Iraq War anniversary: Remembering our fallen

This week marks the 10th anniversary of the beginning of the war in Iraq.

In the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, 729 California servicemen and servicewomen have been killed.

One of the first to die was Jose Garibay from Costa Mesa. In a letter to his girlfriend before he was killed March 23, 2003, he wrote: "We are freedom's answer to fear. We do not bargain with terror. We stalk it, corner it, take aim and kill it."

The Times in 2003 took an in-depth look into his life as part of a series on "Green Card Solders," miltary men who were not citizens of the United States:

The snapshot came straight from the deck of the Navy ship Ponce as it sailed toward Iraq.

He was wearing his Marine fatigues, shiny black boots and the baddest pair of sunglasses. With a pistol in his right hand, he had never looked so menacing.

Toshia Hooven, his girlfriend back home, wondered if it was all a charade.

Only two weeks earlier, on a car ride near Camp Lejeune, Jose Garibay had talked a mile a minute about dying. He had told Hooven he was having nightmares again about the fighting to come in Iraq. He had promised he'd keep his head down but told her that, if a bullet found him, he wanted his casket open.

She knew that all his life -- in a tiny village in Mexico, in his home in Costa Mesa and in the Marine camp in North Carolina where he was known as Gummi Bear -- he had taken on different personas as a way to get by.

Over the years, he had hidden his Mexican heritage, separating himself from his family to find his way in America. Like a chameleon, he had melted into the landscape of the other side.

Now, on the eve of battle, 22-year-old Jose had steeled himself with a new identity. "We are freedom's answer to fear," he wrote to Hooven. "We do not bargain with terror. We stalk it, corner it, take aim and kill it."

It was a voice she did not recognize.

On the fifth day of the war, he was in Nasiriyah and encountered a group of Iraqis pretending to be something they weren't. Caught by surprise in an ambush by enemy soldiers making gestures of surrender, Jose died with six other Marines.

The Orange County Register recently caught up with Garibay's mother on the 10th anniversary of his death:  "That war was unnecessary," she said.

You can read the stories of California' War Dead on The Times' page dedicated to them. Here is some data gleened from the pages:

Deaths by hometown

• San Diego 33 
• Los Angeles 29 
• Long Beach 14 
• San Jose 13
• Stockton 9

Deaths by high school

• Buchanan High (Clovis) 7 
• Hemet High (Hemet) 5 
• Simi Valley High (Simi Valley) 4 
• Leuzinger High (Lawndale) 4 

--Shelby Grad

Photo: Candles and flowers frame a picture of Jose Angel Garibay, 21, inside the living room of his mother's Costa Mesa home in 2003. Credit: Marc Martin / Los Angeles Times

Decision on Medal of Honor for San Diego Marine may be near

Eight years ago this week, Marine Sgt. Rafael Peralta of San Diego was killed in Iraq during the battle for Fallouja, the bloodiest house-to-house fighting involving Marines since Vietnam.

A dispute about whether Peralta, 25, a Mexican immigrant, deserves the Medal of Honor remains one of the last pieces of unfinished business from the U.S. involvement in Iraq.

The Marine Corps nominated Peralta for the Medal of Honor. But then-Defense Sec. Robert Gates in 2008 downgraded the award to the Navy Cross-–upsetting the Marines and Peralta’s family.

Now, Gates successor, Leon Panetta, appears on the verge of announcing the result of his review of Gates’ decision-–based on a video of the aftermath of the house-clearing mission in which Peralta was killed.

Whether Panetta will uphold or reverse Gates’ decision is unknown. Medal of Honor decisions are some of the most closely held secrets in the military.

The Marines who were with Peralta that day are unanimous in their view that, although he lay mortally wounded, he reached out and smothered an enemy grenade, saving the lives of several Marines.

But a pathologist report suggested Peralta was already clinically dead from friendly fire and could not have consciously smothered the grenade. For that reason, Gates declined to approve the Medal of Honor nomination.

But Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Alpine), who served in Iraq and Afghanistan as a Marine officer, believes the newly uncovered film shows Peralta’s body did not have the bruising that would be consistent with the pathologist’s view of how he died.

