Former student killed in Afghanistan
by Caroline Basile, associate editor
The South Plains recently lost a hero.
Mark Russell Cannon, a hospital
corpsman 3rd class in the United States Navy and
a native of Lubbock, was killed in Afghanistan on Oct. 2. He
was 31.
Cannon was a student at South Plains
College after he graduated from Coronado High School in
1994. He enrolled in the LVN nursing program in Fall 1994
and attended classes periodically while working at Covenant
Medical Center as a nurses’ aid. His last completed semester
at SPC was in Fall 2001, when he received his LVN
certificate.
Born November 21, 1975, Cannon was
raised with a background in public service. His father Tom
was a criminal defense attorney and then a court-at-law
judge for Lubbock County. Also, his late mother Becky was
the founding director of the Lubbock Rape Crisis Center.
Cannon died after being shot in the
chest while giving medical aid to a wounded Marine,
according to the military reports given to his family.
Faculty who worked with Cannon as a
student remember him as a hard working, caring individual.
“Mark was pretty shy, but he was well
liked by his classmates,” said Teresa McNabb, instructor in
vocational nursing. “He was very hardworking and a caring
person, even though he remained reserved.”
Cannon completed several basic courses
at SPC’s Lubbock Campus, taking courses in mental health and
anatomy and physiology.
“I didn’t have much time with him,”
McNabb added. “But I remember him as a great, hardworking
student.”
Cannon’s father said he saw several
changes in his son after his first tour of duty in Iraq in
2006.
“The main change I saw in him after his
first tour in Iraq is that he had no patience or tolerance
for those who whined about trivial things, and he just
didn't tolerate those type of people anymore,” Tom Cannon
said. ”He saw things in a bigger picture and just didn’t
tolerate those who complained about the small things.”
Serving his second tour of duty in the
Navy, Cannon enlisted in 2003. As a hospital corpsman, he
cared for injured and sick Marines.
Tom Cannon said that the terrorist
attacks of 9/11 had affected his son’s decision to enroll in
the military.
“After 9/11, he really thought he
needed to do something in public service and for his
country,” his father said.
Cannon volunteered earlier this year to
go to Afghanistan with the 3rd Marine Regiment of
Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. He had been in Afghanistan since July.
“The Navy thought the best placement
for Mark would be in the medical field because of his
educational background as an LVN,” his father said. “His
petty officer had suggested that the medical field would be
best for him, and that’s what he went into. He loved helping
people and his job, and of course in the Navy he was getting
fantastic training in the nursing field.”
His colleagues in the service called
him “Doc,” and in return, they were known as “his guys.”
"Mark was the kind of guy if you met
him once, you loved him,” Tom Cannon added. “The Marines he
worked with treated him with great respect and he treated
them the same.”
Standing at 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds,
Cannon, according to his father, was a gentle giant.
“He had a tender and soft side to him,”
his father said. “That went well with his interest in the
medical field. He was always interested in helping people.
Mark grew up thinking that's what you do, help people.”
Cannon’s funeral was held Oct. 9 at St.
Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Lubbock, under the direction
of Lubbock’s Sanders Funeral Home. Cannon was cremated, and
his ashes will be spread with those of his mother, Becky.
In addition to his father, survivors
include his grandmother, Inez Cannon, and his uncles and
aunts Jack and Joyce Cannon and Bob and Kathy Orf and their
families.
“Everyone has been really fantastic
towards our family,” Tom Cannon added. “People we didn’t
even know sent our family cards and flowers. There were
friends of Mark’s and Navy personnel that were very
supportive and sympathetic. I was thoroughly impressed with
the Navy and Marines and how they deal with these kinds of
things.”
According to the Lubbock Area
Foundation, Cannon is the 18th soldier from the
South Plains area to die in the war on terror since 2001,
and the fifth this year.
