Juan C. Venegas
Profile
Age: 21
From: Simi Valley, Calif.
Assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif. attached to Regimental Combat Team 8, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force
Incident: Lance Cpl. Juan C. Venegas was killed April 7 in a vehicle accident while conducting combat operations in Anbar province, Iraq.
Died: April 07, 2005
Simi Valley Marine killed in Iraq
Associated Press
SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — A 21-year-old Marine who dreamed of becoming a professional boxer was killed in a vehicle accident in Iraq.
Lance Cpl. Juan C. Venegas died Thursday in Iraq’s Anbar province, according to the Defense Department. At the time of his death, Venegas was on his second tour of duty in Iraq.
“He was unstoppable to me, like a machine. I really looked up to him,” Venegas’ 19-year-old sister, Erica, told the Ventura County Star. She said her brother wanted to become firefighter when he returned from the war and dreamed of becoming a boxer.
Venegas was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Twentynine Palms, Calif.
Venegas is the fourth Simi Valley resident to die in Iraq. Army Spc. Michael A. DiRaimondo, 22, died Jan. 8, 2004 Marine Cpl. Christopher A. Gibson, 23, died...