Family mourns Camp Pendleton Marine killed in Iraq

By: Associated Press

LOS ANGELES -- Pfc. Geoffrey Perez fulfilled a childhood dream when he joined the Marines. "He was so proud of the military. He was always singing the Marine Corps hymn," said his sister Lidia Perez.

Geoffrey Perez, 24, of Los Angeles, died Aug. 15 of injuries suffered in action in Iraq's volatile Anbar province. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force based at Camp Pendleton.

Blanca Riaheta de Perez said her son was upbeat and aspired to become an actor. "He wanted to make movies and be like Jean-Claude Van Damme," she said.

He was also a "party person," said Lidia Perez, the kind of person whose cheery demeanor could light up a room.

Before he left for Iraq earlier this year, Lidia Perez shared with her brother lessons gleaned when she served with the Navy in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"It's very different over there," she advised him. "We don't know the land and the culture. Be careful. Keep your eyes open and watch your back."

"I'll be back," Geoffrey Perez promised her at the time.

"But he's not," Lidia Perez said.

Besides his parents and three sisters, Geoffrey Perez is survived by a 19-month-old son, Jonathan Jesus Perez. Mass was to have been held Saturday at St. Vincent Catholic Church in Los Angeles.