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LCpl. Eric Valdepenas

(reprinted from Boston.com, September 7, 2006)

Tears, anger for Marine's family

Seekonk reservist remembered for leadership, sense of duty

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff  |  September 7, 2006

SEEKONK -- Standing side-by-side yesterday in a corner of their backyard, the family of a 21-year-old Marine reservist killed in Iraq spoke tearfully of his accomplishments in lacrosse, his affection for fast food, and his deep sense of duty for his country.

``I miss my son. He was supposed to come back in a month," said Jesus Bernal Valdepeņas, who turned 70 yesterday, his body shaking as one of his daughters placed her hand on his shoulder.

Lance Corporal Eric P. Valdepeņas , who had been studying engineering at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, was killed Monday with two others when the patrol vehicle in which he was the machine gunner hit a roadside bomb in Fallujah. His unit arrived in late March in Fallujah, one of the most dangerous cities in Iraq, and was scheduled to return to the United States late next month.

As Bernal Valdepeņas stepped back to retake his place alongside his family, his daughter Edna-Anne Valdepeņas stepped forward and said tersely, ``The US government's orders are oppressive and unjust. This loss tears at the fabric of my being."

The family offered no further comment about their opinion of the Iraq war or what they thought when Eric, the youngest of eight children, joined the Marine Reserves.

In the backyard, next to the family, was a long table, covered with items that the Marine had accumulated during his life. On display were two basketball trophies, baseball cards, books, a toy airplane, and newspaper clippings detailing his standout lacrosse career with Bishop Thomas F. Hendricken High School , a small all-boys Catholic school in Warwick, R.I. Eric graduated in 2003, after helping his team win the state championship his junior year.

Vincent Mancuso , principal at Hendricken, said Valdepeņas always displayed a curiosity for world events and a natural ability to lead.

``I was actually his teacher in 10th grade, in a class called World and US History. From the start, he seemed to have a deep sense of the importance of world events," Mancuso said. ``He understood how events far away could have a deep impact on people back at home."

Valdepeņas enrolled at UMass Amherst in the fall of 2003, and had finished about a year and a half before his unit, the First Battalion, 25th Marines, based in Devens, was called to active duty. On a cold afternoon last December, Valdepeņas, living in an apartment in East Providence with a childhood friend, got a call from his Marine gunnery sergeant.

``After he got off that phone, he came up to me and said he was headed to Iraq," said Dan Pita , 22, his former roommate. ``That night we celebrated."