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Marine Lance Cpl. Victor A. Gonzalez

Died October 13, 2004 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom


19, of Watsonville, Calif.; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force of Camp Pendleton, Calif.; killed Oct. 13 by enemy action in Anbar province, Iraq.

California Marine killed in Iraq

Associated Press

WATSONVILLE, Calif. — A 19-year-old Marine from Watsonville was killed this week as a result of enemy action in Iraq’s Anbar province, the Marine Corps said Thursday.

Lance Cpl. Victor A. Gonzalez died Wednesday from injuries received in combat.

“I was so proud of him,” his mother, Amalia Gonzalez, told the Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. “He was so young to die.”

Gonzalez was a rifleman assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, which is based at Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Gonzalez joined the Marine Corps on Oct. 27, 2003. His personal awards include the National Defense Service Medal. He was sent to Iraq on Sept. 2.

“I told him, ‘If this is what you want, I will support you. I just hope nothing happens,”’ his mother said. “And now it has.”

Gonzalez aspired to be a police officer. He had served as a cadet at the Watsonville Police Department for 3 1/2 years, riding with police officers and helping direct traffic.

“He was a stellar cadet that rose to the highest ranking,” Watsonville Police Capt. Manny Solano said. “He was a role model for all of the other cadets. This has completely devastated our department.”

Gonzalez, who was born in Salinas, graduated from Watsonville High School. He is survived by younger siblings Eden, 15, Oscar, 8, and Myrna, 4, and parents Serge and Amalia.

Gonzalez played soccer and ran cross country but his real focus was always on becoming a police officer.

“Ever since he was a kid, ever since he was a chiquillo, he wanted to be a police officer,” his father told the Santa Cruz County Sentinel. “And he always thought that joining the Marines would get him to where he wanted to be.”

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