needed this closure," the widow said, so his casket was opened. There lies Marine Lance Cpl. Donald J. Cline Jr. with the Purple Heart medal pinned on his dress blues. The last contact came when a small package postmarked March 14 arrived from Kuwait. In it was a small toy truck carved out of wood for his son.
Marine Lance Cpl. Cline was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. First missing for nearly three weeks and then confirmed dead, he died during a brutal battle outside An Nasiriyah. A request went out for volunteers to help a mortar company that was pinned down with some wounded. Donald was one of the first to volunteer to help his brother Marines. He went across a bridge, which is now known as 'Ambush Alley' and helped rescue all of them. At 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighing 135 pounds, Donald was carrying men twice his size. Once he had rescued everyone and they were in a truck on the way back, he was hit with a rocket-propelled grenade and killed. Donald was a big basketball fan and loved to play the game despite his short stature. He enlisted in the Marines in 2000 with his parents' permission because he was only 17. He graduated from high school and went to boot camp, finishing on Oct. 20, 2000. He and his wife Tina were married the next day. Tina said that he was undersized and had big ears. To a drill instructor, that is like saying sic 'em to a bulldog. But he was determined to be a good soldier, a good Marine, and there was no quit in him. Donald had talked about becoming a police officer and living in Reno when he left the military. Tina Cline needed to see her husband one last time before they sealed the casket. "I needed this closure," the widow said, so his casket was opened. There lies Marine Lance Cpl. Donald J. Cline Jr. with the Purple Heart medal pinned on his dress blues. The last contact came when a small package postmarked March 14 arrived from Kuwait. In it was a small toy truck carved out of wood for his son.
