Maryland's Thirty-Seventh Hero

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Marine Cpl. Justin J. Watts, 20, of Crownsville, Md.; assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; attached to the 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died Jan. 14 of an apparently non-hostile gunshot wound in Haditha, Iraq.

HE DIED ONE OF THREE WAYS: MURDER, SUICIDE, OR FRIENDLY FIRE

[Watts] joined the Marine Corps on Sept. 15, 2003, and had earned several honors, including the Combat Action Ribbon, Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal and the Good Conduct Medal.

[He] died in Iraq during the weekend of "apparent non-hostile gunshot wounds," according to statements from his family, the Pentagon and the U.S. Central Command.

Cpl. Justin J. Watts, 20, was found dead Saturday at Forward Operating Base Haditha Dam in Iraq. It was his second tour there, according to his family. The military declined to release any further details about the circumstances of his death.

At the Watts home in Crownsville, a small American flag was stuck in a potted plant by the doorway, adorned with a yellow ribbon. Five trucks crowded the driveway -- many had yellow "support our troops" magnets stuck to the bumpers.

In a written statement handed out by a woman who answered the door, the family said that their son was "serving his country proudly in Iraq at the time of his death."

The statement goes on to say that the family is "extremely proud of Justin and will miss him dearly."

Watts was responsible and well-liked by other kids and adults, said Old Mill High School special education teacher Steve Spence, who coached Watts on the lacrosse team when he was a sophomore.

"Justin was a real respectful young man," Spence said. "He worked real hard and was a real physically fit kid, too."

Even after Watts stopped playing lacrosse, Spence said Watts would always come up and say hello to him at games and in school.

Watts became close with his high school weight training teacher, Jim Grim, who taught him for two years. Grim said Watts was a dedicated person who was always happy.

Grim fondly recalled helping Watts train for a school program called Power Club, in which a student must lift 900 total pounds in three different types of lifts.

"Justin was a very strong kid. Not very many people could lift that much," Grim said.

Laura Zlatos, whose son John played lacrosse with Watts at Old Mill High School, said her son joined about 18 of Watts' high school friends who gathered to console one another Saturday night after they learned Watts had died. The group was "devastated," she said.

Zlatos noted that Watts had been home over Christmas and had reconnected with his school buddies then.

"It's really ... it is really just difficult for the kids," Zlatos said. "They saw someone so recently, and suddenly [he's] just gone.

"They just don't understand how things like this happen. ... The whole world just collapsed a little bit on them," Zlatos said.

John Pike, director of globalsecurity.org, said the military's preliminary description of Watts' death indicates he died in one of three ways: murder, suicide or friendly fire.

"It would be the same as any criminal investigation," Pike said.