Marine from Centralia dies after bombing in Iraq

Cpl. Joseph Bier always wanted to join the Marine Corps, and once he enlisted he wanted to fight.

But Bier, from Centralia, had to wait for combat. His first assignment took him to the Bangor Submarine Base in Kitsap County, where he pulled security duty. He eventually went to Iraq as a machine gunner.

"I thought, 'Finally, I get to do what Marines do,' " he told the Marine Corps News in October. "It took me three years to get here, but I am glad to finally deploy."

Bier, 22, died on Wednesday from wounds inflicted by a homemade bomb in Ramadi.

He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, based in Twentynine Palms, Calif. Bier's unit was attached to 2nd Marine Division when he died. His family in Centralia did not wish to comment for this story.

Bier told the Marine Corps News that he was glad to be in Iraq, but said the battle wasn't what he thought it would be.

"I expected this place to be a little more hectic, to have more enemy contact," he said. "I'm a little disappointed, I think it's a little quiet. I expected more to happen here."

Still, Bier said he was happy with his assignment, and glad he joined the Marines. Joining the Marine Corps "was something I wanted to do for a long time," he said. "If I didn't do it when I did, I would have never joined and regretted it for the rest of my life."

As of Friday, 2,135 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war, according to an Associated Press count.

Alex Fryer: 206-464-8124 or afryer@seattletimes.com