04/11/2026
RIP Ramon T Kaipat - 11 April 2012
COMBAT OUTPOST TAGHAZ, Afghanistan – He came from Saipan in his freshman year of high school, graduated, and joined the Marine Corps to serve his country.
He would run through a wall, if that was what it took to accomplish the mission.
He would go out on a limb to protect a fellow Marine.
He was a Marine you knew you could count on.
He was firm but fair, and he was the only Marine that can put a smile across the whole platoon’s face.
Lance Cpl. Ramon T. Kaipat, an infantryman who served with Charlie Company, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, and 22-year-old native of Tacoma, Washington.
While leading a dismounted patrol in Khan Neshin District, Kaipat sustained mortal wounds from an improvised explosive device. He was medically evacuated to Forward Operating Base Payne’s medical treatment facility, where he succumbed to his wounds.
"Kaipat chose to serve the United States in a way that most American’s never consider. He chose the path less traveled, and accepted all of the hardships and risks that he encountered along the way."
Kaipat was born in the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. After emigrating from Saipan to the United States and graduating from Mount Tacoma High School in 2008, he immediately enlisted in the Marine Corps. In March 2009, Kaipat was ordered to report to 1st LAR.
“He was a huge Pacific Islander … He was the guy who gave you a haircut when you came home drunk at 4 a.m. on Sunday and the barber was closed and you needed a fresh buzz before formation. He was a meticulous point man, incredibly cautious … I don’t know why he died. I know that he was young. I know that he was beautiful, and so were all of the other heroes. F—ing war. What can you say?”
- The Seattle Times
-https://www.dvidshub.net/news/86910/marines-remember-honor-fallen-brother-southern-helmand
