Ben Carman, 20, of Jefferson, Iowa, always looked up to his grandfather Robert.  Robert served his country and was a prisoner of war for 27 months during World War II. Ben's father, Nelson, said he thinks this is where Ben developed an interest in joining the service. “Growing up Ben always heard stories from his grandfather about World War II,” said Nelson. Ben joined the Marines shortly after he graduated from Jefferson-Scranton High School in 2002.

Ben was killed on April 6, 2004 -- his grandfather’s birthday. He died during one of the most deadly weeks in Iraq, when 34 other soldiers lost their lives. Ben was killed when his unit, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force based out of Camp Pendleton, California came under hostile fire in Al Anbar province, Iraq. “Ben was in a quick react force team,” said Nelson. “They were on patrol. Earlier in the day his unit had met up with a Marine sniper team that was trying to find insurgents setting up IEDs. Later, Ben’s unit got a call from the sniper team that they were under attack.” Ben’s unit went back to help and that’s when he was killed. Another Marine died alongside Ben.

Nelson says he thinks the terrorist attacks on the U.S. spurred Ben’s decision to serve his country. “When 9/11 hit, that just deepened his determination,” Nelson said. “I could tell that it bothered him a lot, but he didn’t share it. Ben was going to always be the toughest of the tough and he joined the Marines.”

In high school, Ben played football and golf. He was also a two-time state champ in sheet metal work. “He was very quiet, soft-spoken and a hard worker,” said Nelson. “The football team, the Jefferson Rams, have an award in his name. It’s called the Ben Carman award, it’s given to a football player who worked the hardest.”

Nelson said Ben was proud to be a Marine. “I don’t know what words could describe the sense of pride I had in what he was doing,” Nelson said. “If we fail in Iraq and let those people down, if we pull out too soon we will not only lose the faith of the people in the Middle East, we’ll lose the faith of people around the world. I support the soldiers. I told our president to make sure that we finish the job so that our sons have not died in vain. Freedom isn’t free and the U.S. isn’t the only nation that should be blessed with freedom – it’s in our Bill of Rights. All people should know what freedom is like. Sometimes I say to myself -- was it worth it, Ben? And one day I’ll get to ask him and I think he’ll say yes.”

News

• Visit the Carmans' family website.

• "Tom Latham told me about coming from the funeral of Marine Lance Corporal Ben Carman from Jefferson, Iowa. My deepest sympathies go to the Carman family. I know how incredibly difficult it is for them to put their loved one into the ground. Ben Carman's father said this: He said, 'He knew that America was in danger' -- he, talking about his son, the Dad talking about his son -- he said, 'He knew that America was in danger, and it was time for guys like him to step up to the plate.' That's what his Dad said about his courageous son.

  Mr. Carman must know that our prayers are with him, and with those of others who have lost a loved one in Iraq, and that the mission that his son was on was a noble and important mission for peace and freedom, and for the security of America. And we will stay the course in Iraq so that his son did not die in vain." President Bush, while in Des Moines, Iowa on April 15, 2004

• "We're still very supportive of our president and feel that we should stay there and fight there for their freedom," Carman said Tuesday afternoon in a telephone interview.
  
  In the Iraqi elections in January, when she saw voters hoisting in the air their fingers stained with purple ink, Carman filled with pride. "Ben had a part in that," she said." Kansas City Star, 8/17/2005

• Whenever Marie [Carman] hears political discussions about Iraq, the arguments unsettle her. She knows that no one's found weapons of mass destruction, and she knows that some people think President Bush was deceitful in using Iraq's alleged nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs as a justification for war.
  
  "Then I think, 'Are they saying my son died for nothing?' But look at all the people Saddam Hussein was killing and maiming. These people still needed someone to come in there and help them.
  
  "And in war, there are casualties. I'm sorry it was my son, but both Nelson and I feel like somebody needed to step in there to do something."
  
  "We did not choose this war; the enemy brought it to us," said Nelson Carman, Ben's father. "The enemy brought it to us when they created 9-11. The enemy brought it to us when they bombed the Navy ship in Yemen, or the first bombing of the World Trade Center. . . ."
  
  "A lot of Americans feel because we didn't find weapons of mass destruction or the strong connection between al-Qaida and Hussein that we shouldn't have went to war in Iraq," he said. "But this war was going to be fought either now or later. I'd rather it be on their turf than have our children or grandchildren fighting it in America. ... This issue goes higher than just being a Republican or Democrat problem." Knight-Ridder, 8/15/2004