Silva had taken her daughter to the bus station Friday when three men in military uniform
arrived at her Chula Vista apartment to deliver the news about her son.
"It never even entered my mind that they were here because something happened to
Erik," said Vicki Smith, who lives next door to Gloria Silva. She called Silva on her
cell phone.
"I didn't know what to tell her. So I told her that my husband was going away on a
trip, and that I needed her here," Smith said.
For the next two hours, the three officials patiently waited inside a government-issue
Ford Explorer in front of Silva's apartment building. When she arrived and saw the
vehicle's government plates, Silva dashed out of her car, crying.
"She knew they were here because something had happened to Erik."
Smith said her friend has been in seclusion since Friday in El Centro, where her family is
comforting her while she awaits the return of her son's body.
On Monday, a large U.S. flag was draped over the balcony of Gloria Silva's apartment.
Smith said Erik Silva is survived by two brothers in addition to his sister.
"He was the perfect child that every mother wanted," Smith said. "He didn't
smoke or drink and he loved his mother."
Cpl. Eric Silva, U.S.M.C (KIA)