Marine Pfc. Freund was assigned to 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif. Freund was killed when the blast from a roadside bomb rocked his Humvee while conducting combat operations against enemy forces. Steve had a rough start in life. He came from a broken home and bounced from foster home to foster home, until his aunt adopted him when he was 16. He attended Thomas Jefferson High School through his junior year, but failed to graduate. He later obtained a GED diploma and joined the Marines in hopes of a new beginning. He reported to recruit training in February 2005. He had suffered previous injuries from roadside bombs, but he believed in his mission – that it was bringing freedom to us. He had been a Marine for about a year and a half and was deployed to Iraq in January. He was remembered for his heroic actions that helped save the lives of his fellow Marines during a recent mortar attack. He was a walking comedian and an endless source of entertainment to his fellow Marines. Whether he was getting himself caught in concertina wire at Twentynine Palms and not being able to get out or crying out his best Arnold Schwarzenegger impression, he always made them laugh. Steve, or "Spaz" to his friends, loved country music – the old stuff. He was also big on classic rock and movies. On his ‘Myspace' page, Steve stated he was single, born under the sign of Scorpio, drank but did not smoke, and hoped to have children some day. His last login to that site was on April 28. Pausing beside his grave after his funeral when most relatives and other mourners had left, a group of about 10 South Hills friends said he often described them as his family because of the troubles he had growing up. He was entertaining in a group; a generous soul with a knack for making others laugh with his storytelling but none of his friends could imagine how his life would turn out. That all changed in the past year, after he survived boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina. On his trips home, Steve showed a steady confidence his friends hadn't seen before. He treated them to meals, letting them know he was doing fine. He became more religious. And when he told pals he was beginning a tour of duty in Iraq in January, it was without complaint or hint of fear. He knew what he had to do. His friends heard that the only things he didn't like in Iraq were the heat and the lack of a good shower. His loss was a hard one to take, but everyone who knows Steve knows that he wouldn't have lived his life any other way. His awards include the Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal and Iraq Campaign Medal.