Clearlake Marine killed in Afghanistan

Family members of a Clearlake Marine killed in an explosion in Afghanistan Monday are gathering today to make plans for the return of the body of Pfc. Ivan Wilson.

Wilson is the first service member from Lake County to die in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Wilson was killed by an improvised explosive device, according to a source close to his family, but few other details of his death were available.

Ginny Craven, who runs a local group called Operation Tango Mike that sends care packages to troops, said Wilson’s family called her early Monday with news of his death. Craven said the military notified the family about 5 a.m.

Wilson grew up in Clearlake and was a 2004 graduate of Clearlake Community School.

He was on his second tour of duty in the Middle East, having served in Iraq from January through August of 2007, according to a proclamation issued by the Lake County Board of Supervisors on his return.

Volunteers with Operation Tango Mike, military jargon for “thanks much,” put together care packages for Wilson while he was overseas.

“We took care of Ivan for a year while he was in Iraq,” said Craven. “He was like a family member to all of us.”

Wilson joined the Marine Corps on Sept. 11, 2005, and was a rifleman in the 3rd Platoon, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Division, Fox Company, according to the proclamation.

He is the 13th North Coast service member to die in Iraq or Afghanistan since 2002 and the third local serviceman killed in Afghanistan in the past three months.

Army Spc. Christopher Gathercole, 21, of Santa Rosa died May 26 of wounds from small-arms fire during combat in a remote Afghan village. Army Sgt. Ryan Connolly, 24, of Santa Rosa was killed by a bomb blast in Afghanistan on June 23.

Lake County native and human rights activist Marla Ruzicka was killed in a suicide bombing in Iraq in 2005.