Tribute and support

Mourners filled Newport-Mesa Church on Newport Boulevard on Monday to remember Marine Lance Cpl. Daniel J. Santee, a former Costa Mesa Fire Department intern who was killed in Iraq on April 14.

Santee, 21, lived in Mission Viejo and worked for the city of Costa Mesa in 2005 and 2006.

Along with former classmates, Marines and members of Santee’s church, Costa Mesa police and fire employees filled the chapel to pay respects to Santee and show support to his family. His father, Bert Santee, is a retired Costa Mesa police sergeant who now works in the city’s code enforcement division, and his sister, Laura, is a training secretary for city police.

Santee died in a nonhostile vehicle accident in Al Anbar province, according to the U.S. Dept. of Defense. Friends in the Costa Mesa Fire Department recently remembered him as a positive, energetic young man who was always offering his help.