Image courtesy: Ingham family/Pittsburgh Post-GazetteStaff Sgt. Matthew Ingham was deeply affected by the September 11, 2001, attacks on America. He joined the Marine Corps and achieved great things in Djibouti, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports on the 25-year-old Marine's life, which ended Monday in Afghanistan's volatile Helmand Province. He died beside two fellow heroes: Cpl. Nick Uzenski and Cpl. Jamie Lowe.
The Post-Gazette article cites multiple accounts of the bravery displayed by all three Marines. Under fire from insurgents, the group still managed to call in air support, which saved 12 fellow servicemembers. Reporter Jon Schmitz talks to Ingham's mother-in-law about what the fallen Marine stood for:
"Loyal beyond belief. Disciplined. Hardworking. Goal-oriented," [Shamim Rajpar] described him. "But fun-loving."
An avid outdoorsman, he enjoyed hiking, kayaking and camping, and romping with the couple's two chocolate Labs, said Ms. Rajpar, a librarian at Mount Aloysius College in Cambria County.
He loved to ride his dirt bike, and was spotted in Japan by members of a professional racing team who recruited him to take part in a motocross event, she said. He finished second.
Ingham will be buried in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where his parents still live. He leaves behind a loving wife who, according to her mother, "has lost her best friend in the world."
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