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Two Michigan GIs killed in Iraq war

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  • Two Michigan GIs killed in Iraq war

    Two Michigan GIs killed in Iraq war

    The Detroit News
    Monday, October 23, 2006

    By Mark Hicks

    Deaths in what is turning out to be one of the
    deadliest months for U.S. soldiers in Iraq have hit
    home for two Michigan families.

    Lance Cpl. Clifford R. Collinsworth, 20, of Chelsea
    and Lance Cpl. Nicholas J. Manoukian, 22, of Lathrup
    Village died Saturday while conducting combat
    operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq.

    Both were assigned to 1st Battalion, 6th Marine
    Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary
    Force, based at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

    Manoukian, born Aug. 31, 1984, in Westland, attended
    Southfield Christian School and Shrine High School in
    Royal Oak.

    He later transferred to Kimball High School in Royal
    Oak, where he graduated in 2003.

    An avid snowboarder and hockey player, Manoukian often
    drew and sketched, which led him to pursue a designing
    career.

    After taking art classes at Oakland University, he
    joined the Marines in June 2004.

    Training at Parris Island, S.C., and later at the
    Marines base in Twentynine Palms, Calif., Manoukian
    enjoyed "doing something to be proud of," said his
    mother, Mary Manoukian Calhoun. "He had the need to
    challenge himself. ~E He liked being part of a
    brotherhood."

    In March 2005 he was deployed to Fallujah, Iraq, where
    he served as a radio operator.

    Manoukian returned home that October and quickly
    resumed practicing on his prized Pearl drum set --"one
    of many loves in his life," his mother said.

    On July 8, Manoukian married his longtime girlfriend,
    Danielle, at the National Shrine of the Little Flower
    Catholic Church in Royal Oak.

    The couple met eight years earlier at a friend's
    Halloween party.

    During their courtship, Manoukian often penned poems
    for Danielle, and surprised her with love notes on her
    car windshield.

    "He was full of surprises," Danielle Manoukian said.
    "He was amazing."

    He returned to Iraq last month for his second
    deployment.

    Besides his wife and mother, survivors include his
    stepfather, Gary Calhoun, and a stepson, Nico Mullen.

    He was preceded in death by his father, Isaac, and
    grandmother, Lillian Vasi.

    Services are pending.

    Relatives of Collinsworth could not be reached for
    comment.

    So far this month, 87 American service members have
    been killed in Iraq, putting October on pace to be the
    deadliest month for U.S. troops since the siege of
    Fallujah in November 2004.

    The latest Michigan deaths puts the state casualty
    total near 100, according to the Web site
    icasualties.org, which tracks military deaths in Iraq.


    You can reach Mark Hicks at (313) 222-2300 or
    [email protected].

    http://www.detnews.com/app s/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061023/UPDATE/610230439

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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