Family says Ohio Marine killed in Afghanistan
9/7/2010COLUMBUS, Ohio — The girlfriend and parents of an Ohio Marine say they were informed over the weekend that he was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan.
Twenty-three-year-old Sgt. Jesse Balthaser of Columbus served with the 1st Marine Division, 3rd Combat Engineer Battalion, and was based at a camp in southern Afghanistan. Parents Rick and Nancy Balthaser say they received word Saturday that their son had died the day before.
Girlfriend Erin McSweeney says the family was told Sgt. Balthaser stepped on a roadside bomb and was killed instantly.
His loved ones had expected Balthaser to return home in November, when his current tour was scheduled to end.