Richard T. Pummill
Profile
Age: 27
From: Cincinnati, Ohio
Assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Incident: Marine Staff Sgt. Richard T. Pummill was killed Oct. 20 by an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations against enemy forces near Nasser Wa Salaam, Iraq. Also
Died: October 20, 2005
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Marine who volunteered for combat called a hero
Associated Press
CINCINNATI — Under an overcast sky, about 100 mourners gathered at a suburban Cincinnati cemetery to pay tribute to a Marine who died in Iraq.
Staff Sgt. Richard Pummill was described as a hero on Thursday by Maj. David Slack for giving up his recruiting job for a combat assignment.
Pummill, 27, and two other Marines were killed Oct. 20 when an improvised explosive device struck their Humvee about 25 miles west of Baghdad.
“We don’t want to lose anybody,” Slack said. “But unfortunately, freedom isn’t free. It’s a risk you take when you put on the uniform. Sgt. Pummill is truly a hero because he’s one of those who put on the uniform.”
Pummill joined the Marines after graduating from Anderson High School in suburban Anderson Township in 1996. He had been in