Hunter has persisted in pushing Panetta to review his predecessor’s decision. He believes Panetta’s decision will be announced within weeks.

“The only reasonable course of action, in light of his sacrifice and new evidence, is to award [Peralta] the military’s highest award for combat valor,” Hunter said Friday.

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Photo: Picture of Sgt. Rafael Peralta at the family home in San Diego. Credit: Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times.

Cross found in Northern California identified as the Mojave cross

Mojave National Preserve officials confirmed Wednesday that the cross found Monday on a roadside in Northern California once stood in the Mojave Desert.

Rangers at the preserve were helped in their identification by Henry Sandoz, who constructed and raised the seven-foot metal pipe cross in 1998 in violation of park regulations.

The cross sparked controversy in 1999, when a former National Park Service employee and the American Civil Liberties Union objected to its presence on federal land as a violation of the 1st Amendment.  After a series of court battles, the Supreme Court eventually took the case, and its ruling in 2010 led to a compromise would allow a cross to remain in the desert.

After the decision, however, thieves stole the cross. Despite a $25,000 reward, it was never recovered.

Sandoz was initially skeptical that the cross, which was found strapped to a fence post near Half Moon Bay, was the original. But according to park service spokeswoman Linda Slater, he was persuaded when told that it was partially filled with concrete.

Other conspicuous marks on the cross had been repaired, and deputies with the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office said the cross smelled of fresh paint.

A cross has been on the Mojave site -- about 10 miles south of Interstate 15 -- since 1934. The display, erected in honor of World War I veterans, had often been vandalized, and Sandoz, who believed he had an obligation to maintain the tradition, wanted to raise a cross that would be difficult to remove.

Since the U.S.  attorney's office has decided that the cross won't be needed as evidence, the National Park Service plans to return it to Sandoz, Slater said.

On Veterans Day, the Sandozes -- along with friends, supporters and a military honor guard -- plan to raise a new cross on the site, which is now owned by the California Veterans of Foreign Wars.

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Photo: Henry and Wanda Sandoz spend a moment in 2000 with the cross they erected at Sunrise Rock in the Mojave Desert. Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times

Army sergeant killed in Korean War finally to be laid to rest

This post has been corrected. See the note at the bottom for details

During an illustrious military career, U.S. Army Master Sgt. Clifford Ryan was awarded a Silver Star, two Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart. He was killed at age 27 in 1950 in a battle with Chinese forces in Unsan, North Korea. And there his body lay unrecovered for decades.

On Thursday morning, the flag-draped casket bearing his remains -- identified in early 2011 through DNA testing -- finally made it to Southern California. He is to be buried Saturday at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside.

Honor guards greeted the casket about 5:30 a.m. at LAX as it was unloaded in a solemn ceremony from a Delta Airlines jet from Honolulu. Ryan's grandson and great-grandson and dozens of volunteers from the Patriot Guard Riders, a motorcycle group that honors military dead, accompanied the casket to the Wiefels Mortuary in Palm Springs.

Born in Muscatine, Iowa, Ryan served with the 70th Tank Battalion, 24th Infantry Division, 1st Cavalry. He fought in Germany in World War II and then in June 1950 said goodbye to his pregnant wife and son and headed for Korea.

On Nov. 1, 1950, he was killed while guarding a bridge about 50 miles south of the Chinese border. The Army was unable to recover his remains at the time, and he was listed as missing in action.

In 2000, North Korean workers using a bulldozer to mine for gold found some bone clusters. They were sent to military facilities in Hawaii. In January 2011, Ryan's family learned that his remains had been identified through DNA testing at the forensics lab at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.

"I'm just glad it's over with and he's at rest," said Terry Ryan, 65, of Cathedral City, who was 4 when his father died. Burial was delayed while Terry Ryan dealt with health problems. His son Corie, 41, and grandson, Dyllon, 18, accompanied the remains on their journey from LAX.

They will be on hand Saturday for the burial, along with other family members, including Terry Ryan's wife, Pat, and sister, Deborah Cox, who was a month old when their father died. Also expected to attend is Helen Sambdman, 85, the soldier's widow, who remarried and lives in Westminster.

