Lance Cpl. Chukwuemek Oforah infiltrates a trench during a Marine Corps combat readiness evaluation at Camp Lejeune, N.C., Oct. 6, 2024. (Charis Robertson/U.S. Marine Corps)
A U.S. Marine who fell overboard into the Caribbean Sea while deployed on the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima was declared dead this week after a three-day search, according to the Marine Corps.
Lance Cpl. Chukwuemeka E. Oforah, 21, of Florida, was declared dead on Tuesday following a 72-hour search and rescue operation, according to a II Marine Expeditionary Force news release Thursday.
Oforah was a rifleman assigned to Battalion Landing Team, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, and deployed with the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable).
He was reported falling overboard Saturday evening, according to the release.
Lance Cpl. Chukwuemeka E. Oforah was a rifleman assigned to Battalion Landing Team, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment. (U.S. Navy)
“We are all grieving alongside the Oforah family,” unit commander Col. Tom Trimble said in the release. “The loss of Lance Cpl. Oforah is deeply felt across the entire Navy-Marine Corps team. He will be profoundly missed, and his dedicated service will not be forgotten.”
The Iwo Jima was part of a large buildup of Navy and special operations forces that assembled in the Caribbean before the Jan. 3 U.S. operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Maduro and Flores were held on the ship before being taken to New York.
Later that week, the ship, along with the amphibious transport dock USS San Antonio, moved north of Cuba in the Atlantic Ocean, the Washington Post reported Jan. 7, citing unnamed defense officials.
The search and rescue involved the Iwo Jima’s 7-meter small boat and surface rescue swimmer teams; two U.S. Navy MH-60 Sierra and two MH-60 Romeo helicopters; a Marine Corps AH-1Z Viper helicopter and a UH-1Y Venom helicopter; a Navy P-8 Poseidon; two Air Force HC-130J Combat King IIs; and an MQ-9 Reaper drone, according to the release.
II MEF spokesman 1st Lt. Zachary Cargill declined to provide further information by email Thursday due to the ongoing investigation.
Oforah enlisted in the Marine Corps in October 2023 and graduated from Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., in February 2024, according to the release. He completed infantry school at Camp Lejeune, N.C., and was assigned to 3rd Battalion.
