Sgt. Michael A. Marzano, a 28-year-old Marine with Phoenix ties was killed Saturday May 7th by a suicide bomber in Iraq, according to the Defense Department.

Sgt. Michael A. Marzano, who attended Glendale Community College, died while trying to retake a civilian hospital in Hadithah, according to the U.S. Central Command. Two other Marines and a sailor were also killed.

Marzano joined the Marines in Pennsylvania and served with the Corps for four years, said Rick Beichler, who volunteers with Marzano's mother (Desert Palm's Margy Bons) at a Valley charity for soldiers.

After Marzano was discharged in 2003, he moved to the Valley to live with his mother and joined the Reserves, Beichler said. He volunteered to serve in Iraq in December. Marzano was a member of the Marine Force Reserves 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division.

The charity, Packages From Home, posted a letter Marzano's mother wrote to him after his death.

"This is the hardest letter I have ever written to you because it is my goodbye to the son that I have loved and respected and been proud of all your life," Margy Bons wrote. "You were the beacon of my being." On the Web site, www.packagesfromhome.org, Bons asked supporters to contribute to the charity in his name. Marzano is the 51st soldier with Arizona ties to die in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.