{"article":{"id":163850,"heading":"Local Marine, Salvador Guerrero, Killed in Iraq","author":"DJ","created":"2006-06-14 05:27:12","modified":"2013-11-11 00:40:53","last_modified":"Mon, 11 Nov 2013 08:40:53","article":"

Whittier Daily News

Marine told mother he was safe in Japan, not at war in Iraq

By Sandy Mazza Staff Writer



WHITTIER - The last time Rosa Guerrero saw her son Salvador, he was boarding a plane in his Marines dress uniform and taking long last looks at her.

He left Rosa with a kiss that day about three months ago from Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms en route to Iraq. Watching him board the plane, she longed for the day he would come back.

On Friday, three Marine officers visited Rosa at her Whittier home, and told her that her son, Marine Lance Cpl. Salvador Guerrero, 21, died in combat in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Before Friday, Rosa didn't know her son was stationed in Iraq. He told her he was training in Japan, because he didn't want to worry her, said his aunt Maria Vega.

When he called home, he told her that he was training - not fighting guerrilla insurgents.

\"He would call and say `Mom I'm really tired, I just got back from training',\" Vega said. \"He'd say `Mom, I just have a few months to go before I come home. Every day is going by so fast'.\"

Guerrero was an ammunition man assigned to the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, Marine Expeditionary Force, in June 2005, according to Twentynine Palms Spokeswoman 1st Lt. Christy Kercheval. Guerrero dreamed of being in the military from a young age, said Vega. After graduating from Frontier High School in 2003, he tried to enlist but was turned away because of his weight.

At about 250 pounds, Guerrero set out to lose nearly 100 pounds so he could enlist. After months of running and working out at a gym, he reached about 170 pounds and was accepted by the Marines, said Vega.

\"After he went in the Marines, it was a complete transformation for him,\" said Vega. \"He worked out at the gym and went running. That's how hard he wanted to be in.\"

Even the grueling, rigid training he received at boot camp was a joy, said Vega.

He called his mother crying from boot camp one day - not because he wanted to leave, but because he wanted to stay.

\"I may not stay here,\" he told her. The Marines said a tattoo he had of an angel was controversial, and worried it might be gang related.

\"That's good,\" she said, relieved her son might come home.

\"No, it's not,\" he said, worried that his dream of being in the military might soon end. After an investigation, the tattoo was found to be harmless, said Vega.

\"If he would have been sent back, that would have been such a disaster for him,\" said Vega.

Guerrero, who was nicknamed Junior, took comfort in the small things that reminded him of home while he was away.

He loved attending a Catholic church at the base, said Vega.

While in the military, Guerrero was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Medal and the Sea Service Deployment ribbon, according to Kercheval.

Guerrero is the sixth person from the area who has died in Operation Iraqi Freedom since 2003.

He is survived by his mother Rosa, his father Salvador, his 16-year-old brother Rudolpho, and an extended family.

