JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (AP) - A Marine stationed at a North Carolina air station has died while exercising.
The Jacksonville Daily News reported Friday that Master Gunnery Sgt. James J. Petrongelli of Chicago Heights, Ill., collapsed as he finished personal physical training Thursday at Marine Corps Air Station New River.
Petrongelli was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. Marine officials said the cause of death is still under investigation.
The 46-year-old Petrongelli was an ordnance department chief assigned to Marine Aviation Logistic Squadron 26, Marine Aircraft Group 26, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, New River. He joined the Marine Corps in 1983 and was promoted to his current rank in 2008.
Petrongelli deployed overseas multiple times during his nearly 30-year military career, most recently in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2009.
