BOKOSHE -- Scott Michael Vincent, 21, Marine Corps corporal, died April 30 in Iraq. Service 2 p.m. Friday, Bokoshe High School Gymnasium. Mallory-Martin, Spiro.

Cpl. Scott M. Vincent, 21, of Bokoshe, died Friday at Al Anbar province while conducting a combat mission in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, said Maj. Steve Sims of the Marine Reserve Anti-Tank unit at Broken Arrow.

An Oklahoman was one of two Marines killed in Iraq on the outskirts of Fallujah. (See "OKLAHOMANS")

The deaths came on the day Iraqi troops began replacing U.S. Marines under a plan to end a monthlong seige in the city, the Defense Department said Monday.

Cpl. Scott M. Vincent, 21, of Bokoshe, died Friday in Al Anbar province while conducting a combat mission in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, said Maj. Steve Sims of the Marine Reserve Anti-Tank unit at Broken Arrow.

Vincent, who was an active-duty Marine, was on a vehicle security patrol that was hit by a suicide car bomb, Sims said.

Vincent also had served in Afghanistan.

He extended his service time by five months so he could go back to Iraq voluntarily in February of this year for a second tour in the combat zone, Sims said.

Vincent was assigned to Delta Company, 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 1, First Marine Division.

Also killed Friday was Clp. Joshua E. Wilfong, 22, of Walker, W.Va., assigned to the 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, the Defense Department said.

Vincent and Wilfong had been based at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Vincent graduated from Bokoshe High School in 2000 and enlisted in the Marine Corps in July of this year, Sims said.

A memorial service is pending at Bokeshe High School.

Bokoshe, in LeFlore County in far southeastern Oklahoma, is a town of about 560 people, according to the 2000 Census.

Michael Culwell, principal of Bokoshe High School, said Vincent had been active in academic teams and drama at the school.

Most of the school's teachers, he said, described Vincent "as a quiet but very bright young man," and fellow students "knew he would become something great when he got out of school."

About this time last year, the principal said, Bokoshe had held a welcome-home ceremony for the Marine, "and that is what makes this even more difficult for us."

Vincent's death, Culwell said, made the Iraqi war "hit home. It is a big loss for the community. Our hearts go out to the family."

Rob Martindale 518-8367
rob.martindale@tulsaworld.com

OBITUARIES
From "The Muskogee Phoenix," Muskogee, Oklahoma, Thursday, May 6, 2004

BOKOSHE -- VINCENT, Cpl. Scott Michael, 21, died April 30. Services 2 p.m. Friday, Bokoshe High School Gymnasium, Mallory-Martin Funeral Home, Spiro.

BOKOSHE -- U. S. Marine Cpl. Scott Michael Vincent grew up in LeFlore County, which sits half a world away from Iraq.

But becoming a soldier wasn't a big jump for the Bokoshe native, who wore his passion for hunting on his camouflaged sleeves.

"He was in his element, running around with a rifle with a bunch of guys," said Capt. Brent Bombach, Vincent's platoon commander in Iraq. "He was definitely at home."

Bombach of Columbus, Ohio, and Cpl. Coy Thomas of San Angelo, Texas, served in the same platoon as Vincent for about a year and a half in Iraq.

On Friday, they attended the funeral of their friend, who died April 30 near Fallujah, Iraq.

Capt. Brent Bombach salutes as pallbearers of the Marine honor guard
take the body of Cpl. Scott Michael Vincent from the Bokoshe High School gymnasium to a hearse after his
funeral ceremony on Friday. (Michael Wyke/Tulsa World)

Vincent, 21, was killed in the Al Anbar province while conducting a combat mission in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, said Maj. Steve Sims of the Marine Reserve Anti-Tank unit at Broken Arrow.

Vincent was assigned to Delta Company, 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 1, First Marine Division.

An active-duty Marine, he was on a vehicle security patrol that was hit by a suicide car bomb, Sims said.

"He loved his job," Thomas said. "He loved being a Marine. He wanted to serve his country. That's what he did."

Vincent liked to spin stories about his "lazy" Basset hound and his outdoor adventures, Thomas said.

"That's all he ever talked about," Thomas said. "He loved to be out in the woods and being nasty, dressing up in camouflage and going hunting."

An estimated 400 people packed into the unairconditioned Bokoshe High School Gymnasium on Friday to pay tribute to Vincent, known as "Vinny" to friends and family.

Fanning themselves to keep cool, mourners listened to clergymen describe Vincent as an avid Oklahoma Sooner and NASCAR fan who liked to fish, hunt, rapel and climb rocks.

They also spoke of his strong faith. Vincent was nicknamed "Rev" and "Preacher" for his willingness to speak about Christ to his fellow soldiers.

"He was proud to be a Marine," said the Rev. Roy Miller, who served as Vincent's pastor for about five years. "I wish he had another 20 years to serve."

Renditions of Garth Brooks' "The Dance" and Toby Keith's "American Soldier" played in the gym, and the audience watched a brief slide show chronicling Vincent's life.

Just outside the gym, small American flags flew on a chain link fence at the baseball field. Attached to the fence were dozens of personalized notes written on looped pieces of construction paper.

"i am sorry he dide (sic)," read one message. "He was a good man."

A 2000 graduate of Bokoshe High School, Vincent enlisted in the Marine Corps in July of that year. He extended his service time by five months so he could go back to Iraq voluntarily in February of this year for a second tour in the combat zone, Sims said.

Vincent was scheduled to end his active service in June, Bombach said.

He was buried at Old Bokoshe Cemetery.

"It's not easy," Bombach said. "Everyone I've talked to has asked, 'Why did it have to happen to Vinny.' It (death) is something that goes with what you are doing.

"It's at least heartwarming to know that he died doing what he loved doing, and he was there for an important cause."

Memorial services for another Oklahoman, Army Staff Sgt. Eric Petty of Fort Gibson, are scheduled next week.

Services for Petty will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the First Baptist Church in Fort Gibson. Petty, 28, was shot to death Monday in Salman Al Habb, Iraq.

He will be buried in Fort Gibson National Cemetery.

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Rhett Morgan (918) 581-8395
rhett.morgan@tulsaworld.com