Marine Lance Cpl. Michael S. Torres

Died July 5, 2004 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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21, of El Paso, Texas; assigned to 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, at Twentynine Palms, Calif.; killed by enemy forces July 5 in Anbar province, Iraq.

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This fall, Cathedral High School's football players will each wear a small number 81 on their uniforms. That was Michael S. Torres' jersey number. "I would like all my young players to act like him," said head football coach, David Portillo. "He was a fine young man." Torres, 21, of El Paso, Texas, died July 5 during fighting in Iraq’s Anbar province. He was based at Twentynine Palms, Calif. After Torres' death, his mother was reminded just how well-liked he was. "You wouldn't imagine the outpouring of people from all over the country who are calling and coming to bid him goodbye," Rossana Esparza said. Esparza said she managed to speak to her son before his death. "We just talked about how we missed each other and how much he missed everyone here and how he was trying to do his part in keeping the war away from our homeland," Esparza said. "He wanted to extend our freedoms to other people." Torres also is survived by his father and fiancee.

— Associated Press