LibertyUnites • Tributes
Derek L Gardner
Profile
Name: Marine Lance Cpl. Derek L. Gardner
Age: 20
From: San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
Assigned to Headquarters Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Incident: Marine Lance Cpl. Derek L. Gardner was killed Sept. 6 due to enemy action in Anbar province, Iraq.
Died: September 06, 2004
Age: 20
From: San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
Assigned to Headquarters Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Incident: Marine Lance Cpl. Derek L. Gardner was killed Sept. 6 due to enemy action in Anbar province, Iraq.
Died: September 06, 2004
In the year before his deployment to Iraq, Derek L. Gardner moved in with his girlfriend, April Ornelas. On Christmas Eve, he asked her to marry him when he returned from overseas. "One of the things he said before he left was, 'This isn't goodbye sweetheart, this is hello to our new beginning,'" said Ornelas, 18. The 20-year-old motor vehicle operator from San Juan Capistrano, Calif., was killed Sept. 6 by a car bomb in Iraq's Anbar province. He was stationed at Camp Pendleton, Calif. A pro wrestling fan, Gardner came from a military family. A great-grandfather fought in World War I, his grandfathers served in Korea and World War II, and his father was a Marine in Vietnam. "He was a proud Marine," Vickey De Lacour said of her son....
Occupation
Headquarters Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Incident
Marine Lance Cpl. Derek L. Gardner was killed Sept. 6 due to enemy action in Anbar province, Iraq.
Prayers & Messages
Derek L Gardner
2008-04-09
May the grace of God, the love of Jesus, and the peace of the Holy Spirit be with you and your family forever.