LCPL Patrick A. Malone

The headlines read, “LCpl Patrick Antonio Malone, 21 of Ocala, died Monday, March 9, 2009, in Saqlaweikyah, Iraq, while serving his country in the US Marine Corps, Patrick was assigned to 2^nd Tank Battalion, 2^nd Marine Division, II Marine expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, NC, and served as an anti-tank missileman.” While this is true, the real story of Patrick lies below.

Patrick was born May 6, 1987 in Leominster, MA. He was a dreamer and a doer. As a young child he dreamed of being a military man and many Halloweens were spent being just that. At about the age of 7, Patrick turned to his family and said, “Guess what? The next time we all come here, it will be for my graduation.” Twelve years later that’s exactly where we stood.

Patrick carried himself with a quiet strength. He protected those who could not protect themselves and was a lover of animals. In high school Patrick spent many hours volunteering for the Humane Society. He always had time for his younger cousins. Actually, he always seemed to have time for everyone.