San Diego ? An ex-Marine at the center of a probe into whether Camp Pendleton troops killed between five and 10 unarmed captives during a battle in Iraq is a hero who faced vicious enemies, his attorney said Friday.

Former Cpl. Ryan Weemer sought an attorney earlier this year because he was concerned Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents wanted to question him, attorney Paul Hackett, of Cincinnati, said.

“Weemer is an American hero,” Hackett said. “Every American should be on their hands and knees thanking their god that there are men in the American military like Ryan Weemer doing the heavy lifting their country requires.”

Weemer, 24, is at the center of a military probe into the actions of his squad in Fallujah on or about Nov. 10, 2004.

The investigation was launched after Weemer left the Marines and applied for a job with the Secret Service, according to a military writer who interviewed him last year. Weemer described the killings of the suspected insurgents when asked before a polygraph test if he had ever participated in a wrongful death.

Hackett declined to comment on Weemer’s discussions with the Secret Service but said his client had not yet spoken to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

Weemer was a rifleman in a four-man fireteam in the 3rd Platoon, Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, Hackett said.