A 21-year-old Marine has been declared dead after falling overboard from the USS Iwo Jima while conducting operations in the Caribbean.
Lance Cpl. Chukwuemeka Oforah of Florida was pronounced deceased on Tuesday (February 11) following an extensive 72-hour search and rescue operation that began after he fell from the vessel on the evening of February 7, according to a statement from the II Marine Expeditionary Force.
“We are all grieving alongside the Oforah family,” said Col. Tom Trimble, commanding officer of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable). “The loss of Lance Cpl. Oforah is deeply felt across the entire Navy-Marine Corps team. He will be profoundly missed, and his dedicated service will not be forgotten.”
The search operation involved significant military resources including five Navy ships, a rigid-hull inflatable boat, and ten aircraft from the Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force. The aircraft included six helicopters, a Navy P-8 Poseidon, two Air Force HC-130J Combat King IIs, and an Air Force MQ-9 Reaper, as reported by the U.S. Naval Institute.
Oforah enlisted in the Marine Corps in October 2023 and graduated from Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, in February 2024. After completing infantry school at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, he was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment. At the time of his death, he was deployed with Battalion Landing Team 3/6, 22nd MEU (SOC).
Oforah is the first service member whose death was publicly announced while participating in Operation Southern Spear, the ongoing U.S. effort to strike alleged drug boats and enforce a quarantine on sanctioned tankers coming in and out of Venezuela.
The Naval Safety Command and Naval Surface Force Atlantic are investigating the circumstances surrounding the Marine’s death with full cooperation from the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, according to KCBD.
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