Marine Corps Staff Sergeant Donald May

Staff Sergeant Donald C. May, Jr., 31, of Richmond, Virginia, was assigned to the 1st Tank Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center at Twentynine Palms, Calif. On March 25, 2003, he was declared MIA when the tank he was aboard fell off a bridge while conducting convoy operations near the Euphrates River. The Department of Defense updated his status to KIA on March 28, 2003.

SSgt. May followed both of his parents into the military. He became a Naval Sea Cadet at age 12 and later a Police Explorer. After graduating from Meadowbrook High School in 1990, he enlisted in the Marines and became a member of the military police, guarding Iraqi prisoners during the 1991 Gulf War. He left the service for two years, then rejoined as a tank commander, like his father.

SSgt May was remembered as a deeply patriotic Marine, devoted husband and loving father. “He did not have to wear a uniform to be a hero,” his mother said. “He was always a hero. He was a clean-cut American boy. When he decided to go into the military, I was proud.”

SSgt May was survived by his wife and three children, including a son that was born two months after his death.