"We've never done a case like this," said Capt. Eli Rivera, the casualty assistance officer who has worked with the Ryan family and traveled with the casket.

[For the record, 7:23 p.m., Sept. 6: A previous version of this post said Ryan was 28. He was 27. The post also said he had a 12-year military career, a figure that cannot be verified.]

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Photo: Army Master Sgt. Clifford Ryan. Credit:  Courtesy of the Ryan family

Three Marines from Camp Pendleton killed in Afghanistan

Three Marines from Camp Pendleton were killed Friday in Afghanistan, the Department of Defense announced Monday.

The three were from the 1^st Marine Special Operations Battalion: Capt. Matthew P. Manoukian, 29,  of Los Altos Hills, Calif.; Gunnery Sgt. Ryan Jeschke, 31, of Herndon, Va; and Staff Sgt. Sky R. Mote, 27, of El Dorado, Calif.

Initial reports were that the three were gunned down by an Afghan police officer after being invited to an early morning meal in Helmand province. The police officer reportedly fled into the darkness.

All three Marines had served in Iraq before the current deployment to Afghanistan.

CALIFORNIA WAR DEAD: Military deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan, 2001-Present

In a separate so-called “green on blue” killing, in which someone wearing an Afghan uniform or working with coalition forces attacks U.S. or coalition personnel, three more Marines were killed Friday night, also in Helmand province.

Marine from Southern California killed in Afghanistan

A Marine from Southern California has been killed in combat in Afghanistan, the Department of Defense announced.

Cpl. Joshua Ashley, 23, of Rancho Cucamonga in San Bernardino County, was killed Thursday in Helmand province, a Taliban stronghold.

He was assigned to the 2nd Law Enforcement Battalion, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

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Marine from Twentynine Palms killed in Afghanistan

A Marine from Twentynine Palms has been killed in Afghanistan, the Department of Defense announced Tuesday.

Lance Cpl. Niall Cotisears, 23, of Arlington, Va., was killed Saturday in Helmand province. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, at Twentynine Palms.

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California's war dead: Military deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan, 2001-Present

--Tony Perry in San Diego

Marine from Camp Pendleton killed in Afghanistan

A Marine from Camp Pendleton has been killed in combat in Afghanistan, the Department of Defense announced Monday.

Pfc. Steven Stevens II, 23, of Detroit, was killed Friday in Helmand province. He was assigned to the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, from Camp Pendleton.

Stevens left for Afghanistan on March 21, a week before his son was born, according to a story in the Detroit Free Press.

Stevens attended Florida A&M on a swimming scholarship for two years before enlisting in the Marine Corps. This was his first deployment to Afghanistan. His body is set arrive tonight at Dover Air Force Base.

"We're spiritual people," Stevens' uncle, Dwight Akins, told the Free Press. "We just believe God will answer and God will take care of us."

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California's war dead: Military deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan, 2001-Present

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Marine from Camp Pendleton dies in Afghanistan

A Marine from Camp Pendleton has died in Afghanistan, the Department of Defense announced Saturday.

Cpl. Anthony Servin, 22, of Moreno Valley, died Friday in Helmand province. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, from Camp Pendleton.

The death is under investigation, the Department of Defense said. No details were released.

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Army officer from Southern California killed in Afghanistan

An Army officer from Southern California has been killed in Afghanistan, the Department of Defense announced Friday.

Capt. Scott Patrick Pace, 33, from the Imperial Valley city of Brawley, was killed when his helicopter was shot down by enemy fire Wednesday in Qarah Bagh in eastern Afghanistan.

Pace, a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, was the pilot of an OH-58D Kiowa, an armed reconnaissance helicopter. He had served two tours in Iraq.

DATABASE: California's War Dead

He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, from Fort Bragg, N.C.

"He was a coach's dream and a leader," Billy Brewer, athletic director at Brawley Union High, where Pace was on the basketball and swimming teams, told the Imperial Valley Press.

Also killed in the crash was 1st Lt. Mathew Fazzari, 25, of Walla Walla, Wash.

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Photo: Capt. Scott Patrick Pace. Credit: U.S. Army