Family, friends remember Marine killed in Iraq

He was due home in January, his sister said.
HOWARD, Ohio (AP) -- The sister of an Ohio Marine killed in Iraq said she talked him into joining the military when he graduated from high school.
Cpl. Nathan R. Anderson, 22, of Howard, died Friday during fighting in the Al Anbar Province in Iraq, the Department of Defense said. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
The Defense Department did not give more details.
Anderson was due home in January, said his sister, Meg Anderson, who gathered with family and friends Saturday at the Picnic Pub in their hometown 45 miles northeast of Columbus.
"My brother was not re-enlisting," she said.
Reason for joining
Meg Anderson, 25, said she doesn't think her younger brother would have enlisted after graduating form East Knox High School if she hadn't persuaded him. She wanted to join the military herself but never did.
"I put it into his head," she said. "He looked up to me."
Nathan Anderson was the life of the party, inviting friends over for backyard campfires, friends said.
"He was an honest guy, the heart and soul of all our friends," said April Buckingham, 21, who graduated with Anderson in 2001. "He was the one who tried to keep us all together after graduation."
Meg Anderson said her brother's last phone call to her was two weeks ago.
"He said they'd be on a special mission and it'd be two weeks and not to worry," Meg Anderson recalled. "He said he loves me. He said he'll be home soon."