Friday, March 26, 2004

Marine Pfc. Leroy Sandoval, Jr.

Remember Our Heroes

Marine Pfc. Leroy Sandoval, Jr., 21, of Houston, Texas.

Pfc Sandoval died due to hostile fire in the Al Anbar Province, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, California.

Pfc Sandoval joined the Marines in May 2003. 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.”

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

Sandoval graduated from Harvest Christian Academy in Pasadena, a private school, in 2000. More than 200 classmates, friends and school staffers remembered Sandoval during a memorial service.

“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.”

Marine Pfc Leroy Sandoval was killed in action on 03/26/04.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I am Leroy's Step-father. This report comes out of many things from the media and from official reports. For instance an example from the media...It was "We" not "He" that didn't like the name of the city he was going into.

One thing I noticed: "Pfc. Sandoval died due to hostile fire" is only a small part of the story. In real truth from actual accounts, Leroy gave back plenty of return fire, by himself, to help provide covering fire for fellow Marines durning an enemy ambush. Leroy died from fatal bullet wounds shortly after this encounter because of this.

When it was all over, Leroy's last words on this Earth were in asking if everyone was alright. These are the true actions of a selfless Hero and a great Marine!