“He was given an opportunity that very few of us get: to prove our mettle,” said his mother Carla. “But, I don’t want the guys who he was with to feel that, in some way, he was a superior (to them).”
Lt. Col. Terry M. Johnson, the commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, said Hogan's fellow troops described him as having "a heart bigger than life, generous, unwavering commitment toward his fellow Marines, loyal, selfless, and always with a smile."
"Lance Cpl. Hogan made a choice that is unimaginable for most of us," Mabus said. "But it was a choice of a Marine."
Marines with 1st Bn., 5th Marines began moving into the Lance Cpl. Donald J. Hogan Bachelor Enlisted Quarters, a newly-constructed $124 million barracks complex.
Hogan's parents asked that the ceremony where they would receive their son's Navy Cross be delayed until his unit was back home and able to attend. The Marine barracks named after LCpl Hogan were finished in December 2011.
“One of the things you worry about when you lose a child in battle is that we’ll forget – he’ll disappear -- and this is a way of knowing that he won’t ever disappear,” said Carla. “People will remember him always.”
Hogan's personal decorations include the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism while conducting combat operations against the enemy, Combat Action Ribbon, and Purple Heart Medal. He is from San Clemente, California.
120117-N-AC887-047 CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (Jan. 17, 2012) The Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV), the honorable Ray Mabus, presents the family of Lance Cpl. Donald Hogan Navy Cross during a ceremony. Hogan, a 20-year-old Marine, was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan after helping his fellow Marines get out of harm's way. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Sam Shavers/Released)
Photo Courtesy of USMC
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