Marine, soldier based in N.C. killed in Iraq

A soldier from Fort Bragg and a Marine from Camp Lejeune were killed in Iraq Wednesday by small arms fire in separate attacks.

Army Spc. Thomas J. Barbieri, 24, of Gaithersburg, Md., was killed while on patrol south of Baghdad, according to a Pentagon news release.

Marine Lance Cpl. James D. Hirlston, 21, of Murfreesboro, Tenn., died in Al Karmah, a town near Fallujah in western Iraq, said his father, James Hirlston Sr. of Murfreesboro, Tenn.

"J.D. was one of a kind," his father said. "I haven't ever met anyone else like him." Among his survivors are seven siblings.

He was second-youngest in a crowd that meant you were never alone, said a sister, Kimberly Porter.

"J.D." had three hobbies, she said -- music, girls and baseball cards. "Actually, if you want to put it in the right order, girls comes first," she said.

He also wrestled and liked to play baseball and basketball, his father said. He attended Riverdale High School in Murfreesboro, Tenn., but left before graduating. He went on to earn his GED so that he could enlist last year.

"He wanted to be a Marine real bad," his father said.

Hirlston had been in Iraq for about a month when he was killed. His father last talked to him about a week ago, when his son talked mostly about the children in Iraq.

"He was just amazed at how they seemed so happy and cheerful, even though they didn't have much," said James Hirlston Sr.

Barbieri was a gunner, according to a news release from the 82nd Airborne Division. "Spc. Barbieri was killed while bravely serving his nation while deployed to Iraq," said 1st. Lt. Phillip Smith, former executive officer of Barbieri's company, in the release.

"His sense of humor and loyalty will always be remembered by his fellow paratroopers and family," Smith said.

Barbieri joined the Army in October 2004 and the 82nd in February 2005. The tour in Iraq was his second in combat. In July 2005, he deployed to Afghanistan to support the national elections.

His survivors include his parents, Thomas and Carolann Barbieri of Gaithersburg.

(News researcher Lamara Williams-Hackett contributed to this report.)