René Elizabeth Browne was on her second date with Bill Cahir in 2003 when he told her he was considering enlisting in the Marine Corps. Cahir was 34 years old and worked as a Washington, D.C. correspondent for Newhouse News Service.

“I was very surprised because I knew Bill in such a different context, as a newspaper reporter, seeming too old to think about enlisting in the military,” Browne recalled to Task & Purpose. “The more we talked about it, the more I realized how little I truly knew him and how impressed I was by his motivation to be of service.”

Cahir would ultimately deploy as a Marine to Iraq twice during the leadup to the Sunni Awakening. On Aug. 13, 2009, he was killed while deployed to Afghanistan. The day after his unit was scheduled to rotate home, his wife gave birth to twins

“In the Marine Corps itself, I think Bill found a community of purpose and service that he had been missing up to that point,” Browne said. “He absolutely loved being a Marine and he cared extremely deeply about his fellow Marines. Of course, Bill was a little bit older than many of the people that he joined with and was seen as — and certainly acted as — a mentor to a lot of younger Marines,” Browne said. “I think he enjoyed being able to share his experience and his perspectives and make a difference in the lives of people who were effectively still growing up.”