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LCpl. Jesus Suarez de Solar, U.S.M.C (KIA)
ERIN MASSEY and JENNIFER KABBANY
Staff Writers
ESCONDIDO ---- Growing up in Tijuana, Jesus Suarez de Solar spent most of his childhood longing to be a U.S. Marine, pretending to slay the enemy soldier in the mirror, his grieving father said Saturday.
Although the 20-year-old achieved his dream and enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2001, the lance corporal's life was cut short this week on the battlefields of Iraq, another casualty in the war against Saddam Hussein.
Jesus is survived by his 20-year-old wife, Sayne, and a 16-month-old son named Erik, as well as his parents and siblings.
"He knew he was running a risk (serving in Iraq)," said his father, Fernando Suarez de Solar, as a stream of family and friends came tearfully to the door of his Escondido apartment on Saturday. "But he wanted to give his son a country free of terrorism."
Two Marines showed up at Suarez's door early Friday morning with the news of Jesus' death. They had no other details, such as how and where he died, the father said, adding that he would have preferred the Marines had sent his son's body home first. He was told to expect the body in nine days.
"Why don't they wait until my son is back here before they tell us?" he said of the Marines. "That way, the pain would be less. Now we have to wait nine days to see him. My wife and everybody is (doing) badly."
The family spent Friday and Saturday at home, consoling one another, talking to friends and reporters. There are no plans so far for a memorial, Suarez said.
Jesus came with his parents and two sisters to Escondido in 1997, Suarez said. He said he came to the United States solely because of his son's desire to be a Marine. Looking back, Suarez blames himself for his son's demise.
"This never would have happened if I didn't come to this country," Suarez said, his face strained with grief. "It's all my fault, its all my fault."
But Suarez is also angry, saying that he has seen no proof from President Bush of the need for war.
"President Bush hasn't shown that this war is necessary," he said. "He has shown that this war is for the U.S. to have the oil."
But when asked what Jesus thought about the war, Suarez replied his son, who was with the 1st Marine Division based at Camp Pendleton, felt it was justified.
Friends and family remembered Jesus as an outgoing, chatty man who loved wrestling and lifting weights. He attended San Pasqual High School before finishing his education at Valley High School, said his father.
Contact staff writer Erin Massey at (760) 740-5416 or emassey@nctimes.com. Contact staff writer Jennifer Kabbany at (760) 901-4053 or jkabbany@nctimes.com.