.png "Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan, 54, of the U.S. Army Reserve.")
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan, 54, of the U.S. Army Reserve.
U.S. Army
An online fundraiser has been launched to help the family of the U.S. Army Reserve soldier with Sacramento-area ties who was one of six servicemembers killed this month in a drone strike in Kuwait.
The GoFundMe was created to help cover travel and housing expenses for the family of Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan, 54, a Sacramento native with roots in Elk Grove, according to the fundraiser’s description.
Marzan, an Army veteran of more than 30 years, was assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command in Des Moines, Iowa, a logistics command that supports troop operations. He was on his final deployment when he and five other service members were killed at a command center in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait. The strike occurred the day after the U.S.-Israel assault on Iran began.
Marzan was two months away from returning home to Spotsylvania, Virginia. He is survived by his wife and two children, according to the GoFundMe.
“He was a lifelong member of the military, a family man and loving father,” read a description of the campaign started by Kim Valdez on behalf of Marzan’s wife, Kim. “He lost his life far too young.”
Friends and family hope to raise $18,000 for the family of Marzan, who was deployed to conflicts in Croatia, Bosnia, Egypt and Kuwait.
The Pentagon announced Wednesday that examiners had confirmed Marzan was among the dead.
Last week, members of his family, some of whom live in Elk Grove, flooded social media with messages of love, memories and one of his Elk Grove High School yearbook photos.
Also killed in the attack were Capt. Cody Khork, 35; Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39; Sgt. Declan Coady, 20; and Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien, 45.
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Madison Smalstig covers transportation for The Sacramento Bee. Before joining The Bee, she reported on breaking news, focusing on crime and public safety, in the North Bay for three years. Smalstig is a born and raised Hoosier and earned degrees in journalism and Spanish at Indiana University.