Frederick E Pokorney

Nye, Nevada

March 23, 2003

Frederick E. Pokorney Jr. impressed his Marine Corps superiors enough that they recommended him for officer's training. In the fall of 1997, he landed at Oregon State University, still an active-duty sergeant, and graduated in 2001 as an officer.

Pokorney was killed in an ambush March 23. Before shipping out, Pokorney had lived in Jacksonville, N.C., with his wife, Chelle, and their 2-year-old daughter.

"It's the worst thing that ever happened to this family," said Pokorney's father-in-law, Robert Schulgen of Port Orchard, Wash.

At Oregon State, Pokorney played on the Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center's basketball team and earned the nickname "Mini-Shaq."

This spring, the team played with a commemorative patch on their jerseys, displaying the initials "FP."