Pfc. George D. Torres, U.S.M.C (KIA)

Long Beach Marine killed in Iraq is remembered

LONG BEACH - Funeral services were held this afternoon for a Marine from Long Beach killed in combat in Iraq.

Pfc. George D. Torres, 23, died Easter Sunday from enemy gunfire in Al Anbar Province.

He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton.

The fifth of six children, Torres joined the Marine Corps in March 2003. He had been overseas about a month.

Scores of people turned out to pay homage to the young man this afternoon. His tearful sister Olga said George was an amazing sibling.

"My brother was the baby of the family, but he was the bravest of all," she told ABC7. "We're proud of him. We have a lot of love. He left us with a big emptiness, but a big pride. He was an awesome brother."

Days after his family learned of his death, the Torres family received a letter from George, which has given them strength, his relatives told Channel 7.

"He taught how brave he was and that he was never afraid, and that being a Marine is to go out of the country to keep terrorists away from our country here, so we can sleep comfortable," Olga Torres said.

Following the chapel service, and after a military gun salute, Torres was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Long Beach.

Also today, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued statements of condolence to the families of two Southland soldiers who died in Iraq.

Army Staff Sgt. Victor A. Rosaleslomeli, 29, of Westminster, died April 13 when an improvised explosive device exploded near his escort vehicle.

Rosaleslomeli was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, based in Vilseck, Germany.

Sgt. Brian M. Wood, 21, of Torrance, died last Friday in Tikrit, when his military vehicle pulled off the road and apparently hit a mine while on patrol.

Wood was assigned to the Army's 9th Engineer Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, based in Schweinfurt, Germany.

Wood sent an e-mail less than 24 hours before his death saying he thought he was making a difference in Iraqi lives by helping locate and disarm mines.

His father said yesterday there had been 99 other "Brians" around the country so far this month, with families around America as heartbroken as the Woods for the loss of their loved ones.

The family said Brian had a sense of humor, that he jokingly complained about being unable to find Camel brand cigarettes, of all places, in the desert.

Flags at the Capitol are being flown at half staff in memory of all the California-based military personnel who have lost their lives in Iraq.