Rialto Soldier, Two Weeks From Visiting Home, Killed in Iraq.(The Press Enterprise 070906)

Tragic story, I pray for the family!! It is hard for me to think about the Santos Family, I lost my brother years ago. It was not anything as noble as a war effort, but a loss is a loss and the feeling is still the same. It all boils down to why!! Why now, why did it have to be him or her? Why did the good lord or savior have to call upon this person when he did? when those questions are answered you will be meeting the person that took your family member and then the questions of Why, will be answered!!

God Bless, the Santos Family for the loss of their Son!! He died a Hero in my book, and that is what counts to me!!

You are in my heart always!!

BSRanch...

Rialto soldier, two weeks from visiting home, killed in Iraq

The Associated Press

RIALTO

Army Cpl. Luis D. Santos was two weeks from coming home for a brief stint when he was killed in a roadside bombing in Iraq.

The 20-year-old soldier from Rialto died June 8 in Buhriz, northeast of Baghdad. He had been scheduled to begin a two-week vacation June 23 and was looking forward to a party celebrating his return and the high school graduation of his brother, Eric.

"Just got to stay alive till next month," Santos wrote in a blog entry on MySpace.com.

Santos, who ran track, enlisted in 2004 after graduating from Fontana High School. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division at Ft. Carson, Colo.

His parents, Irma and Carlos, had emigrated from Guatemala and were hoping their son would choose college instead.

"We were not that thrilled (at his enlistment), but at the same time we were proud the first in the family to join the military," his mother said. "This country gave us so much."

After spending several months in Iraq, Santos wrote, "There is so much that could happen to me here. How long must I wait to go home? How long must I wait to get seriously hurt? How long must I wait to marry my girlfriend?"

The couple had hoped to start planning their wedding in November after the end of his tour in Iraq, said fiancee Vanessa Mota.

She had planned to surprise him with a scrapbook of photographs, with the last page dedicated to their wedding and featuring cutouts of a cake and dress. The page included the caption: "And they lived happily ever after."

Published: Sunday, July 9, 2006 12:20 PDT