Throughout Hicksville this week, flags were flown at half-staff in honor of local hero Cpl. Kevin T. Kolm, a member of the United States Marine Corps who was killed on April 13 while fighting in Iraq on behalf of his country.

At the time of his death, Cpl. Kolm, 23, was serving in the 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force. He arrived in Iraq on March 20 as part of the Marine contingent that replaced the Army's 101st Airborne Division in the Fallujah area.

According to published reports, Cpl. Kolm served as a crew chief for an amphibious assault vehicle, a lightly armored troop carrier capable of landing on a beach and then driving on shore. He was killed while part of an effort to rescue a group of Marines pinned down in Fallujah, just west of Baghdad, when his own vehicle came under attack.

Cpl. Kolm was the third generation of Kolm men to serve in the Marines. His father, Thomas, served as a corporal in Vietnam and his grandfather, Ralph, served as a corporal in Japan during World War II. After graduating from Hicksville High School in 1998, Cpl. Kolm worked as a carpenter and took classes at Nassau Community College. He enlisted in the Marines four years ago and his tour of duty was scheduled to end in September 2004.

Cpl. Kolm is survived by his father, Thomas, mother, Jacqueline, and sister, Christine. Funeral arrangements were handled by the Vernon C. Wagner Funeral Home in Hicksville. A funeral service was held at Wagner on Friday, April 23 at 10 a.m. followed by Interment at Long Island National Cemetery in Farmingdale.