Tyngsborough man dies in Fallujah

Corporal Paul King, 23, joined the Marine Corps Reserve in January 2001 as a way to help pay for future college expenses, but he volunteered to go to Iraq in 2005 because of a deep-seated desire to serve his country, family members recalled yesterday.

On Sunday, the Tyngsborough resident was killed by small-arms fire in restive Fallujah as the mortarman helped provide security as part of a mobile assault platoon, military officials said yesterday.

``He just wanted to be a part of something that he would be proud of," his widow, Rebecca, said amid tears yesterday. ``My grandfather was a Marine, and I think after listening to him talk about his experiences, that really made him" join the Reserve.

King, who worked as a cook at Rosie's Diner in Chelmsford, had been deployed to Japan, Korea, and other parts of the Far East in 2003, Rebecca said. When his unit was mobilized again in December 2005, King volunteered for duty in Iraq even though he would have avoided the deployment because of his previous service overseas.

``It wasn't like a political thing with him," Rebecca King said. ``His biggest thing was that he joined the Marines as a commitment, and what's the point of joining if you're not going to be there when they need you."

King also felt a commitment to his fellow soldiers, said his widow, who also is 23. ``God forbid that anything would happen to them" if he hadn't followed them overseas, she said.

A 2001 graduate of Greater Lowell Regional Vocational Technical High School, King is the 39th serviceman from Massachusetts to be killed in Iraq.

King had been deployed to Iraq with the First Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, Weapons Company, based in Ayer. As part of a mobile assault platoon, King and his unit used armored Humvees to respond to enemy advances and provide an anti-insurgent presence in Iraqi communities.

``He was a great young man who loved his country and loved his wife," said Gloria Brown, Rebecca's grandmother.

Brown said that King and her granddaughter had known each other since their teenage years, and that they had made plans in which education would play a big role for both of them. Paul King also had a great interest that he shared with his father, who is a talented professional chef, Brown said. ``He liked to cook, cook, cook," she said of her grandson.

On Sunday evening, Rebecca King had been at a party to celebrate her graduation from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy. When she arrived home, military officers delivered the news.

``I had just walked in my door when they drove up," Rebecca said. ``It was like a bad dream."

The couple last spoke on Thursday, when Paul King assured his wife that he was safe. ``I spoke to him for about 45 minutes," Rebecca said. ``He told me that he loved me, and that he was thinking about me all the time."

Rebecca King, who is pursuing a master's degree in education at Rivier College in Nashua, said she will not forget the easy smile and instant camaraderie that her husband used to help others relax.

``He was one of those people that when you met him, you instantly liked him," Rebecca said. ``He always had a big smile on his face. He was always sincere. He would do anything for anybody."