R.I.P. Lance Cpl. Shawn P. Hefner

Name: Marine Lance Cpl. Shawn P. Hefner

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Age: 22

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From: Hico, Texas

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Assigned to 2nd Amphibious Assault Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

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Incident: Marine Lance Cpl. Shawn P. Hefner died Nov. 13 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

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Died: November 13, 2009

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(Taken from www.dallasnews.com of Nov. 20th)Shawn Patrick Hefner was promoted to be a Marine lance corporal on Nov. 1 and scheduled to return to his home base at Camp Lejeune, N.C., sometime next week.

After a state-side debriefing about his duty in Afghanistan, he planned to return home to Central Texas on Dec. 10, less than a week after celebrating his 23rd birthday. He was to be on leave until early January.

But Lance Cpl. Hefner was killed by an improvised bomb last Friday while supporting combat operations in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan.

His body was returned home Thursday to Hico, Texas, where services will be at 2 p.m. today at First Baptist Church. He will be buried in Hico Cemetery.

Cpl. Hefner was fun-loving and fearless, said his father, Patrick Hefner of Hico.

"He was outdoors," said his father, a former Marine. "He loved to fish and camp. If it could be done outdoors, that's where he wanted to be."

Cpl. Hefner was born Dec. 4, 1986, in Kansas City, Mo., and moved with his family to Hico in 1991. He was a 2006 graduate of Hico High School.

He joined the Marines in January 2008 and was deployed to Afghanistan in June . Almost immediately, he demonstrated his toughness, when he received a concussion after his Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle was rocked by an explosion.

His mother, Robin Hefner of Hico, had instructed her son to document his tour of duty with photographs. Cpl. Hefner faithfully carried out his mother's request – even after that attack.

"They were carting him off in helicopters, and he was lying on his back taking pictures of his buddies up in front of him," his father said.

Cpl. Hefner was assigned to the 2nd Amphibious Assault Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune.

In addition to his mother and father, Cpl. Hefner is survived by a brother, Brandon Hefner of Mesquite; a sister, Jessica Megan Hefner of Hico; a grandfather, Raymond Hefner of Hico; and a grandmother, Lynn Schroff of Mesquite.