Lance Cpl. Travis T. Babine

Lance Cpl. Travis T. Babine, 20, of San Antonio, Texas while supporting combat operations in Farah province, Afghanistan. Babine  was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, based out of Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay.

Alice Babine, Travis' mother, yesterday said in a shaky voice that her strong faith was helping carry her through the death of her son. "That's how you get through these things," she said by phone from Texas. "I'm confident that Travis is with God now and I'm confident that I'll see him again. God doesn't owe me an explanation, and I don't demand one. But one day, I'll understand." Travis Babine had called his father, Bill Badger, and told him roadside bombs "were a serious problem and it was one of the most difficult things to deal with." Travis Babine joined the Marines immediately out of high school as part of the delayed entry program and reported to boot camp in January 2008, his mother said. The deployment to Afghanistan was his first. His parents had served in the Army but Travis Babine had always wanted to be a Marine. "He wanted to do something really difficult," his mother said. She tried to convince him to go to college first and get a commission. Her son decided college could wait a bit. "He was convinced that he would make a better officer if he served a tour as an enlisted man," Alice Babine said. The quiet Marine who was a voracious reader and spent a lot of time involved in gaming and painting miniature models in high school was based at Forward Operating Base Bakwa, one of the westernmost outposts maintained by the 2nd Battalion. The desert terrain was once part of an old caravan route and the austere Marine base is built up against the wall of one of the way stations.