Northern MI Marine dies in Afghanistan

KINGSLEY, Mich. (AP) - A U.S. Marine sergeant from northern lower Michigan has been killed in combat during his second tour of duty in Afghanistan.

The Pentagon says 26-year-old Justin M. Hansen of Traverse City was killed Tuesday in combat in Badghis province. He was part of the 2nd Marine Special Operations Battalion from Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Hansen was a 2003 graduate of Kingsley High School, where he played football. Rick Hansen of Williamsburg says his son also served a combat tour in Iraq.

Kingsley is about 12 miles south-southeast of Traverse City.

Lifelong friend Jon Walton tells the Traverse City Record-Eagle that Justin Hansen was "always full of energy, always up for something new."

Walton says whatever Hansen did, "he did it 110 percent."

TV stations WWTV/WWUP say Hansen enlisted seven years ago.

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Members of the U.S. armed forces with known Michigan ties who died in 2012 supporting military operations in Afghanistan:

-- Marine Sgt. Justin Hansen, 26, a 2003 graduate of Kingsley High School, died July 24 after being shot while sweeping a house in Afghanistan.

-- Army Staff Sgt. Matthew J. Leach, 29, of Ferndale died June 26 in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The cause of death wasn't immediately announced. He was part of the 1/334th Regiment, 1st Brigade, 104th Training Division based in Fraser.

-- Marine Pfc. Steven P. Stevens II, 23, of Detroit died June 22 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province. He was assigned to the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton, Calif.

-- Army Sgt. Joseph Lilly, 25, of Flint died June 14 from injuries he sustained June 12 when he was hit by an improvised explosive device while on patrol in Afghanistan. He was a combat engineer serving with the 18th Engineer Company from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

-- Army Spc. Vilmar Galarza Hernandez, 21, of Salinas, Calif., died May 26 in in Kandahar province when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. His wife is from Muskegon, Mich. He was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team of the 2nd Infantry Division at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state.

-- Army Capt. Bruce Kevin Clark, 43, a former resident of Spencerport, N.Y, and Addison, Mich., died May 1 in Tarin Kowt. He was a nurse assigned to A Company, Troop Command at William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso, Texas. His wife was in Texas chatting with him via Skype when he collapsed.

-- Air Force Tech. Sgt. Matthew S. Schwartz, 34, of Traverse City was killed Jan. 5 along with two other airmen when insurgents attacked their vehicle with an improvised explosive device in Helmand province. He was part of the 90th Civil Engineer Squadron from F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo.