LCpl. Manuel A. Ceniceros U.S.M.C (KIA)

SoCal Marine killed in Iraq

Monday, July 5, 2004

From The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES -- Marine Lance Cpl. Manuel A. Ceniceros was proud to serve as an infantryman on the front lines in Iraq, his family said.

"He said it's the best thing you can be in the military. He'd say, 'We're not there to push papers. We're actually there to help and fight," his wife, Elizabeth Ceniceros, 23, told the Los Angeles Times.

Manuel Ceniceros, 23, died June 26 while fighting in Iraq's Al Anbar province, officials said. He had been assigned to Headquarters Company, 1st Regimental Combat Team 1, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Pendleton.

Ceniceros, a longtime Santa Ana resident, joined the Marines in January 2000 and distinguished himself as a rifleman, his family said. For Ceniceros, an only child and painfully shy as a teenager, the military boosted his confidence and served as a second family after his father died.

"My husband, for most of his life, had never felt like he owned anything or stood for anything, because he was so quiet and so shy," Elizabeth Ceniceros said. "When he was in high school, he wasn't known for anything at all. But when he became a Marine, it was like he owned that."

He lived with his wife and her family in East Los Angeles before heading to Iraq in February. He hoped to buy a home when he returned and pay for a formal wedding, which the couple hadn't been able to afford when they married in December 2002.

Looking ahead, he thought of settling down in Santa Ana, starting a family and going to work for the police department, his wife said.

Ceniceros' personal awards included a Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal and the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.

A funeral was scheduled Tuesday at Our Lady of Solitude Catholic Church in East Los Angeles. Visitation was scheduled Monday at Guerra Gutierrez Mortuary in Los Angeles.

Ceniceros is also survived by his mother, Angela De La Cruz, his aunt, Stella Gallegos, and several cousins.