Fallen Marine mourned

A 19-year-old Marine from American Canyon, who was killed Friday in Iraq, was remembered as a hero, said his mother, Mimie West.

Lance Cpl. Phillip G. West, who was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force out of Camp Pendleton, was killed in Anbar province, which borders Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

Another Marine was killed Friday in Anbar province, according to the Associated Press; Lance Cpl. Dimitrios Gavriel, 29, of New York was assigned to 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Two other members of West's unit were killed recently in Anbar province. Lance Cpl. Luis A. Figueroa, 21, of Los Angeles was killed Thursday. Lance Cpl. Michael W. Hanks, 22, of Gregory, Mich., was killed Wednesday.

A U.S. soldier was killed in an ambush Saturday in Baghdad.

"My son was a hero," said Mimie West. "He saved many of his (fellow) Marines. He joined the Marines because he was proud and he wanted to join the best."

Phillip West was a graduate of Vintage High School in Napa, where he played football for two years. He also worked as a lifeguard for two years.

"He truly loved everything he did," Mimie West said. "I can't tell you how many friends he had. He loved life to the limit."

Her son joined the Marines, Mimie West said, because "he didn't want America to be terrorized."

"He was an awesome young man, absolutely awesome," Mimie West said. "He was proud to be a Marine, and we're proud of him."

Lance Cpl. West is survived by his parents, Edward and Mimie West of American Canyon; his younger brother and sister, Kyle, 15, and Megan, 14; and his grandparents Alton and Janie West of