Thousand Oaks Marine killed in combat in Iraq

By Marjorie Hernandez, mhernandez@VenturaCountyStar.com
January 30, 2007

U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Anthony C. Melia always made sure to call his family and friends every week or so between his missions in Iraq.

The 20-year-old Thousand Oaks native would tell them about his experiences in a foreign land and his hopes to return home safely. Most of all, he would tell them about the awesome responsibility he felt for his fellow Marines, family members said.

Melia died Saturday while conducting combat operations in Anbar province in Iraq, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. The news of his death was officially released Monday, but his family and friends were notified Friday evening.

He was extremely proud to wear his "dress blues," said his father, Mike Melia.

"He told me, ‘I lead by example. ? I will be the first person to go in there and do it,' " Mike Melia said. "He felt such a sense of duty and responsibility for everyone around him. He was just an incredible human being."

Melia is the 15th Ventura County native killed while on duty in Iraq but the first fallen Marine from Thousand Oaks.

Mike Melia and his wife, Vicki, said their son's battalion was on foot patrol in Anbar when it came across an insurgent who was placing a rocket grenade in an abandoned vehicle. When the insurgent ran from the scene, some Marines were ordered to secure the premises, while the others searched for the insurgent.

"Anthony was walking in the field helping to look for the guy, and that's when a random bullet hit him and ended his life," said Mike Melia, wiping tears from his eyes.

Vicki Melia said it had been a few weeks since she had gotten a call from her son. The family was watching television Friday night when they heard a knock on the door.

"I got up and walked to the door, and I saw five men in uniform standing on my doorstep," Vicki Melia said in tears. "I just knew ... they say when you get a call home, he's injured. When you get a knock on the door, it's not good."

Body on its way back home

Melia's body was en route to a camp in Germany and from there will be flown to a military base in Dover, Del., where it will be prepared for burial, Vicki Melia said. The family expects his body to arrive at Los Angeles International Airport by the end of the week. Plans are being been made for a service at Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village, but a time and date have yet to be determined.

The Melias said their son dreamed of joining the military from the age of 10. At 17, Melia asked his parents to sign the enlistment form, but Mike Melia said he told his son to wait to make the decision when he turned 18.

About three months after his 2005 graduation, Melia, a defensive back and punt and kick returner for the Thousand Oaks High School Lancers, traded in his white-and-green number 6 football jersey for the Marines' blue uniform.

Melia quickly climbed the ranks and became the fire team squad leader for the Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, based at Camp Pendleton.

He was deployed to Iraq on Sept. 13. Melia was scheduled to come home at the end of February but had been extended to April.

On Monday afternoon, a steady stream of family members and friends came by the Melia home on Roundup Circle. Small American flags lined the front yard of the family's two-story home, while balloons with the words "Today, Tomorrow, and Forever ... I Love You" danced in the crisp wind.

Melia's parents and his sister, 22-year-old Nicole; his girlfriend, Jamie Chunko, 18; and friend Ryan Delung, 20, all sat in Melia's room Monday afternoon, shocked and numbed by the tragic news.

The small room by the garage is in the same condition as Melia left it a little more than a year ago, Vicki Melia said. A bright red-orange Marine Corps flag hung on one side of the room, while other flags honoring prisoners of war and a flag picturing part of a rifle hung above his futon bed.

‘It's a dangerous place to be'

Chunko, wrapped in one of the blankets, wiped tears from her face as she smiled and listened to Vicki Melia.

"He would always say, ‘Make sure you take care of Jamie,' " Vicki Melia said.

Before he was deployed, Chunko said Melia promised to marry her the day he returned.

"I told him I'm going to bring the reverend in the car when we pick him up," Chunko said.

Although he was proud of Melia's commitment to his battalion, Mike Melia said it was his son's compassion for others and gracious qualities that made him proud.

"He was just the brightest light there was," Mike Melia said. "He was a Marine, but he was much more than that. He was just an incredible human being."

The Melias have set up a fund in memory of their son. They are also planning to start a scholarship in his honor. Vicki Melia said administrators from Thousand Oaks High School have also discussed erecting a plaque for her son under the football field flagpole.

