"Marine from Ludlow killed in Afghanistan; Two men from same unit died" by John M. Guilfoil, Globe Staff | May 14, 2010
A 23-year-old Marine sergeant from Ludlow has been killed in Afghanistan, the US Department of Defense announced yesterday.
Joshua D. Desforges, a 2004 Ludlow High School graduate, was supporting combat operations in Helmand Province when he was killed Wednesday, the Defense Department said....
Desforges was one of two Marines from the same battalion killed in Helmand Province on Wednesday. Sergeant Donald J. Lamar II, also 23, of Fredericksburg, Va., was also killed in the fighting, according to the Defense Department....
The Springfield Republican newspaper reported Desforges was friends with Marine Lance Corporal Philip Johnson, 19, of Enfield, Conn., who was killed Sept. 3, 2006, in a roadside attack near Baghdad
The two had served together in the Westover Young Marines program in East Longmeadow. At that time, Desforges told a reporter for the newspaper that he was “enthusiastic about the Marines and excited to be going to combat.’’
:-(
A man who answered the phone at the Desforges home in Ludlow declined to comment last night.
No funeral arrangements have been announced.
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"Family of Marine from Ludlow remembers him as hero, friend" by Travis Andersen, Globe Staff | May 15, 2010
The family of the US Marine from Ludlow who was killed this week in Afghanistan remembered him yesterday as a hero and a friend to many....
The Desforges family said yesterday that he had wanted to join the Marines beginning at age 11....
His family said: “It was his calling in life.’’
And a higher authority called him home.
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Related:
"Officials investigating fire at gas facility
Massachusetts utility regulators are investigating an explosion and fire at a natural gas storage plant in Ludlow, though authorities say no one was injured. Fire officials say the explosion Saturday morning was triggered by a malfunction in a heater used to liquefy natural gas at the Bay State LNG Plant. Authorities say damage was limited to the heater involved in the explosion, though it was loud enough that neighbors reported hearing the blast. The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities was still investigating yesterday. A spokeswoman for Bay State Gas said the fire was under control within 30 minutes and was never a danger to workers or neighbors.
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Got a little taste of the sounds of war there.
