5 Marines Suspended After Recruit Drowns

Five Marines have been suspended while officials investigate the death of a recruit who died during a training exercise.

Four Marines saw a drill instructor grab recruit Jason Tharp by the shirt and hit him in the chest, according to a video shot by a Columbia television station the day before Tharp died.

Tharp, of Sutton, W.Va., drowned Feb. 8 in a swimming pool while participating in a water-survival training course at Parris Island. Military officials have acknowledged the drill instructor’s actions violated regulations. The instructor has also been suspended.