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Cpl. Brandon M. Hardy, USMC
Paul Smiley (see more by this artist)
Painted for Warren and Jill Hardy of Cochranville, PA
28 x 24 Oil on Canvas
Custom Hand made oak frame by Patrick Campbell Woodworks, New London, PA
Cpl. Brandon M. Hardy, 25, of Cochranville, and another Marine died April 28, 2006 while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in the Al Anbar province, military authorities said. Hardy and the other Marine, Sgt. Lea R. Mills, 21, of Brooksville, Fla., were assigned to the 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif. Hardy's mother, Jill, said her son knew what he wanted to do since he was 10 years old. She remembered his eyes being glued to television news coverage of Desert Storm, and said he decided then to dedicate his life to serving his country. "As a parent, our hearts are aching, but they're bursting with pride as well," Jill Hardy said. "I know he died doing what he felt God called him to do." She described her son as a "country boy" who liked hunting and fishing, listened to country music and enjoyed sports, especially Penn State football and baseball, which he played in high school. Brandon Hardy enlisted in the Air Force during his senior year at Octorara High School, from which he graduated in 1999. He spent five years in the Air Force and was deployed three times to the Middle East, also spending time in Germany and Spokane, Wash. He then decided to enlist in the Marines so "he could be doing what he wanted to be doing in Iraq," Jill Hardy said. "He started over at the bottom and gave up his seniority and took a cut in pay." Brandon Hardy's fiancee, Samantha DiGrazio, 23, of Nottingham, said her family already considered him a son. "My family always thought he was very honest," DiGrazio said. "He always let you know where you stood with him and how he was feeling about something. He didn't hold anything back." ___ Information from: Daily Local News
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