Slain Marine asked for combat duty

CINCINNATI (AP) -- A suburban Cincinnati Marine who was killed in Iraq was a recruiter who requested combat duty when the war began, his mother said.
Lynn Pummill said her son, Staff Sgt. Rick Pummill, 27, had been stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.
"I keep waiting for the Marines to call me and tell me they made a mistake and that he's still alive," Pummill said Friday.
Rick Pummill was part of a convoy traveling about 25 miles west of Baghdad. Two other Marines were killed as well when an explosive device hit their humvee.
Pummill joined the Marines after graduating from Anderson High School in suburban Anderson Township in 1996. He had been in Iraq since July.
Pummill's wife lives near Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, N.C. His 3-year-old son lives in Norfolk, Va., with Pummill's first wife.
The military had not released any information about the death Saturday.
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