In Memory of Lance Cpl.
Shane Goldman USMC, 20, of Orange, Texas who died April 5, 2004 due to
injuries received from hostile fire in Al Anbar Province, Iraq
From the beginnings of youth, and the uncertainty in
which that brings,
the Secret Scurvy Dogs watched a young man grow, and also
struggle, with all that life means.
And when the time came, for young Shane to make his
decision,
All the Dogs, especially Mike, were pleased to see, that Shane had made
the Marines, his mission.
While Shane first deployed to Japan, made us all wonder
as to the experiences he would have,
that wonder turned to concern as we questioned the items he
would need, on his second deployment, that to Iraq.
While we Old Sea Dogs stayed in our chairs and watched
events unfold,
Shane went off to battle and with his training, did what he
was told.
 Our
Country called Shane, to that dusty hell, and he served with great valor, up to
the time he fell.
Now we are left with grief, tears and sorrow, over the
loss of a life , so young and with no chance of a tomorrow.
Shane was Our Marine, a Man we saw emerge from youth,
Yet he will always be remembered for his determination, to
make his being, the embodiment of the Marine truth.
Assigned to 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine
Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, California, Shane was
killed on April 5, 2004 while conducting operations in a little town west of the
Abu Ghraib Prison (Zadion). The prison came under mortar fire. Shane's squad was
then sent out to find the Iraqis that were doing the attack. In route to the
mortar site, Shane's HUMVVEE Hit an IED. Shane's friend, Lcpl James Klingel, was
in the 4th vehicle and witnessed the event (there was only 4 on the patrol that
day). Shane and 3 other marines died of gun shot wounds and shrapnel. The blast
was so strong that Matthew Serios' (another Marine in the squad) helmet was
blown off of his head.
From Shane's hometown Newspaper:
LC-M teacher recalls student: Goldman
By Royal M. Hopper III The Orange Leader
 When Shane Goldman
walked into Dutch Bowers World Geography Class at Little Cypress-Mauriceville
High School in 2000 he already knew he wanted to be a Marine. He was 15.
"Even at that young age he would look you right in the eye and say I want to
be a Marine," Bowers said.
Bowers, a coach and history teacher, at the school taught Goldman the last year
he attended high school at Little Cypress.
The details of his former student's death are still sketchy he said but one
thing is certain Bowers said. The news that Goldman, 19, had been killed in
fighting in Iraq means that Orange County has lost one of it best.
"He had a kind of character that it would be good for all of us to have. If he
was a friend he was a friend. He loved people and respected authority," Bowers
said.
When Bowers knew him Goldman was new to the high school experience. He was a
happy kid, giddy and fun loving, he said. He loved the social aspects of school
especially the talking to beautiful high school age ladies.
School work took more effort for Shane than it did for some students but he
always did what it took to get the job done when he was given an individual
assignment.
This trait was one that made Bowers realize that his young student would one day
become exactly what he said he wanted to be.
"When you teach a young person and they tell you this is what I want to do and
they come back and that is what they are you remember that," Bowers said.
His former student dropped by the school for a visit after the first time he was
deployed to Iraq.
He said Shane Goldman loved what he was doing, he loved being a Marine and
believed in what his Marine Corp was accomplishing in the country but had also
discovered the horrors of war there.
"He said you can't imagine what it's like until you have been in it. You can see
pictures of it but you cannot understand what it is about," Bowers said.
Bowers said that it is always sad when someone so young dies but that even as
Goldman's friends and family grieve they can they can take comfort in the fact
that Shane Goldman died doing what he loved most.
"Even at a young age he said I want to serve my country and help other people,"
Bowers said.
 
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