A Manchester Marine was killed in Ramadi, Iraq, on Tuesday, family members said.

Lance Cpl. Ryan McCaughn, 19, a 2005 graduate of Central High School, had been in Iraq for two months, said his father, Thomas McCaughn.

The Department of Defense has not confirmed McCaughn's death, but Thomas McCaughn said family members were informed Tuesday evening. The circumstances of his death were not available yesterday.

McCaughn is the second Central High graduate killed in the Iraq war; Lance Cpl. Adam Brooks, a 2003 graduate, was killed in Baghdad in November 2004. Principal John Rist said the school plans to create a memorial for the two Marines, but school officials are waiting for the war to end. He is the 17th New Hampshire service member killed while supporting military action in Iraq.

Teachers remembered McCaughn yesterday for his determination to join the Marine Corps. During his senior year, he crammed in three English courses to ensure he would graduate on time, Rist said.

Ellen Healy, an English teacher, said McCaughn would often spend lunch in her classroom, finishing work.

"Ryan was an average kid who had a dream," she said. "He was so enthusiastic."

There were four other seniors in McCaughn's class who planned to join the Marines, Rist said. The group spent time together, encouraging one another to study, Healy said.

McCaughn wanted to be an infantry Marine. His father, a former Marine who worked in computer science and avionics during his time in the service, told McCaughn he didn't have to fight on the front lines.

"I just wanted him to be sure that he knew what he was getting into," Thomas McCaughn said.

McCaughn had made up his mind.

Last spring, after McCaughn finished boot camp, he and a classmate returned to Central High and spoke in David Boutin's social studies class called "Lessons of the Vietnam War." Boutin said he often asks veterans to speak to the class, which McCaughn took during his senior year.

McCaughn and the other Marine, Derek Stulpin, talked about their experiences in the military and the possibility of being deployed to Iraq.

"They both knew that that's where they were going," Boutin said. "They just didn't know when."

Stulpin shipped out in August, Boutin said. McCaughn left in September.

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