Note: This article was originally published on Oct. 24, 2004. We’re re-posting it now for our tribute to Colorado’s Fallen.
Douglas E. Bascom’s wife doesn’t know the details of how the Marine sergeant died in Iraq, but she’s certain he was out in front of the
soldiers he was leading.
“He was always a squad leader and he took care of his men, and I always knew he would do anything for them, even if it meant dying.
He always made sure everyone else was OK before himself,” said Jolene Bascom.
Douglas Bascom was killed Wednesday when a makeshift bomb exploded near him in Anbar province, the military said. He enlisted in the Marines four years ago, completed his hitch and re-enlisted to volunteer for Iraq, Jolene Bascom said.
“There’s no way to explain what it feels like to have someone you love go into a dangerous area. When you know their heart is in it,
you can’t hold them back,” his wife said.
Douglas Bascom was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force based at Camp Pendleton,
Calif.
Bascom’s family had moved to Colorado Springs in 1998.
