Whitley, Dion Mario
Male
Verified Lance Cpl. Dion Mario Whitley, 21, of Altadena, California, served with the 1st Marine Division. He was killed by hostile action on June 15, 2005, in Ar Ramadi, Iraq.
Their Story
Dion Mario Whitley was born in 1984 and grew up in Altadena, California. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and was assigned as a rifleman to Company A, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, part of the 1st Marine Division based at Camp Pendleton, California.
On June 15, 2005, Whitley was on a combat patrol in the city of Ar Ramadi, the capital of Iraq's volatile Anbar province. According to the Department of Defense, he was killed by hostile fire during that operation. No further details of the specific engagement were publicly released.
Whitley's death occurred during Operation Iraqi Freedom, a conflict that began with a U.S.-led invasion in March 2003. By mid-2005, the war had entered a phase of intense insurgency, with Anbar province, and Ar Ramadi in particular, being a center of sustained combat between U.S. forces and Sunni insurgent groups.
Whitley's body was returned to the United States. He was buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Altadena. His death was reported by local and national news outlets, which noted his California hometown.
He is listed on the Iraq War Memorial in Washington, D.C., and remembered on online veterans' memorials. His battalion, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, sustained significant casualties during its 2005 deployment to Iraq.
Explore Further
Lance Cpl. Whitley was killed during Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003–2010). The conflict concluded in August 2010. See the full roster of those killed in this conflict.
Among those documented in the same conflict: Kennedy, Brian Matthew, Beaupre, Ryan Anthony, Gutierrez, Jose, Waters-bey, Kendall Damon.
