Dillon, James Robert Jr

James Robert Dillon Jr. was a 19-year-old from Grove City, Pennsylvania. He served as a Private First Class in the United States Marine Corps Reserve, assigned to the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion based at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, California.

According to the U.S. Department of Defense, Dillon was killed on March 13, 2003, near the city of Gereshk in Afghanistan's Helmand Province. A military statement said his unit was conducting a security patrol when their vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device. Another Marine, Lance Cpl. Thomas A. Blair, 24, was killed in the same incident.

Dillon's death occurred during Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S.-led military campaign that began in October 2001 following the September 11 attacks. The operation's initial phase focused on removing the Taliban government and dismantling al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. By early 2003, major combat operations were declared over, but U.S. and allied forces continued counterinsurgency and security missions against a resilient Taliban.

Dillon's body was returned to Pennsylvania. He was buried with full military honors in Crestview Memorial Park in Grove City. The Department of Defense officially announced his death on March 15, 2003.

Dillon is memorialized on the Grove City Area Veterans Memorial and in national databases honoring U.S. service members killed in the Global War on Terror. His battalion, the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, continued deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq in subsequent years.

James Dillon was killed during Operation Enduring Freedom (2001–2014). The conflict concluded in December 2014. See the full roster of those killed in this conflict.

Among those documented in the same conflict: Andrews, Evander Earl, Edmunds, Jonn Joseph, Stonesifer, Kristofor Tif, Davis, Bryant Leroy.

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