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CPL Andrew Jacob Kilpela

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CPL Andrew Jacob Kilpela

Birth
Livingston County, Michigan, USA
Death
10 Jun 2005 (aged 22)
Al Anbar, Iraq
Burial
Fowlerville, Livingston County, Michigan, USA Add to Map
Memorial ID
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FOWLERVILLE, Mich. - A 22-year-old Marine stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C., who joined the Marine Corps to prove he could get through boot camp died after a roadside bomb went off in Iraq, his father and brother said.Lance Cpl. Andrew Kilpela of Fowlerville was assigned to the 2nd Combat Engineering Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Lejeune, and had been in Iraq since March. He'd been a Marine since 2003.His family learned of the Friday death that night, the Lansing State Journal reported Monday.His father, Michael Kilpela, said he used to get frustrated because he thought his son didn't plan for the future, but his perspective has changed."I've come to the conclusion that he was a person who did not worry about tomorrow," Michael Kilpela said. "He did not regret yesterday, and he filled every moment of today with love and with joy and with passion for life."Andrew Kilpela joined the Marines in 2003 "to prove it to himself and to those who kept telling him that he couldn't do anything," his father said.His death came eight days before the wedding of his 25-year-old sister, Janice."We're going to throw a party so where he's at, he's going to hear it," his 27-year-old brother, David Kilpela of Grand Blanc Township said. "He would want us to rock the house."The Marine shared a July birthday with his girlfriend from Redford."One of the last things he wanted my parents to do was send flowers in his name on her birthday," his brother said.Plans for a memorial service are incomplete, but the family said it will take place in Fowlerville."We prayed and prayed that he would come home safe and the Lord answered our prayer," his brother said. "He is in the most safe place anybody could be." Died:June 10, 2005
FOWLERVILLE, Mich. - A 22-year-old Marine stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C., who joined the Marine Corps to prove he could get through boot camp died after a roadside bomb went off in Iraq, his father and brother said.Lance Cpl. Andrew Kilpela of Fowlerville was assigned to the 2nd Combat Engineering Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Lejeune, and had been in Iraq since March. He'd been a Marine since 2003.His family learned of the Friday death that night, the Lansing State Journal reported Monday.His father, Michael Kilpela, said he used to get frustrated because he thought his son didn't plan for the future, but his perspective has changed."I've come to the conclusion that he was a person who did not worry about tomorrow," Michael Kilpela said. "He did not regret yesterday, and he filled every moment of today with love and with joy and with passion for life."Andrew Kilpela joined the Marines in 2003 "to prove it to himself and to those who kept telling him that he couldn't do anything," his father said.His death came eight days before the wedding of his 25-year-old sister, Janice."We're going to throw a party so where he's at, he's going to hear it," his 27-year-old brother, David Kilpela of Grand Blanc Township said. "He would want us to rock the house."The Marine shared a July birthday with his girlfriend from Redford."One of the last things he wanted my parents to do was send flowers in his name on her birthday," his brother said.Plans for a memorial service are incomplete, but the family said it will take place in Fowlerville."We prayed and prayed that he would come home safe and the Lord answered our prayer," his brother said. "He is in the most safe place anybody could be." Died:June 10, 2005

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  • Created by: Cindy
  • Added: Jun 28, 2005
  • Find a Grave Memorial ID:
  • Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11256350/andrew_jacob-kilpela: accessed ), memorial page for CPL Andrew Jacob Kilpela (21 Jul 1982–10 Jun 2005), Find a Grave Memorial ID 11256350, citing Greenwood Cemetery, Fowlerville, Livingston County, Michigan, USA; Maintained by Cindy (contributor 46573079).