Pendleton Marine sent video to parents just before his death

Another lance corporal from Camp Pendleton's 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment has been killed in fighting in Afghanistan, the Defense Department announced Wednesday afternoon.

John F. Farias, 20, of New Braunfels, Texas, died Tuesday during combat operations in the Helmand province, the department said without providing any further details.

In a video sent to his parents earlier this month and broadcast on a San Antonio television station, Farias spoke of how he was maturing.

"I miss y'all," he says on the video broadcast by KENS television. "I'm starting to change a lot. I'm kind of forced to grow up here."

His parents told a station reporter in the video, available for viewing at the nctimes.com website, that his squad was involved in numerous firefights, some lasting as long as six hours.

Farias is the sixth member of the unit to die since the 900-man force arrived in Afghanistan in April. It replaced the base's 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, which had 25 of its Marines and sailors killed during its seven-month deployment to the southern Afghanistan province.

Five 1/5 Marines have died in fighting this month; most were lance corporals, the young enlisted men who make up the bulk of the infantry fighting force.

Farias enlisted in the Marine Corps in August 2009 and was on his first combat deployment. He would have turned 21 in a few days.

His personal service awards include the Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and Afghanistan Campaign Medal.

"The Marines and sailors of the 1st Marine Division mourn the loss of Lance Cpl. Farias," the base said in a prepared statement.  "Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family."

Later in the day, the Pentagon announced that another Southern California Marine had died in fighting in Afghanistan.

It said Lance Cpl. Mark R. Goyet, 22, of Sinton, Texas, also died on Tuesday in fighting in Helmand province.

Goyet was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, based at the Marine Air Ground Combat Center at Twentynine Palms.

Like Farias, Goyet's unit is part of the 1st Marine Division based at Camp Pendleton.

The 1/5 is slated to stay in Afghanistan throughout the summer and early fall. It's part of the 20,000 Marine Corps forces among the overall 100,000 U.S. troops in the country.

Two hundred U.S. troops have died in Afghanistan this year. In the 10 years of war, 1,646 American service members have been killed, according to the website icasualties.org, which tracks all troop deaths.