Marine from Pahrump dies in Afghanistan

The week before he was killed Sunday in an electric generator accident in Afghanistan, Marine Cpl. Jon-Luke Bateman of Pahrump wrote on his Facebook page that he was "back now loving life in some freakin' heat" because where he had been was too "cold for my taste."

Marine Corps officials said Bateman, 22, and Lance Cpl. Kenneth E. Cochran, 20, of Wilder, Idaho, were killed Sunday conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan, but Pahrump Family Mortuary owner Mildred Janssen said they died during an accident involving a broken generator.

Bateman, a 2007 graduate of Pahrump Valley High School, was the 78th U.S. military member with ties to Nevada to die in the nation's wars overseas since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. He was the first Nevadan to die in overseas military operations this year.

Marines at Camp Pendleton, Calif., had listed Bateman's hometown as Tulsa, Okla.

But Bateman's stepfather, Tony Allen, of Huntsville, Ark., said in a Facebook posting that Bateman attended college for only a short time in Tulsa, where he enlisted in the Marine Corps.

"He is a resident of Pahrump, NV. He attended school there and went through (junior) ROTC," Allen wrote.

"He was not killed in a combat situation. Our son died coming to the aid of another Marine. He was killed trying (to) save another life and sadly they both lost their lives."

Attempts to reach the family Friday were unsuccessful.

Janssen, at Pahrump Family Mortuary, said funeral arrangements and burial at the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Boulder City were pending. She said the family had met in Dover, Del., where Bateman's body arrived from Afghanistan for a flight to Nellis Air Force Base.

According to the Marine Corps, this was Bateman's first combat deployment although he had deployed once before with an expeditionary unit.

His Marine Corps service began Feb. 25, 2008. He was an infantryman assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton.

His awards included the Purple Heart medal, Combat Action ribbon, good conduct medal, National Defense Service medal, Global War on Terrorism Service and Expeditionary medals, Afghanistan Campaign medal, and the NATO Medal for International Security Assistance Forces in Afghanistan.

In a Facebook posting on New Year's Eve, Bateman wrote from Musa Qala, Afghanistan, that he was "all demotivated."

"Cheer me up people. Hoping for home sooner then (sic) later but won't happen."

Later, on Jan. 2, he noted that it was "pretty sad when one of the biggest things I look forward too (sic) when I get back is a new video game."

Contact reporter Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308.