Germantown Marine Killed In Iraq

Marines stationed in North Carolina identified as those slain in Iraq


RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – The U.S. Department of Defense identified two service members killed in Iraq on Sunday as members of a Marine special forces unit based in North Carolina. A Defense Department news release issued Tuesday says the Marines died while assisting Iraqi security forces in the north-central part of Iraq.

The U.S. military previously said two service members were killed by enemy forces during a mission against an Islamic State stronghold.

The slain Marines were identified as Gunnery Sgt. Diego Pongo of Simi Valley, California; and Capt. Moises A. Navas of Germantown, Maryland.

They were both assigned to the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

Capt. Moises A. Navas, left, 34, of Germantown, Md., and Gunnery Sgt. Diego D. Pongo, right, 34, of Simi Valley, Calif., were the two Marines killed. Photo from Marine Corps Times