Camp Pendleton Marine Killed in Afghanistan Identified

Marine ID'd

The Pentagon released the name Tuesday of a 22-year-old Camp Pendleton-based Marine killed in combat last weekend in Afghanistan.

Cpl. Jon-Luke Bateman of Tulsa, Okla., died in Helmand Province on Sunday, according to the Department of Defense.

Bateman was a member of the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

While consuming alcohol at all when pregnant can be harmful to a fetus, the risk of developing fetal alcohol syndrome is greatest between the seventh and 12th weeks of pregnancy, according to a study released Tuesday by UC San Diego.

The study, to be published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research in April, involved 992 women who called the California Teratogen Information Service Pregnancy Health Information Line between 1978 and 2005 and agreed to participate in research on the health of their babies.

Research showed that drinking during pregnancy increased the risk of having an underweight newborn or a baby with a shorter length at birth, according to the study's authors.

Deformities associated with fetal alcohol syndrome include small head, small upper jaw, smooth and thin upper lip and small, narrow eyes.

When women consumed alcohol between the seventh and 12th weeks of their pregnancies, the risk of problems with their newborn's lips increased by 25 percent per drink, the chance of a shorter length of the baby climbed 18 percent, the possibility of reduced birth weight rose 16 percent, and the chance of having a smaller head size went up 12 percent, according to the study.

According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, children with FAS could face brain developmental problems that affect coordination, movement, thinking, speech and social skills. There is also a risk of have heart defects.

Camp Pendleton Death

Authorities Tuesday released the name of a 21-year-old Marine who died of unknown causes last weekend at Camp Pendleton.

Pfc. Thomas J. Angelo of Rochester, N.Y., was discovered dead in his barracks room on Sunday. Military police who documented the scene found no suspicious circumstances, said Ed Buice, of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

A cause-of-death ruling was on hold pending completion of postmortem tests.

Angelo, who joined the Marine Corps in August 2008, was an avionics technician assigned to Marine Medium Helicopter Training Squadron 164, Marine Aircraft Group 39, Third Marine Aircraft Wing.

During his nearly 3 1/2 years of military service, Angelo received a National Defense Service Medal and a Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.

-City News Service