Marine who was UT student killed in Iraq

02:11 PM CST on Friday, December 3, 2004

Associated Press

A Marine who was attending the University of Texas and got married over the summer has been killed in an explosion in Iraq, his grandfather said Thursday.

Cpl. Zachary A. Kolda, 23, of Corpus Christi, died Wednesday as a result of enemy action in Al Anbar Province in Iraq. He was assigned to the Marine Forces Reserves' 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division in Houston, the U.S. Department of Defense said Thursday.

"He was a very proud Marine," his grandfather, Frank C. Kolda, a retired Navy captain also from Corpus Christi, told The Associated Press on Thursday night. "We were very proud for him."

"Of course, we'd like to have him back, but that isn't going to be."

Zachary Kolda, who was deployed in August, had a family with a history in the military. Frank Kolda, who was in the Navy for 28 years, said that Zachary's other grandfather served in World War II.

Frank Kolda said he heard from his grandson Thanksgiving Day in a note that expressed his love for his wife and gratefulness to his family. He also said that he hadn't had more than 10 hours off, including sleep time, in a month.

Frank Kolda said that he was getting a lot of support from residents of Corpus Christi. "It's really rewarding to hear from all the people in town," he said. "I can't hang up the phone that someone else calls to give his condolences."

Zachary Kolda, who was majoring in international business at UT, graduated from King High School in 2000, his grandfather said. While in high school, he was an exchange student in Germany, he said.

"He was a very kind, helpful person," his grandfather said.

His death brings the number of Texans killed in Iraq to at least 113 since the war began in early 2003.