Marine Lance Cpl. Ruben Valdez Jr.
Death: Apr 17, 2004
" of San Diego Texas; assigned to 3rd Battalion 7th Marine Regiment 1st Marine Division I Marine Expeditionary Force at Twentynine Palms Calif.; killed April 17 by enemy action in Anbar province Iraq. When Lance Cpl. Ruben Valdez Jr. returned to his hometown last fall to marry a childhood playmate the residents of San Diego Texas gave him a parade cheering him as he rode in the back of a convertible. ""He was always behaved had a lot of friends just a pleasant boy to be around said Luis Pizzini the principal of San Diego High School where Valdez graduated in 2001. He remembered the Marine as a respectful young man"" and ""an excellent son."" The 21-year-old was killed April 17 in a hostile attack in Iraq's Anbar province. He was stationed at Twentynine Palms Calif. School secretary Connie Perez remembered how as a first-grader Valdez was too shy to step off the school bus unless she held his hand. ""Ruben was just a sweet goodhearted boy said Lala Perez whose daughter went to school with the Marine. Valdez grew up on the same block as Spc. Jose Amancio Perez III killed May 28 in a convoy ambush. The childhood friends were buried steps apart. — Associated Press"