Dad finds out leaving Starbucks Marine son killed in Afghanistan

Marine Sgt. Stephen Dunning, of Milpitas, killed disarming bomb in Afghanistan

By Linda Goldston
lgoldston@mercurynews.com
Posted: 10/28/2011


Staff Sgt. Stephen Dunning tried to live a selfless life, a life that put him in danger to save the lives of others. He volunteered to be one of the Marines who dismantled the crude bombs insurgents laced along the treacherous trails of Afghanistan.

Dunning, 31, of Milpitas, was killed by one of those bombs -- called an improvised explosive device by the military -- on Thursday. His parents talked to him by phone just two days before he died.

"He was joking around, he was in great spirits," said his father, Robert. "He was talking about the mud hut he was living in and a villager's donkey they had made friends with."

A career Marine with nearly 13 years of service, Dunning was on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan. He had been back in the country for about a month and a half when he was killed in Helmand Province.

"We were walking out of Starbucks when they called," his father said. "At first, I thought maybe they just wanted us to donate to the military."

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