Walter K. O’Haire dies 'from wounds suffered while conducting combat operations'

When her 20-year-old son called from Iraq on Monday, Maureen O’Haire ended the conversation with her usual admonition: ‘‘I love you. Watch your back, keep your head down, protect yourself.’’

He replied with his usual answer: ‘‘Always.’’

Two days later Marine Lance Cpl. Walter O’Haire of Rockland died in Al Anbar province when he came under enemy fire as he patrolled on foot with his platoon.

It was six days before his 21st birthday.

O’Haire was the second serviceman with Rockland ties to die in Iraq. Marine Sgt. William J. Callahan, 28, of Easton, who grew up in Hanson and Rockland, was killed on April 28.

Another 20-year-old soldier from Massachusetts, Army Spc. Kyle A. Little of West Boylston, was killed by a roadside bomb Tuesday north of Baghdad during his second tour in Iraq. His wife, Tiffany, is expecting a child in November.

The deaths of O’Haire and Little bring the number of Massachusetts residents killed in Iraq to 56. Total U.S. deaths in the war are now 3,390.

O’Haire had been in Iraq a little more than two months when he died.

‘‘Wally wanted to go,’’ his mother said yesterday. ‘‘He was for it.’’

‘‘He’s a hero. He really did what he wanted to do.’’

Maureen O’Haire sat on the couch in a living room filled with photos of her nine children and five grandchildren.

She and her late husband, Thomas O’Haire, had five children and adopted four more. They cared for more than 50 foster children, she said.

Walter, the youngest of her biological children, treasured his close-knit family, his mother said. He had five brothers, William 31, Matthew, 30, Thomas, 22, Kevin, 14, and Patrick, 13; and three sisters, Amy, 30, Margaret, 29, and Kaylia-Rose, 8.

O’Haire served in the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, the Marine Corps said.

During training at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, he drove 12 hours to Rockland almost every weekend.

‘‘He’d get up here on Saturday and drive back Sunday. He wanted to sleep in his own bed,’’ his mother said.

Often he came with two or three buddies from the base, she said. Sometimes they would also stay in the two-story home filled with children.

Walter, nicknamed Gator, moved with his family from South Boston to Rockland about 10 years ago. He attended Rogers Middle School, then enrolled in South Shore Vocational-Technical High School in Hanover.

‘‘He was going to be a carpenter and then he decided he was going to go into the service,’’ Maureen O’Haire said. He left for training on Dec. 27, 2005.

Two older brothers tried to dissuade him, but ‘‘he was going to do it no matter what,’’ she said. His parents did not object.

‘‘My husband and I support our children as long as it’s not lawbreaking,’’ she said.

Derek Mariani was O’Haire’s carpentry instructor and his favorite teacher. O’Haire dropped out of high school a month before graduation in 2004 because he could not pass one of his required courses, Mariani said.

He watched his student mature from a mischievous teenager to a responsible adult during his four years of high school, Mariani said.

And O’Haire set his sights on joining the military.

He obtained a GED so he could enlist. He returned to the campus about a year ago with his Marine recruiter. He wanted to tell Mariani that he had just finished basic training.

‘‘He was really proud of what he accomplished,’’ Mariani said.

‘‘I don’t know why kids today, what possesses them to join the service,’’ the teacher said. ‘‘It’s a tough thing for a family. I hope it’s not all for naught. You have to tip your hat to these kids.’’

Maureen O’Hare said her son was easygoing and friendly and he had an iron will. ‘‘He was one of the guys and he appreciated your opinions,’’ she said. Then he went his own way, she said.

O’Haire’s death was the second blow to the family in two years. His father died on June 19, 2005, at 53.

Maureen O’Haire established a memorial Web site for her husband earlier this year. In one message to Thomas posted on the site, she reported that ‘‘our son Gator’’ was serving in Iraq and ‘‘being a Marine makes him happy and proud.’’

‘‘Watch over Walter,’’ the message said.

From the Patriot Ledger