Photo By Spc. Leigh Campbell | A photo of Sgt. Michael M. Kashkoush and an upturned rifle, boots, dog tags and helmet...... read more read more
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By Lance Cpl. Richard Blumenstein
III Marine Expeditionary Force PAO
CAMP HANSEN, OKINAWA, Japan -- Marines with Counter Intelligence Company, 3rd Intelligence Battalion, III Marine Expeditionary Force and others bid farewell to Sgt. Michael M. Kashkoush, 24, of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, who died Jan. 23 from wounds received while conducting combat operations near Fallujah in the Anbar Province of Iraq.
Kashkoush was serving as a counter intelligence/human intelligence specialist attached to 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division.
Kashkoush's fellow Marines remembered him as a quiet, intelligent, kind-hearted and personable individual who could talk to anyone.
"He was an intellectual," a fellow sergeant from the company said. "He only talked when there was something good to say. He would listen, not just wait for his turn to talk back.
"Kashkoush enlisted in the Marine Corps Jan. 7, 2003, as a data network specialist and made a lateral move in February 2005 to the CI/HUMINT field. He attended his military occupational specialty school in Dam Neck, Va., and studied Arabic at the Defense Language Institute.
Kashkoush began studying Arabic before he even reached the institute. He was of Lebanese decent and would often listen to tapes his father would send him in Arabic, according to accounts from his fellow Marines.
Because of the extensive training required for counter intelligence specialists, Kashkoush spent the majority of his time in the field attending school. There, his natural leadership, strong work ethic and personality led him to the position of platoon commander at his MOS school, said a sergeant who attended school with Kashkoush.
At school, he would often joke with Kashkoush that he should have been a romance novelist because his intelligence reports would include in-depth and descriptive details about everything he saw, the sergeant said.
"In his reports he would talk about things like the way someone would move their hair," the sergeant remembered with a smile. "He had a great skill and passion for writing."
One senior enlisted leader in the company remembered Kashkoush as a man who exuded professionalism.
"The way he carried himself and his mannerisms, if you didn't know what rank he was you might assume he was a young officer," a gunnery sergeant said.
"He was just a likeable guy, completely," another Marine said. "He was the kind of guy that would go to any length to help his junior Marines."
Kashkoush was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart for laying down his life in service to his country.
"... Mike, you have made a great impact on all of us and you will never be forgotten," a friend said during the memorial service. "You will always be in our hearts and minds, and you will be greatly missed."
| Date Taken: | 02.02.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 02.02.2007 13:01 |
| Story ID: | 9043 |
| Location: | CAMP HANSEN, OKINAWA, JP |
| Web Views: | 639 |
| Downloads: | 76 |
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