Chaminade High School

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General News

- Ronald Winchester '97 USMC is killed in Iraq

The Chaminade family extends its deepest sympathies to Ron's family and friends. We commend his soul to our Heavenly Father and thank the Lord for Ron's selfless service to our country and the people of Iraq. Click on link above for more info

A final tour of duty

Less than two weeks after arriving in Iraq a Marine lieutenant from Rockville Centre is killed near Baghdad

Reprinted from Newsday, September 6, 2004, by ALFONSO A. CASTILLO AND MARTIN C. EVANS, STAFF WRITERS

In a conversation with his uncle last month, Marine 1st Lt. Ronald Winchester conceded "having the butterflies" as he packed his things, preparing to return to Iraq for his second tour.

"He said, 'Uncle Rocky, you got any advice?'" recalled Rocco Gatta, 59, of Long Beach, who served in the Corps in the 1960s.

"I says, 'Two things. Don't ever ask your Marines to do something that you're not willing to do.' And, I says, 'You take care of your Marines, and they'll take care of you. ... Don't be a hero.' "

Through tears, Gatta recalled his nephew's response. "He said, 'Nah. My Marines will take care of me, Uncle Rock.' "

Winchester, 25, was among four Marines killed Thursday in the Al Anbar province in western Iraq, less than two weeks after arriving in the region. A lifelong Rockville Centre resident, he was a member of the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment based in Twentynine Palms, Calif.

"Knowing him, he was right up front," Gatta said.

The Defense Department identified the three other Marines killed in the incident as Lance Cpl. Nicholas Wilt, 23, of Tampa, Fla.; Lance Cpl. Nicholas Perez, 19, of Austin, Texas; and Capt. Alan Rowe, 35, of Hagerman, Idaho.

Defense officials did not release any details of the incident, except to say the Marines had recently arrived to relieve another unit that had been there for seven months.

Winchester's family said Marine officials told them the Marines were on foot when they encountered a "booby trap" explosive.

Winchester is the seventh U.S. service member from Long Island to be killed in the military efforts in Iraq since last year. The U.S. Department of Defense said that as of Friday 976 service members had been killed in Iraq since the beginning of the war. Last night, The Associated Press reported a mortar attack yesterday killed two U.S. soldiers and left 16 wounded -- one critically -- at a base west of the Iraqi capital.

At his home yesterday, a steady stream of relatives and friends poured in to offer their condolences to Winchester's father Ronald, mother Marianna and sister Christine, 23.

"He was the best of the best. He really was," his father said.

Dozens of framed photos on the walls, tables and the fireplace mantle tell the story of a young man born to be a Marine. In one, a 21/2-year-old Winchester is dressed in a Marine officer's uniform, holding a jack-o'-lantern basket, about to go trick-or-treating. Another shows Winchester as a toddler, dressed in green fatigues and a T-shirt reading "U.S. Marines."

Several others show a 12-year-old Winchester at military reunions with his grandfather, Dominic Gatta, who served in the Corps in World War II. Gatta, 83, now lives next door to the Winchester home.

"He knew for quite a while that he wanted to be a Marine," said his father. "He was just that type of guy -- rough and tumble, ready to go, hard-nosed type of guy. He liked being a grunt. He chose that."

Winchester attended Ocean.side Middle School, where he played quarterback for the school's football team. When he returned home from Iraq last year, the school retired his number 12 jersey -- a first for the school.

"He was just a great kid. He wasn't the fastest kid. He wasn't the strongest kid, but he always found a way to do the right thing," said Winchester's football coach in Oceanside, George Wynn. "I have two sons, and that's the kind of role model I want them to follow."

After graduating from Chaminade High School in Mineola, where he played lacrosse and football, Winchester attended the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. At 6-feet-2 inches, 280 pounds, he played offensive tackle for the Navy football team for three years. On Saturday, a moment of silence in Winchester's memory was held before Navy's game against Duke.

"He was a tough kid, but a gentle giant," Gatta, his uncle, said. "He'd knock you over, then he'd pick you up. And knock you over again."

After graduating from the academy in 2001, Winchester followed in the footsteps of his grandfather and uncle and joined the Marines, even serving in the same division as his grandfather.

His first tour of Iraq, in an infantry unit that often spent long periods living in the desert away from base, lasted from January until October last year. His second tour was to last seven months, and he had told his family he planned on re-enlisting.

"When he came home last time, he sat in the dining room telling stories," close family friend Maureen Chiaramonte, a physical education instructor at Oceanside Middle School, said. "I'll never forget this. He said, 'Aunt Mo, you know what it's like. You get a choice to sit on the bench or play the game. I don't want to sit on the bench.' "