Family: Valley Marine killed by IED in Afghanistan

A 23-year-old Marine from Spokane Valley was killed this week while supporting combat operations in Afghanistan. Cpl. Joshua R. Dumaw, assigned to the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, II Marine Expeditionary Force, was killed Tuesday during operations in the Nimruz Province, the Department of Defense said in a news release. Details of Dumaw’s death were not immediately available from the U.S. Marine Corps public affairs office, but according to his family, Dumaw was with his platoon securing an area in the Nimruz Province, in southwestern Afghanistan, when he stepped in an improvised explosive device. Dumaw’s mother, Jennifer Gorman, of Spokane Valley, told family friends he will likely receive a Purple Heart, and that he will eventually be brought back to Fairchild Air Force Base, where he will be welcomed by the honor guard. “He was always one of those kids that shined,” said Stacie McGarvey, who spoke on Gorman’s behalf. Gorman, who was on her way to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware Thursday to greet Dumaw’s body as it arrived, declined to comment. The family was overwhelmed and grateful for the condolences and thoughts pouring in from all over, McGarvey said. Dumaw, who graduated from West Valley High School, was stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in North Carolina. His wife of nearly one year, Kailyn, is pregnant with the couple’s first child, family friends confirmed. Dumaw had completed previous tours of duty in Iraq, but this was his first tour in Afghanistan. He had planned to return home in a few months for the birth of his son, due in September. The couple had decided to name the boy Bode Alexzandyr Dumaw, so that his initials would be BAD. “He wanted his son to be B-A-D,” McGarvey said. McGarvey said Dumaw had enlisted in the Marine Corps right after high school. “He was very proud of what he was doing, serving his country,” McGarvey said. Ashley Byrd, a longtime family friend, said Dumaw was the guy known for helping everybody out. “He was the nicest guy I ever met. He would always have a smile on his face,” Byrd said. “He’s going to be loved and missed by everybody.” Plans for a memorial service in Spokane has not yet been finalized. The family is asking that anyone wishing to make memorial contributions to please contact the family through his wife’s Facebook page. They are planning on using contributions to send care packages to Dumaw’s platoon in Afghanistan.