Although they are heartbroken, Mike and Vicki Melia say they hope people will continue to support the thousands of men and women who are still serving in Iraq.

They also hope young men and women who decide to go into the military think long and hard about their decision.

"They need to know it's a dangerous place to be, even now," Vicki Melia said. "They go in there wide-eyed ... but this is not fun and games. This is not a video game. This is reality."

For more information about the Anthony Melia Fund, call 384-5321. Donations can be sent to Santa Barbara Bank and Trust, c/o Adriana Sanchez at 4646 Adolfo Road, Camarillo, CA 93012.

Copyright 2007, Ventura County Star. All Rights Reserved.

Dropped photo 01-29-07 Thousand Oaks: Lcpl. Anthony C. Melia in his Thousand Oaks High School Uniform. Melia, who was killed January 27 in Iraq, was Fire Team squad leader for the Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

Local Marine killed in Iraq
Thousand Oaks man 'knew the risk'
BY ERIC LEACH, Staff Writer
LA Daily News

THOUSAND OAKS - Early in his teens, Anthony C. Melia was so moved by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that he told friends and relatives he would one day join the armed forces to defend his country.

Killed in combat Saturday while carrying out that pledge in Iraq's al-Anbar Province, the 20-year-old Marine lance corporal belonged to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Pendleton.

"When 9-11 happened, he felt he had to do something for his country," said John D'Ascenzo, a friend of the family. "He knew the risk. He was willing to take that risk to defend his country, his family and his friends. This kid was a genuine hero."

A 2005 graduate of Thousand Oaks High School, Melia was a wide receiver and defensive back on the school's football team. Friends said he had a reputation for speed and toughness.

Family members and friends gathered Monday at his parents' home, ringed by American flags. A steady stream of visitors showed up, bringing food and shoulders to lean on.

D'Ascenzo recalled Melia as one of the fastest and toughest players on the Thousand Oaks football team. Melia once returned to a game after dislocating his shoulder and pushing it back into place by himself, D'Ascenzo said.

Melia's father, Mike, said a memorial service will be held at Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village, where he encouraged friends and family to share their feelings for his son.

"He was an inspiration. He was a phenomenal son. He cared about people and lit up the room. He was a spectacular spirit."

At least 3,084 members of the U.S. military have died in Iraq since the beginning of the war, according to The Associated Press.

eric.leach@dailynews.com

(805) 583-7602

Copyright © 2007 Los Angeles Newspaper Group

20-year-old from Thousand Oaks killed in Iraq
By Nancy Needham nancy@theacorn.com

When five Marines in dress blues appeared on their doorstep in Thousand Oaks at 8 p.m. Fri., Jan. 26, Vicki and Mike Melia knew their son Lance Cpl. Anthony C. Melia had been killed in Iraq.

"I watched my wife die inside as she made a sound like I've never heard coming from somebody before," Mike Melia said. "When the doorbell rang and she saw the Marines standing there, her heart, soul and spirit disappeared. She went so far down so quickly. Our life got changed."

As soon as she saw the uniformed Marines on her porch, Vicki Melia collapsed on the entryway floor.

On Monday, she spoke of the moment she realized her 20-year-old-son was dead.

"I knew right away," she said. "He was the light of my life."

His father said Melia had been killed by a random bullet while searching on foot for armed insurgents in Al Anbar province. He was assigned to Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

To his family, Melia was a man of honor and dedication, fighting in a war he believed in, but on Monday afternoon the family clung together and wept as they recalled his childhood and remembered the boy who grew up in Thousand Oaks.

"He loved to watch the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the Power Rangers," recalled his Aunt Marcy Douglas of Reno, Nev. "He liked lots of action. He also loved riding a dirt bike."

"He never hesitated to hug and kiss his parents in public and was always thoughtful of others," his mother said. "He was the captain of his football team at Thousand Oaks High School."

He had also played Titan Football, was a good friend, would open doors for others, could be trusted and loved to eat his mother's homemade teriyaki barbecue beef jerky, she said. He had lots of friends and was close to his parents; his sister, Nicole, 22; and his younger brother, Daniel, 17.

Melia's fiancée, Jamie Chunko, 18, was hoping to marry him as soon as he returned home. His stay in Iraq, which had been scheduled to end this month, was extended to April, his mother said.

