Whitefish Marine dies while serving in Iraq

Marine Cpl. Stewart Trejo killed in vehicle accident in Anbar province

By DAVID ERICKSON and RICHARD HANNERS / Whitefish Pilot

A Whitefish man in the Marine Corps was killed while serving in Iraq on Thursday, Aug. 7.

The Department of Defense says 25-year-old Cpl. Stewart S. Trejo died while supporting combat operations in Anbar province. He leaves behind a wife and two young children.

Trejo died along with fellow Marine Cpl. Adam T. McKiski, 21, of Cherry Valley, Ill., as a result of an accident involving a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) armored vehicle, according to the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base media office.

The military this year began to phase out armored Humvees with the new MRAP vehicles, which are more heavily armored to withstand improvised explosive devices set on roadways in Iraq.

The Defense Department did not announce Trejo's death until Aug. 12 and did not immediately release further information about the circumstances of his death.

Trejo enlisted in the Marine Corps on Nov. 2, 2005. He was assigned to the 1st Maintenance Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, based out of Camp Pendleton, Calif.

His personal awards include the National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.

He was the third Montanan to die of injuries suffered in Iraq over a nine-day period. Army Pvt. Timothy J. Hutton, of Dillon, died on Aug. 4 of injuries not related to combat, and Sgt. Jimmy McHale, of Fairfield, was taken off life-support at a military hospital on July 30 after being injured by a roadside bomb in Iraq.

Trejo moved to the Flathead from Arizona about eight years ago, according to his mother-in-law, Billie Boles, of Kalispell.

"He was my friend, he lived with me like a son," she said.

Trejo met his future wife, Taffie Boles, while they worked at Great Northern Bark Co., in Columbia Falls. She was a couple years older than him. They lived for a while at Forest Acres, off U.S. Highway 93 south of Whitefish, raising their two children.

"Everyone who knew him loved him," Boles said. "He had everyone's total respect."

Boles said her daughter had recently left for California to "get the house ready" for Trejo, who was set to return to the U.S. in September after his tour in Iraq.

"They talked about a trip to Disneyland and renewing their vows," she said.

Trejo planned on a career in the Marines, and Taffie planned on being a military wife, Boles said.

"He wanted to be a lifer," she said. "His grandpa was a Marine, and he idolized him. He wanted to be buried next to his grandpa."

Billie and Sam Boles plan to fly to San Diego, Calif., on Aug. 19 to attend Trejo's memorial service.