Michael J. Martinez, 24

Michael had the most comforting smile & he was the friendliest person I'd ever met.

Sgt. Martinez, I miss you. I know you're just looking down at me. I am trying to get better. You know me, I am still trying to recover. I almost give up. There's still so much thing going on with me. Anyway, you're always my team leader. You lead me the way to be the great soldier I could ever be. You were there for me, for the rest of our platoon and company. You did your very best. Thank you for everything that you've done. You are always remembered. We love you...

you were like a father and a big brother to me. you led me thru hard times in iraq. we miss you

i wish i can just hear your voice.....i miss you with everything i have...

i thank you for your services.. you are missed by many.. wish i could have met you..

"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."
John 15:13

I still vividly remember meeting Michael as a student in Kindergarten in 1987. He was a happy child who possessed a unique enthusiasm and excitement for playing and being active, a passion that translated well into sports and recreation throughout his childhood and teenage years. He always displayed a great optimism in school and in life. He was, above all, a friend to everyone. I enjoyed sharing classes with him and playing at his house on occasion. We remained friends through middle school, but lost touch after 1996 when attending different high schools. I wish that we had maintained our friendship over the years. Michael had a personality and demeanor that was unforgettable: one could not meet him and ever forget him. In the years since we parted, I wondered periodically how he was doing and where he was living.

In 2008, I learned how Michael's life violently ended. Each line of the year-old obituary shred my heart again and again as I read the words in stunned disbelief. It is difficult to imagine that his wonderful smile and laugh was brutally extinguished nearly 20 years after I first met him when we entered school. I still view him through my bright childhood lens: memories of football, basketball, and laughter compose my vision of him.

My prayers are with his family and son.

Michael, these years that have passed are the undone years, years that should have been yours with your family. I wish we could have laughed one more time. I wish we could have tossed a football around one more afternoon. You had a kind soul and a heart that was always in the right place.

I miss you, friend.

To his young son, Landon, if you read these words some day, I want you to know what a remarkable man your father was. He had all the qualities and characteristics to make a great daddy. He would have loved you forever and kept you safe.

Michael Martinez died June 28, 2007.

I lost an old friend that day.

His family lost a special man.

And Chula Vista lost a hero.

"Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat eis."

i remember when we were both in Iraq on seperate bases...we e-mailed each other...it felt good knowing your friend from home was with you...on this day like many others...your on my mind...

come back to us....we need to hear your voice once more

He was a good friend, had a blast playing basketball in the backyard. One day we will hangout again bro.

THANK YOU!!!!!!! For your sacrifice, words do little to describe our sincere gratitude. However, There is a hope for a future where such wonderful people will not have to die in the wars of the world. ISAIAH 2:4 And he will certainly render judgment among the nations and set matters straight respecting many nations and set matters straight respecting many peoples. And they will have to beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning shears. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war anymore....REV 21:3,4-"death will be no more"