Roger W. Muchnick, Jr., 1989-2013

LENOX – Lance Corporal Roger Wolf Muchnick, Jr., USMC, 23, of 3 Stoneboat Rd. in Westport, Conn., died March 18, following a training accident at the Hawthorne Army Depot in Nevada in which seven were killed and eight others injured, according to the Marine website.

Mr. Muchnick and seven other Marines – all members of the Second Marine Expeditionary Force – were killed when a mortar shell exploded in its firing tube. The military is investigating the circumstances surrounding the accident.

According to the Marine website, seven Marines with 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, were killed and eight others were injured, which includes a Navy Corpsman, in an explosion during a live-fire training exercise at Hawthorne Army Depot, Nev., shortly before 10 p.m. on Monday, March 18.

Born Nov. 17, 1989, in Norwalk, Conn., Lance Cpl. Muchnick was the son of Roger W. Muchnick, Sr. of Ashville, N.C., and Kate Coakley of Jupiter, Fla., and grandson of Robert and Mary Ann Coakley of Lenox, where he had often visited.

He was an athlete at Staples High School in Westport, Conn., where he excelled in football and lacrosse. Following graduation in 2008, he entered Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic, Conn., where he was a starting player on its varsity lacrosse team.

Lance Cpl. Muchnick joined the Marines in May 2010, completing boot camp at Parris Island, S.C., and was based at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

His first deployment was to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, where he served for seven months. After returning stateside for additional training, his unit was deployed to Kuwait.

At the time of his death, his unit was undergoing winter survival tactical training in the mountains of Northern California and advanced artillery training in the Nevada desert in anticipation of a fall deployment back to Afghanistan.

The accident occurred during their final week of training.

Lance Cpl. Muchnick  was a mortarman assigned to 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment. He joined the Marine Corps in June 2010 and was promoted to his current rank in May 2011.

His awards include the Combat Action Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon and NATO Medal-ISAF Afghanistan.

He was most recently deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2011.

He was very proud to serve his country as a Marine and was looking forward to completing his college education following his service, according to family members.

Besides the Coakleys and his parents, he leaves a brother, Will, twin sisters Avery and Grace, all of Florida; paternal grandparents, Jerome and Marilyn Muchnick of Philadelphia; and several aunts, uncles and cousins.

The Roche Funeral Home was in charge of the arrangements.

Posted by George C. Jordan III on April 4, 2013. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry