For as long as his family could remember, he wanted to be a Marine, just like his dad. That dream ended for his parents Saturday, when Sgt. Michael A. Marzano, 28, of Greenville, Mercer County, was killed in Iraq.

	Sgt. Michael A. Marzano, right, with his father Albert. Click photo for larger image.

"I hadn't talked to him for three weeks," said Margy Bons, Marzano's mother. "I was waiting for a call on Mother's Day. Instead, I got Marines at my door."

Marzano was killed by a suicide truck bomber while taking part in an offensive against insurgents near Haditha, in western Iraq.

"They were dismounted from their humvee, clearing an area, when the truck pulled up and blew up. It was a big explosion. They determined later there were fifteen 155 mm howitzer shells in the truck," said Marine Capt. Geoff Howe.

"Michael Marzano was a hell of a Marine and an awesome friend," said Sgt. Michael Main, 23, who volunteered with Marzano to go to Iraq. "We wanted to go over there and do as much as we could to rid Iraq of insurgents. We were together every single day."

Albert Marzano, Michael's father, was wounded in combat as a Marine in Vietnam. Michael's bedroom in Albert's modest home in Greenville is a shrine to the corps, and to his dad.

"He talked about being a Marine since he was real little," his father said. "He used to put on my uniforms and march around in them."

Albert Marano and Margy Bons divorced when Michael was 3, and the boy went to live with his mother in Arizona. But at age 9, he begged her to let him live with his father.

"They were not just father and son, they were best friends," said Sally Homer, Michael's aunt and Albert's sister.

"They were so close you couldn't get between them," said Wayne Stratos of Sharon, a family friend. "I don't think there was a day that went by when they didn't get in touch with one another."

"Michael wasn't ashamed of our love," his father said. "Whenever we'd part, even if it were only for a few hours, he'd give me a hug and a kiss, and tell me he loved me, even in front of his friends."

Michael Marzano was popular with teachers as well as with his fellow students at Sharon High School, where he graduated in 1995. But he was more interested in sports than books. He played football and wrestled.

"He loved to have fun. He was the class clown," his dad recalled.

Marzano tore a ligament in a wrestling match his senior year, which nearly cost him his dream. When he tried to enlist in the Marines after graduation, he was turned down on medical grounds.

But he was persistent. He went back to the recruiter in 1996, 1997 and again in 1998, seeking a medical waiver. In 1999, he got it.

While he was trying to persuade the Marines to let him enlist, Marzano took up amateur boxing. He won several Golden Gloves tournaments in Youngstown, Ohio, and Cleveland, both as a light heavyweight and a heavyweight.

"If he hadn't gone in the Marine Corps, I think he would have turned pro," Albert Marzano said. "He was that good."

Michael Marzano completed his four-year enlistment in 2003 and got out of the Marine Corps to attend Glendale Community College in Phoenix. But he also joined a local Marine Reserve unit.

Albert Marzano last saw his son at Christmas. He was to retire from the U.S. Postal Service on Jan. 3. He planned to spend his winters in Arizona, close to his son. Michael was going to help him pack, and the two were to drive back to Phoenix together.

But his son's plans changed over Christmas. A reserve unit in Ohio, the 3rd Battalion of the 25th Marine Regiment, was being sent to Iraq but was short of troops. Michael and five of his friends from the Phoenix reserve unit volunteered.

"I hope you understand why I'm doing this and you're not disappointed in me," Michael wrote in his last letter to his dad. "You'll always be my idol and the best father I could've ever wanted. Semper Fi."

His son's decision was motivated by patriotism, his father said, but also, perhaps, a little bit by guilt.

"When Michael was on active duty, his unit was supposed to go to Iraq, but he got injured in a training accident and couldn't deploy with them," Albert Marzano said. "He felt bad about that."

Margy Bons was upset when her son told her he'd volunteered to go to Iraq.

"I had a bad feeling about it," she said. "But I'd rather he follow in Al's footsteps and die a hero than follow in the footsteps of some drunk."