Marine Pfc. George D. Torres

Died April 11, 2004 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

---

23, of Long Beach, Calif.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; killed April 11 by hostile fire in Anbar province, Iraq.

---

Marine from Long Beach killed in Iraq

Associated Press

LONG BEACH, Calif. — Pfc. George Torres charmed his way through life before the Marines.

The fifth of six children, he was known for an easygoing demeanor that disarmed his family and friends, said his sister, Oralia Cisneros of Long Beach.

“If he wanted to go to Mexico, for a toy, he would get it,” she said. The fun-loving 23-year-old dropped out of high school to travel to his parents’ hometown of Urequio in Mexico’s Michochan state “just to have fun,” Cisneros said.

But he had always wanted to join the Marines, and “was very proud” after he returned to school and earned the high school diploma he needed to enlist, she said.

Torres joined the Marine Corps in March 2003.

He was killed by hostile fire Sunday in the Al Anbar province of Iraq. Torres was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Unit, and based in Camp Pendleton.

Torres’ parents, Fernando and Genoveda Torres, had worried about his safety when he enlisted, but their son was resolute.

“He said, ‘If I have to go to Iraq, I’ll go,”’ said Cisneros. “He was very brave.”

In addition to Cisneros and his parents, Torres is survived by sisters Olga and Evelyn Torres, and brothers Fernando Torres Jr. and Francisco Torres.

Funeral arrangements are pending.