Even though he was fighting a war, she said, he made sure his 3-year-old nephew, Nicholas, whom he adored, got a Spider-Man blanket from him for Christmas.

"When he wasn't fighting, he found a computer and ordered that for Nicholas," said Vicki Melia, her eyes filled with tears.

Melia was determined to follow his heart. He had wanted to join the Marines since he was 10, so he could be "the best of the best." He'd begged his parents to sign the paperwork required to enlist at age 17, but his mother told him he had to wait until he was 18, old enough to take on that responsibility himself.

As the leader of four men in a special operations fire squad, Melia had been asked by his mother "to not be first in battle," she said. But he would not promise her that. He promised her the opposite. He was a born leader who told her he would always be the one leading, she said.

Melia's group, usually on foot, would go door-to-door or wherever necessary to find and clear out insurgents, his father said. On the day he was killed, he was on foot patrol in Al Anbar when his group came across a rocket launcher beside an abandoned vehicle.

The Americans had apparently interrupted something possibly deadly, so some of the Marines stayed to secure the premises around the vehicle. Melia and other Marines went to search for the insurgents involved.

"Anthony was walking in the field looking around when a random bullet hit him in his temple and ended his life," his tearful father said.

His father recalled the many phone calls he and his wife received from their son in Iraq.

"No matter how tired he was, when he would come in from the field, the first thing he would do before he'd go to sleep, he would call his mother and tell her he was all right," said Mike Melia. "She adored him. They had a special bond."

"When he talked to me, he would tell me how horrible war is and how cruel the people he was fighting are," his father said. "He told me CNN refused to interview him because he believed in what he was doing and they only wanted to talk to people who didn't."

Mike Melia was also saddened at the many terrible scenes his young son had to witness in defending his country, he said.

"War is not pretty, but I believe the majority of Americans want to get the job done and then bring them home," Melia said.

In the room where he sat, there were still boxes of boots Vicki Melia had collected to send to her son and his friends in Iraq. She'd also organized others to collect a small mountain of socks to send to them after Anthony told her he was getting blisters from not having any socks to wear. His aunt said Anthony always appreciated how quickly his mother would respond with abundance whenever he mentioned needing something.

The community has closed ranks around the family, trying to help meet the Melias' needs. People have anonymously decorated the Melias' front yard on Roundup Circle with flags, candles and balloons.

Councilmember Jacqui Irwin, Anthony's coaches and others who knew him have offered support, his mother said. "I've heard they are going to retire his No. 6."

"It means a lot to us that no matter how some might feel about parts of the war, I'm glad people are rallying around us and showing support for our troops who are doing what they believe in," Vicki Melia said.

Processional, service will be Monday

A processional will begin at the family home of Lance Cpl. Anthony C. Melia in Wildwood
at 9 a.m. Mon., Feb. 5. At press time the route was expected to be east on Avenida de Los Arboles, right at Moorpark Road (south), and left (east) on Thousand Oaks Boulevard. Go to www.toacorn.com for an update because details of the route were still tentative Wednesday.

Those who would like to observe the processional are asked to stand on one of the streets
at 9 a.m. and wait. Family members and friends will be decorating the route with flags and ribbons over the weekend. The family asks those who would like to honor Melia to decorate their own yards with flags and ribbons.

The public is invited to attend the memorial service at 10 a.m. Monday at Calvary Community Church, 5495 Via Rocas in Westlake Village.

Copyright© 2002 - 2007 J.Bee Publications

02/07/2007 GAAS:099:07 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Gov. Schwarzenegger Issues Statement on Death of Thousand Oaks Marine

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today released the following statement regarding the death of Lance Cpl. Anthony C. Melia of Thousand Oaks, CA:

“Lance Corporal Melia served his country with courage and determination. His noble sacrifice exemplifies the true patriotism that makes our nation great. Maria and I join all Californians in expressing our condolences to Anthony’s family and loved ones.”

Melia, 20, died Jan. 27 as a result of injuries sustained while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, CA.

In honor of Lance Cpl. Melia, Capitol flags will be flown at half-staff.

© 2006 State of California