sandy.mazza@sgvn.com<\/a>

(562) 698-0955, Ext. 3026



Copyright © 2006 Los Angeles Newspaper Group <\/p>\n","contact":"","link":"http:\/\/www.whittierdailynews.com\/news\/ci_3929923","address":"","phone":"","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","summary":"Marine Lance Cpl. Salvador Guerrero, 21, died in combat in Al Anbar province, Iraq, June 9, 2006.","numcomment":7,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/2006\/06\/salvador_guerrero.jpg","filesize":"30.0 kibibytes","article_url":"\/news\/2006\/06\/163850.php","image":{"original":"\/uploads\/2006\/06\/salvador_guerrero.jpg","small":"\/uploads\/2006\/06\/salvador_guerrero.jpgthumb.jpg","medium":"\/uploads\/2006\/06\/salvador_guerrero.jpgmid.jpg"}},"attachments":[],"comments":[{"id":165348,"heading":"LA Times Article","article":"From the Los Angeles Times\r\nMILITARY DEATHS\r\nMarine Lance Cpl. Salvador Guerrero, 21, Whittier; Killed by Bomb in Iraq\r\nBy Patrick McGreevy\r\nTimes Staff Writer\r\n\r\nJune 18, 2006\r\n\r\nIntent on sparing his mother from worrying, Marine Lance Cpl. Salvador Guerrero told her during his regular calls home from Iraq that he was training in Japan and would be home soon.\r\n\r\nBut last week, three Marines in uniform arrived on Rosa Guerrero's doorstep in Whittier to tell her that her son had been killed in combat June 9 west of Baghdad.\r\n\r\nHe had been in Iraq since March, she learned.\r\n\r\nGuerrero, 21, was killed in Al Anbar province when the Humvee he was driving was struck in the explosion of a roadside bomb, said his aunt, Maria Vega.\r\n\r\nHe was an ammunition specialist assigned to the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force in Twentynine Palms, Calif.\r\n\r\nThat Guerrero had tried to shield his mother from the harsh reality of his assignment was no surprise to friends and relatives, who described the soldier as a quiet aspiring artist who loved adventure and was close to his family.\r\n\r\n"He knew his mother would worry too much if she knew he was in Iraq," said girlfriend Laura Almanza, who along with Guerrero's other family members knew his true location.\r\n\r\nVega described her sister's son as "very funny, very likable. He was kind of quiet and very shy, but once he got to know you he was great."\r\n\r\nGuerrero, known by the nickname "Junior" to distinguish him from his father, also named Salvador Guerrero, was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Whittier.\r\n\r\nHe attended Pioneer and Frontier high schools, where his artistic skills blossomed. "He loved to draw animals and people," Vega said.\r\n\r\nGuerrero's talent led him to enroll after high school in animation classes at Westwood College in Anaheim, where he earned straight A's, before shifting to classes focusing on graphic design, said Bob Peterson, a program director at the school.\r\n\r\nGuerrero told relatives that he was thinking of returning to classes, and a possible career in animation, when his military service was over, Vega said.\r\n\r\nWhen he was not in class, Guerrero earned a paycheck driving a United Parcel Service truck, Almanza said.\r\n\r\nGuerrero also liked adventure and excitement \u2014 his favorite movie genre was horror. That thrill-seeking side also had him considering the idea of becoming a police officer when he left the military, Almanza said.\r\n\r\nThe adrenalin rush that made police work attractive to Guerrero also had played a big part in his decision to enlist in the military last year.\r\n\r\n"In some of his letters from Iraq, he would get mad because nothing was going on," Almanza said. "He liked the thrill of going there."\r\n\r\nGuerrero had been fascinated by the military since he was a young boy and went to extraordinary lengths to join the Marine Corps.\r\n\r\nGuerrero was still living at home with his parents in Whittier when he enlisted, and his first application to the Marines was rejected because he was overweight, Vega said.\r\n\r\nUndeterred, Guerrero buckled down, hitting the gym, running and dieting until he dropped from 250 pounds to 170, Vega said.\r\n\r\nHe reapplied to the Marines and was accepted. But, shortly after arriving at boot camp, his superiors raised questions about the tattoo of an angel that Guerrero had on one arm.\r\n\r\nInitial concerns that it might be gang-related were dispelled and the military let him stay after military officials confirmed that the angel was religious in nature \u2014 a depiction of St. Michael.\r\n\r\nA grandmother had given Guerrero a prayer card with St. Michael to take with him into the military for protection and, concerned that he might lose it, he had the image tattooed on his arm, family members said.\r\n\r\nThe tattoo was a symbol of Guerrero's Catholic faith, and he attended Mass whenever possible, even while he was in Iraq, Vega said.\r\n\r\nGuerrero was introduced to Almanza by mutual friends, and the couple were planning to wed, she said.\r\n\r\nAlmanza said she was attracted to Guerrero from the first time they met.\r\n\r\n"He was very sweet. He was a complete gentleman," she said. "He had very, very good morals."\r\n\r\nIn his last phone call home, the Monday before he was killed, Guerrero told Almanza that his seven-month deployment might be shortened and that she should start making plans for them to attend a Marine Ball in November.\r\n\r\n"He was excited that he might come home early," she said.\r\n\r\nAlthough his military career was short, Guerrero won awards, including the National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and Sea Service Deployment ribbon.\r\n\r\nIn addition to his parents, Guerrero is survived by a brother, Rodolfo, 16.\r\n\r\nFuneral arrangements are being handled by White Emerson Mortuary in Whittier.\r\n\r\nCopyright 2006 Los Angeles Times","author":"DJ","parent_id":163850,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2006-06-20 05:15:06","modified":"2013-11-11 00:41:09","fileurl":""},{"id":165407,"heading":"AP Article","article":"LA Marine killed in Iraq tried to keep mom from worrying\r\n\r\nAssociated Press\r\n\r\nLOS ANGELES - Marine Lance Cpl. Salvador Guerrero didn't want his mom to worry, so he told her he was training in Japan - not deployed in Iraq.\r\n\r\nLast week, three Marines in uniform arrived on Rosa Guerrero's doorstep in Whittier, telling her that her son had been killed in combat June 9 west of Baghdad. Guerrero had been in Iraq since March.\r\n\r\nThe 21-year-old was killed in Al Anbar province when the Humvee he was driving was struck in the explosion of a roadside bomb.\r\n\r\nThat Guerrero had tried to shield his mother from his assignment was no surprise to friends and relatives, who described him as a quiet aspiring artist who loved adventure and was close to his family.\r\n\r\n"He knew his mother would worry too much if she knew he was in Iraq," said girlfriend Laura Almanza, who along with Guerrero's other family members knew his true location.\r\n\r\nGuerrero's aunt, Maria Vega, described his as "very funny, very likable. He was kind of quiet and very shy, but once he got to know you he was great."\r\n\r\nGuerrero was an ammunition specialist assigned to the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force in Twentynine Palms.\r\n\r\nIn his last phone call home, Guerrero told Almanza that his seven-month deployment might be shortened and that she should start making plans for them to attend a Marine Ball in November.\r\n\r\n"He was excited that he might come home early," she said.\r\n\r\nIn addition to his parents, Guerrero was survived by a 16-year-old brother. Funeral arrangements were pending.","author":"DJ","parent_id":163850,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2006-06-20 20:26:51","modified":"2006-06-20 20:26:51","fileurl":""}]}