Marine Cpl. John M. Longoria
Death: Nov 14, 2005
of Nixon Texas; assigned to Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion 1st Marine Regiment 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit I Marine Expeditionary Force Camp Pendleton Calif.; attached to 2nd Marine Division II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward); Died Nov. 14 of wounds sustained from small arms fire while conducting combat operations against enemy forces during Operation Steel Curtain in New Ubaydi Iraq. Marine remembered as foster care success story The Associated Press CORPUS CHRISTI Texas — A 21-year-old Marine mostly raised in foster care was remembered by his former caseworker as a positive child despite some hard times and shuffling around different families. Cpl. John M. Longoria was serving his second tour of duty in Iraq when he was killed Nov. 14 in New Ubaydi Iraq during Operation Steel Curtain military officials said. Funeral services were Nov. 23 in Nixon. His former Child Protective Services caseworker Linda Garcia considers Longoria one her most memorable success stories during her years as a caseworker. “He was always very happy” Garcia said in Thursday’s online editions of the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. “He always had a smile on his face even through hard times.” Longoria lived with foster families growing up and was adopted by a family in Nixon when he was a teenager. Garcia said he had two biological brothers and a sister that he loved very much. Born in Corpus Christi Longoria attended Menger Elementary School and Nixon-Smiley High School where he was a football player. He had thought of becoming a sniper with the Marines said Texas A&M University-Kingsville freshman Kayla Elkins who attended high school with Longoria. “He loved it” Elkins said. “He came back from his first tour of duty in Iraq and told everybody how much he loved being in the military.” Longoria is survived by his foster parents Joseph and Pauline Villanueva; his fiancee Cynthia Croft; four sisters and six brothers. He was assigned to Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion 1st Marine Regiment 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit I Marine Expeditionary Force from Camp Pendleton Calif. Operation Iraqi Freedom