U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. David R. Hall, 31, a 1997 graduate of Southview High School, was killed in action Monday in Afghanistan.

Hall, who had moved to Elyria as an adult and joined the Marines after working at Ford's Lorain Assembly Plant, was recalled yesterday as a quiet man who did not shy away from challenges. He died in combat in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.

Hall's cousin Rob Collier, 30, who grew up in Lorain with Hall, recalled happy times together.

"David was driven to do positive things," Collier said. "He was more concerned with results than drawing attention to himself. I don't know why he chose the Marines, but I wasn't surprised when he did."

Hall had a dry sense of humor and was very caring and thoughtful, Collier said.

"My wife didn't have the chance to know him well, but she always walked away saying how much she liked David," he said. "If you spoke to him for a few minutes you had a good feeling from him."

Collier said Hall was a talented 6-foot-2-inch athlete who was the starting quarterback for the Southview Saints his senior year.

"He was a good baseball player, too," Collier said. "He had a strong right arm and was slender growing up, but he put on weight after he joined the Marines. With his size and strength he might have been able to play at the college level."

Hall, who was single, joined the Marines in November 2006 and was deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from November 2007 to May 2008, according to the U.S. Marine Corps. He was promoted to the rank of lance corporal Jan. 1, 2008, and was deployed to Afghanistan in May 2009.

Collier said he and Hall sometimes traveled together on family vacations. He recalled Hall's last visit to Lorain, while on leave last summer.

"His sister had a get-together at her house, a cook-out to welcome him back," Collier said. "He gave the sense that he felt he had made the right decision for himself."

Hall was a rifleman assigned to Company G, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 3 of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade.

"It's tough right now, this news hasn't really sunk in yet," Collier said. "It didn't seem like it was going to end this way for him."