The body of a Marine killed in Afghanistan is expected to arrive Monday at MacDill Air Force Base.
The hearse carrying Cpl. Jonathan Porto will be escorted by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office from MacDill to Anderson-McQueen Funeral Home in St. Petersburg.
Porto, 26, of Largo, was a small-arms repair technician assigned to 1st Battalion 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. He joined the Marine Corps in March 2008 and was promoted to corporal Dec. 1. That same month, he deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Relatives say Porto was in a convoy in the Helmand province of Afghanistan on March 14 when the truck he was in went off course and tumbled. He got caught underneath and was killed.
One of eight siblings, Porto and his wife, Rachel, were married about 10 months ago. Their daughter was born in January; Porto never got a chance to hold his daughter.
Porto's body is expected to arrive at MacDill at 2 p.m., with the escort leaving the base between 2:30 and 3 p.m., the sheriff's office said.
Motorists should be expect delays along the route, which includes Gandy Boulevard, and Fourth, 22nd and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. streets.
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