LDS Marine killed
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Family members, co-workers and fellow Marines are remembering James W. Cawley as a hero, fearless leader and loving husband and father.
Brother Cawley, a U.S. Marine staff sergeant and member of the Fox Creek Ward, Layton Utah Stake, died March 29 during combat near Nasiriyah, Iraq. He was responding with fellow soldiers to a firefight when he was struck and killed by a coalition forces Humvee military vehicle, according to U.S. Marine Capt. Jason Doughtery.
"He was a warrior — an outstanding Marine," said Capt. Doughtery, describing Brother Cawley as the sort of man who thought first for the welfare of the Marines he led. Brother Cawley served in the 1st Platoon, Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Marine Reserve Regiment.
Brother Cawley, 41, leaves behind a wife, Miyuki, and two children, Cecil, 8, and Keiko, 6. He completed a full-time mission in the Japan Fukuoka Mission and was a detective in the Salt Lake City Police Department, serving on the department's SWAT team.
Miyuki Cawley released a statement via family members, calling Brother Cawley her "best friend" and a "great man."
"I'm very proud that he's my husband."
Julie Cawley Hanson remembered her brother's great love for his two children. Brother Cawley was "a determined individual who lived his life with thoroughness and detail," she added.
She asked that people everywhere support and pray for the troops and their leaders, adding her family feels no animosity for the Humvee driver that struck Brother Cawley. That driver, she said, is included in their prayers.
Sister Hanson also expressed appreciation for the support the Cawley family has received from the Church's First Presidency and Brother Cawley's Layton, Utah, ward. After learning of Brother Cawley's death, local Scouts lined the street leading to the Cawley home with American flags and Relief Society sisters brought in meals.
"Everything you've heard and read about Jim has been right on," said Fox Creek Ward Bishop Blake Chard. "He had a very firm testimony of the gospel."
Brother Cawley's fellow law officers are also grieving.
"This state, this city and this police department have lost someone who was one of our best," said Salt Lake City Police Chief Rick Dinse.
E-mail: jswensen@desnews.com
