Prosser Marine Dies in Iraq

[darrels joy]

Published on Tuesday, June 22, 2004

Prosser Marine Dies in Iraq
BY LIA STEAKLEY
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

BRIAN FITZGERALD/Yakima Herald-Republic
Shelly Best, 29, of Prosser hugs a family friend, Chad Smith, 33, in the kitchen of her home the day after being notified of her husband Martin's death in Iraq.
PROSSER ? Shelly Best was visiting her parents Saturday night when a group of Marines arrived with word that her husband had been killed in an explosion in Iraq's Al Anbar Province.

"I got down on my knees and just started sobbing," Best recalled Monday at her parents' home as she opened cards from friends and family.

At age 33, Sgt. Marvin Best of Prosser becomes the second Yakima Valley resident killed in Iraq since the invasion last year.

"He used to say, 'Don't be concerned about me until you see those Marines get out of the car.' I saw those white hats and I went ballistic. I knew what was happening," his mother, Charlotte Best, said Monday.

Best, who enlisted shortly after graduating from Prosser High School in 1989, was remembered as a proud Marine with an easy smile.

His family is awaiting further details from the Marines, but a community memorial is tentatively planned for Monday at Prosser High.

"It's going to be a very grand service, a full military honor. Everything he could have ever imagined," said Shelly Best.

Best was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif. He was deployed on Feb. 12. He was expected to arrive back home in September. Instead, he died nearly a month before his 34th birthday.

His is the second death of a Yakima Valley service man in Iraq in as many months. Dustin Sides, a 22-year-old lance corporal from Yakima, died of injuries suffered during an ambush as he was returning from a mission to Fallujah in late May.

Until Saturday night, Best's parents, William and Charlotte Best, had not heard any news from their son in several weeks. Worried because he typically contacted family members every two weeks, his mother was about to send him an e-mail. But her plan was interrupted when a car pulled into her driveway at 11:15 on Saturday night.

Hope Seymer, a close friend of Shelly Best and her family, said that Marvin's diminished correspondence also alarmed his wife.

"Shelly and I talk on a daily basis, and she had become concerned. She called me at 1:30 a.m. on Saturday and said, 'Marvin's dead.' I dropped the phone and ran to her parents' house," Seymer said.

News of Best's death traveled quickly through Prosser.

Prosser Mayor Linda Lusk said people had been calling constantly offering their condolences and services to the Best family.

"Prosser has lost of one its hometown boys to the war, and the reality and shock is much harder when you know the person," Lusk said.

At Keno's Kafe and Lounge on Sixth Street, employee Karen Ward said Best's death had bridged the gap between events in Iraq and her small community.

"It's one thing to sit and watch the war on the news, but until it hits close to home you don't realize how serious it is," said Ward, who attended high school with Best.

The mood was somber at Prosser High School among the few staff members working Monday, said principal Kevin Lusk. He called Best's death "an incredible loss" for the community.

At Prosser High, Best competed in track and was active in Future Farmers of America. He also competed in rodeo events where Prosser High School teacher Rick Adams said "he was fearless." Friends and family said Best dreamed of being a Marine since childhood.

Chad Smith, who grew up next door to Best and ran track with him during high school, remembered when he decided to enlist.

"He always wanted to be a Marine. He just had that drive and attitude of a hard-core Marine. I don't think he was afraid of anything. I remember him saying that if he couldn't go to war, then it would be like practicing for football and not being able to play in the game," said Smith.

Best re-enlisted in 1995, against his wife's wishes.

"He re-enlisted every single time. I always wanted him to get out. But I told him, 'Do what you have to do,'" said his wife.

Best last spoke with her husband in April.

"I remember him saying, 'I love you, bug.' That's what he called me."

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Published on Thursday, June 24, 2004


Funeral Tuesday for Slain Marine


PROSSER ? A funeral for Marvin Best, the 33-year-old Prosser Marine killed in Iraq, will be Tuesday morning at Prosser High School.

The service, open to the public, will take place at 10 a.m. in the gymnasium. The Marine Corps requests that all attendees be seated in the gym by 9:50 a.m. Those arriving after that time will not be admitted. The school is at 1203 Prosser Ave.

School parking lots and other nearby parking will be restricted to family and members of the military. Public parking will be available at Art Fiker Stadium on Paterson Road and at Depot Square at the intersection of Seventh Street and Bennett Avenue.

Condolences can be sent to Prosser Funeral Home, 1220 Sheridan Ave., Prosser, WA 99350, and messages to the family can be e-mailed to prosser
chapel@bentonrea.com

Best died last weekend in an explosion in Iraq's Al Anbar Province. He is the second Yakima Valley resident killed in Iraq since the invasion last year. Dustin Sides, a 22-year-old lance corporal from Yakima, died in late May of injuries suffered during an ambush as he was returning from a mission to Fallujah.