David A. Huhn
Lance Corporal, United States Marine Corps
April 3, 1981 – December 1, 2005
Age – 24
Portland, MI
Operation Iraqi Freedom
2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, CA
Huhn died from an improvised explosive device outside Fallujah, Iraq. He was inside an abandoned flour factory being used as a patrol base when the IED detonated
A Marine who grew up in Portland, Michigan was among 10 killed in attack near Fallujah; 11 were hurt. He was identified among the 10 Marines killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq. He grew up in Portland, northwest of Lansing, and enlisted last year. He was the son of Diane (Lenneman) and Larry Huhn. His father, Larry, served in the Army in Vietnam and his brother, Kevin, served in a Marine unit that took part in the invasion of Iraq in 2003. “He was a proud Marine, and he was talking about making a career out of it,” said Huhn’s uncle, Jeff Helmel.
By all accounts, Marine Lance Cpl. David Huhn died Thursday doing what he loved, fighting for a cause he believed in. He signed up in 2004, determined to stamp out the terrorism that so infuriated him three years earlier on Sept. 11.
“He went there with the idea of a little payback,” said Jeff Helmel, a retired Marine. “If I had been young enough, I would have been there with him.”
When he last spoke with his mother, Diane, on Thanksgiving, Huhn was excited about returning to California in January and later celebrating with his brother in Las Vegas. He expected action to heat up as Iraq moved closer to national elections Dec. 15.
“He was proud of what he was doing,” Kevin Huhn said. “He really liked it. He wanted to make it a career. It was the best thing he ever did.”
Huhn enjoyed fishing, hunting and video games. He watched professional wrestling and football and liked beer. His favorite kind? “Cold,” his brother and uncle chimed in.