Marine Pfc. Leroy Sandoval Jr.

Died March 26, 2004 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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21, of Houston; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; killed March 26 by hostile fire in Anbar province, Iraq.

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Marine remembered at school service

Associated Press

HOUSTON — In his school days, Marine Pfc. Leroy Sandoval Jr. had a mischievous smile and a knack for making others laugh.

More than 200 classmates, friends and school staffers remembered Sandoval during a memorial service. He was killed in Iraq.

Sandoval graduated from Harvest Christian Academy in Pasadena, a private school, in 2000.

“Little Leroy ran a big race, and he ran it quick. He fell on this Earth, but he fell to rise in heaven,” Patricia Gehret, the academy’s superintendent, said. “We have the hard part — to carry on.”

Sandoval was killed April 23 in Fallujah, about 35 miles west of Baghdad, during a battle with Iraqi insurgents. The Marine, who grew up in South Houston and Pasadena, died of a gunshot wound while manning a machine gun for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. He was 21.

Seven other Marines and six Iraqis were wounded.

A three-minute video paid tribute to Sandoval and, at times, brought much-needed laughter to some in the crowd. Several of Sandoval’s classmates and his former track coach choked back tears as they spoke.

Several other former students from the school, which has an enrollment of about 170, are in combat in Iraq.

Each mourner received a miniature American flag and a patriotic ribbon. A Marine color guard presented the flags to begin the memorial. Scores of red, white and blue balloons were released into the sky as Taps was played.

Sarah Wilcox, Sandoval’s classmate, said Sandoval would have likely told mourners to “cowboy up.”

“He could make everyone in the class laugh,” she said. “He was also a great friend. We loved Leroy. He is truly our hero. Not just for us, but our whole nation, and that just makes me so proud.”

Pfc. Victor Vaesa, who graduated from boot camp with the victim, said he last saw him in December. That’s when Sandoval told him he was going to Iraq.

“I feel like I lost my brother,” said Vaesa. “It’s tough, but it’s not like he died in vain. The possibility of death is great. We were all scared, but we wanted to do something better.”

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Houston Marine dies in Iraq

HOUSTON — Marine Pfc. Leroy Sandoval Jr. hadn’t even been in Iraq for two weeks when he died Friday fighting insurgents in Fallujah.

Sandoval, who grew up in South Houston and Pasadena, died of a gunshot wound while manning a machine gun for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. He was 21.

Seven other Marines were wounded during the battle, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Sandoval’s parents, Steve and Zaida Walters, learned of their son’s death. They had last spoken with Sandoval, who joined the Marines last May, on the night of March 23 . He told his parents he was worried about going into the dangerous area of Iraq to relieve an Army unit.

“He asked his mom to pray for him; told her they were going into a real bad city,” Steve Walters said. “He didn’t like the name of that town from the start.”

Walters said he and his wife hoped Sandoval wouldn’t have to go into Iraq, “but he was ready to do what he needed to do and was proud to do it.”

News that his unit would go to Fallujah, where dozens of U.S. troops have died, worried Sandoval, his stepfather said.

“I think he kind of had some bad feelings like he might not come back. He told one of his cousins he might not live to be 25,” Walters said. “There was kind of a realization there that this was really serious. One of his instructors told him, ‘You have a 50/50 chance of coming home.’”

— Associated Press