California Marine, 19, Dies In Fall From Waikiki Hotel
HONOLULU (AP) -- A 19-year-old Marine from Southern California fell to his death from the 17th floor of a Waikiki hotel over the Memorial Day weekend.
The parents of Luke Monahan, of Palos Verdes, Calif., said they want to talk to the other two Marines who were in the room with him at the Ilima Hotel to find out what happened Saturday, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Monday.
"I want to know if anyone gave him a drink, because he was underage," his mother, Eileen Monahan told the newspaper. "I want to know if there was a fight or if there was a broken fence and he fell through it. He wouldn't just jump."
An autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday.
Monahan talked to his parents online from his barracks on Friday night and promised them he wouldn't drink, they said.
"Were they playing games?" his father, Terry Monahan, asked. "Were they trying to stand up on the balcony? Was Luke just so tired he couldn't get his balance?"
Their son joined the Marines at 18, underwent basic training at Camp Pendleton and shipped out to Marine Corps Base Hawaii in January.
"He did not like the Marines, but he seemed to be OK with Hawaii," his mother said. "He wanted to spearfish and jump out of helicopters. I sent him a skateboard a month ago because he's still a kid."
She refused to come to Hawaii to claim his body because her son lost his life there.
"I'm never going back there, ever," she said. "The Marines will ship his body to us."
