United States Marine Corps. Killed in action in Al-Anbar Province, Iraq. Hometown: Greenhill, Lauderdale County, Alabama. Conley graduated from Rogers High School in 2002, where he was quarterback of the football team. He was a squad leader for the 37th Weaponry Division of the U.S. Marine Corps, stationed at 29 Palms, Calif., and had been in Iraq since September 2005. He was scheduled to leave Iraq on March 6 and was to be home on March 22.
Matthew D. Conley was never a large child or a large man, but no matter how hard he was knocked around, he got up. Just ask former football teammate Nick Beadle. "I remember at one practice I figured the best way to tackle him was to belly flop on him and let him buckle and fall underneath my weight," said Beadle. "I hurt his leg that day - I thought I had split it in two. But Matt got back into practice, and I have held a quiet respect for him ever since." Conley, 21, of Killen, Ala., was killed Feb. 18 in Ramadi when his vehicle came under attack. He was assigned to Twentynine Palms. He graduated from high school in 2002 and was quarterback of the football team. "He wasn't the best passer or runner, but he could lead that team," said Mike Curtis, a friend. He hoped to be home in time to see his wife, Nicole, give birth to their first child, a girl. In the fall, he planned to enter the University of North Alabama and hoped to become a history teacher and coach. "He was a great son," said his father, Thomas Conley. "He's a hero in my book. He was always a winner in everything he did. He just wanted to be No. 1."
Matthew D. Conley was never a large child or a large man, but no matter how hard he was knocked around, he got up. Just ask former football teammate Nick Beadle. "I remember at one practice I figured the best way to tackle him was to belly flop on him and let him buckle and fall underneath my weight," said Beadle. "I hurt his leg that day - I thought I had split it in two. But Matt got back into practice, and I have held a quiet respect for him ever since." Conley, 21, of Killen, Ala., was killed Feb. 18 in Ramadi when his vehicle came under attack. He was assigned to Twentynine Palms. He graduated from high school in 2002 and was quarterback of the football team. "He wasn't the best passer or runner, but he could lead that team," said Mike Curtis, a friend. He hoped to be home in time to see his wife, Nicole, give birth to their first child, a girl. In the fall, he planned to enter the University of North Alabama and hoped to become a history teacher and coach. "He was a great son," said his father, Thomas Conley. "He's a hero in my book. He was always a winner in everything he did. He just wanted to be No. 1."
United States Marine Corps. Killed in action in Al-Anbar Province, Iraq. Hometown: Greenhill, Lauderdale County, Alabama. Conley graduated from Rogers High School in 2002, where he was quarterback of the football team. He was a squad leader for the 37th Weaponry Division of the U.S. Marine Corps, stationed at 29 Palms, Calif., and had been in Iraq since September 2005. He was scheduled to leave Iraq on March 6 and was to be home on March 22.
Matthew D. Conley was never a large child or a large man, but no matter how hard he was knocked around, he got up. Just ask former football teammate Nick Beadle. "I remember at one practice I figured the best way to tackle him was to belly flop on him and let him buckle and fall underneath my weight," said Beadle. "I hurt his leg that day - I thought I had split it in two. But Matt got back into practice, and I have held a quiet respect for him ever since." Conley, 21, of Killen, Ala., was killed Feb. 18 in Ramadi when his vehicle came under attack. He was assigned to Twentynine Palms. He graduated from high school in 2002 and was quarterback of the football team. "He wasn't the best passer or runner, but he could lead that team," said Mike Curtis, a friend. He hoped to be home in time to see his wife, Nicole, give birth to their first child, a girl. In the fall, he planned to enter the University of North Alabama and hoped to become a history teacher and coach. "He was a great son," said his father, Thomas Conley. "He's a hero in my book. He was always a winner in everything he did. He just wanted to be No. 1."
Matthew D. Conley was never a large child or a large man, but no matter how hard he was knocked around, he got up. Just ask former football teammate Nick Beadle. "I remember at one practice I figured the best way to tackle him was to belly flop on him and let him buckle and fall underneath my weight," said Beadle. "I hurt his leg that day - I thought I had split it in two. But Matt got back into practice, and I have held a quiet respect for him ever since." Conley, 21, of Killen, Ala., was killed Feb. 18 in Ramadi when his vehicle came under attack. He was assigned to Twentynine Palms. He graduated from high school in 2002 and was quarterback of the football team. "He wasn't the best passer or runner, but he could lead that team," said Mike Curtis, a friend. He hoped to be home in time to see his wife, Nicole, give birth to their first child, a girl. In the fall, he planned to enter the University of North Alabama and hoped to become a history teacher and coach. "He was a great son," said his father, Thomas Conley. "He's a hero in my book. He was always a winner in everything he did. He just wanted to be No. 1."
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Matthew Conley
26 Feb 1984
19 Feb 2006
