STANLEY, N.C. (AP) - Military officials say a Marine from North Carolina was killed while fighting in Afghanistan.
The Defense Department says 21-year-old Lance Cpl. Nicholas S. O'Brien of Stanley died Thursday while conducting combat operations in Helmand province. He was assigned to Camp Pendleton, Calif.
The Charlotte Observer reported that O'Brien entered active duty in the fall of 2009 and shipped to Afghanistan in March. His father, Richard, said O'Brien was a talented high school baseball player who was offered college scholarships to continue playing. But he said his son decided when he was about 15 years old to join the Marine Corps.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
