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- The People Behind The Sacrifice
Army Cpl. Victor A. Garcia
Died July 1, 2007 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom
22, of Rialto, Calif.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.; died July 1 in Baghdad of wounds sustained from enemy small-arms fire.
SoCal soldier killed in Iraq remembered for love of baseball
The Associated Press
COVINA, Calif. — Atlanta Braves fan Victor Garcia had loved baseball since he was a kid playing in street games.
When he wasn’t playing, Garcia watched the Braves on television.
“If you walked into a room and the Braves were losing, he would tell you to get out of the room,” his sister Belinda Garcia recalled as memories were shared at the July 10 burial of the Army corporal.
Garcia, who was part of a Stryker Brigade Combat Team assigned to the 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, at Fort Lewis, Wash., was killed by gunfire July 1 in Baghdad.
Hundreds showed up for the 22-year-old soldier’s funeral at Immaculate Conception Church in Monrovia, followed by burial at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Covina Hills.
“I understand he was supporting his country, but I wish he had been given the chance to have a family of his own, to live the American dream,” said childhood friend Michael Avalos of Fontana.
“Victor is not coming home like we want him to. He’s gone home to a better place, and our love for him continues,” the Rev. Carlos Ramirez said.
His mother, Socorro Garcia, said her son told her in his final telephone call that he was OK. He told her to tell his grandmother and brothers and sister that he loved them and would see them soon.
Garcia spent much of his youth in Rialto. After high school, he attended Chaffey College and then enlisted in the Army in 2004.
He was deployed to Iraq in April.
“It’s going to be strange, not having him around, making us laugh all the time,” said Belinda Garcia. “I will miss everything about Victor.”
Fallen soldier, against the war and Bush, joined Army anyway
The Associated Press
RIALTO, Calif. — Victor A. Garcia didn’t support President Bush and thought the Iraq war was wrong.
Yet he joined the Army anyway, looking for some help with college tuition and perhaps some discipline. The specialist was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), at Ft. Lewis, Wash.
On July 1, he was killed in Baghdad when his unit was attacked with small-arms fire.
Garcia, 22, was the son of Mexican immigrants.
His brothers, Abel and Daniel, married their high school sweethearts at a young age. Victor knew many girls, but had no girlfriend.
“Victor just wanted to get out and see the world,” Daniel Garcia said. “Victor was the one destined to do a lot more.”
He was an avid sports fan and loved the Atlanta Braves, the San Francisco 49ers and Manchester United soccer club in England.
He read books by leftist critic Noam Chomsky. One of his blog entries on his MySpace.com page wonders, “What more evidence do we need?” that the war was a mistake.
Besides his mother and brothers, Garcia is survived by his father and a sister.