Posted on 04/16/2003 2:23:24 PM PDT by george wythe
HIALEAH -- A Marine from Florida died in an aircraft refueling accident in southern Iraq, the U.S. Defense Department said.
Cpl. Armando Ariel Gonzalez, 25, of Hialeah, was killed Monday when a commercial refueling truck collapsed as he worked beneath it, said Capt. Don Caetano, spokesman for the Marine Corps Air Station at Beaufort, S.C., where Gonzalez was based.
Gonzalez came to the United States from Cuba in 1995 and learned English at nearby Miami-Dade Community College, said his grieving father, Julio Orlando Gonzalez, 69. He had been a Marine for about 2-1/2 years.
"I'm very proud of him. He was serious, affectionate and responsible," said the father, breaking into tears during a telephone interview Tuesday. "He always hung out with his brother and me. Even after he married he always came around. He looked after me, his brother and his wife."
Gonzalez was married about seven months ago and his wife is four months pregnant, his father said.
A few hours before his death, Gonzalez talked to his wife from Iraq, his father said.
"He said that he felt good," Julio Gonzalez said. "Everything was going good."
Gonzalez was a driver assigned to Marine Wing Squadron 273, Marine Wing Support Group 27, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, stationed at Logistics Supply Area Viper in Iraq.
"This is our first casualty that we've had here at the air station and we're grieving," Caetano said.
It was unclear when his body would be sent home.
Michael
I've noticed that also.
It's really sad, especially leaving behind a pregnant wife.
May God Rest His Soul and Protect His Family
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