thedrifter
05-05-08, 07:00 AM
'Our hero' killed by bomb in Iraq
Monte Vista man enlisted after earning 2 degrees
By John C. Ensslin
Originally published 09:38 p.m., May 4, 2008
Updated 11:53 p.m., May 4, 2008
Ron Martinez knew something was wrong when he heard the two dogs barking from their kennel on his property in Monte Vista.
He looked out the door and saw two uniformed Marines and a pair of sheriff's deputies.
He knew why they had come.
"My whole world stopped," Martinez said Sunday. "I didn't want to open the door. But I knew I had to."
The officers were there to inform Martinez and his wife, Carol, that their 31-year-old son, Glen, a Marine sergeant based in Fallujah, Iraq, had been killed Friday by a roadside bomb. He was on his second tour of duty in Iraq.
His wife, Melissa Sue Martinez, also a Marine sergeant assigned to Fallujah, will accompany her husband's body to Monte Vista, where services are pending.
Three other Marines also were killed in the blast. The military has not officially released the names of the dead.
According to iCasualties.org, there have been 4,066 confirmed U.S. troop deaths in Iraq, including 57 identified as from Colorado.
"Glen was our hero," his father said Sunday. "He made us very proud because he always did the best he could."
Born in Alamosa, Martinez grew up in Monte Vista. He was quarterback of the Monte Vista football team for three years. He also competed in the state wrestling tournament three times.
He attended Ottawa University in Ottawa, Kan., on a baseball and academic scholarship, where he obtained degrees in math and land surveying.
After graduation, Martinez had been living in Boulder when he told his family that he planned to enlist in the Marines.
"He said, 'I'm tired of listening to people talking down my country. I want to do something positive,' " his father recalled.
"It baffled me. Here he's got these two degrees. I asked him why," the elder Martinez added. "He said, 'It's something I've got to do.' "
While training at Camp Pendleton in California, Martinez met his future wife one night while they were digging holes, his father recalled.
"Dad, I met this chick," the elder Martinez recalled his son saying the next day.
"Well, what does she look like?" the father asked.
"I don't know, but we talked all night," his son said.
Later, Glen Martinez recognized her voice when they were in the mess hall. As it turned out, she was from Denver.
The couple were married on a California beach in February 2006, 10 days before they were first deployed to Iraq. Glen Martinez and Melissa Sue Martinez renewed their vows Dec. 28, 2007, in a formal ceremony in Golden.
Two other troops with ties to Colorado were reported killed in Iraq last week.
Sgt. 1st Class Lawrence Ezell, 30, of Portland, Texas, died Wednesday in Baghdad of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit. Ezell was assigned to the 71st Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group at Fort Carson.
Spc. Ronald J. Tucker, 21, of Fountain, also died Wednesday after the vehicle he was riding in was hit by a roadside bomb in Baghdad.
Ellie
Monte Vista man enlisted after earning 2 degrees
By John C. Ensslin
Originally published 09:38 p.m., May 4, 2008
Updated 11:53 p.m., May 4, 2008
Ron Martinez knew something was wrong when he heard the two dogs barking from their kennel on his property in Monte Vista.
He looked out the door and saw two uniformed Marines and a pair of sheriff's deputies.
He knew why they had come.
"My whole world stopped," Martinez said Sunday. "I didn't want to open the door. But I knew I had to."
The officers were there to inform Martinez and his wife, Carol, that their 31-year-old son, Glen, a Marine sergeant based in Fallujah, Iraq, had been killed Friday by a roadside bomb. He was on his second tour of duty in Iraq.
His wife, Melissa Sue Martinez, also a Marine sergeant assigned to Fallujah, will accompany her husband's body to Monte Vista, where services are pending.
Three other Marines also were killed in the blast. The military has not officially released the names of the dead.
According to iCasualties.org, there have been 4,066 confirmed U.S. troop deaths in Iraq, including 57 identified as from Colorado.
"Glen was our hero," his father said Sunday. "He made us very proud because he always did the best he could."
Born in Alamosa, Martinez grew up in Monte Vista. He was quarterback of the Monte Vista football team for three years. He also competed in the state wrestling tournament three times.
He attended Ottawa University in Ottawa, Kan., on a baseball and academic scholarship, where he obtained degrees in math and land surveying.
After graduation, Martinez had been living in Boulder when he told his family that he planned to enlist in the Marines.
"He said, 'I'm tired of listening to people talking down my country. I want to do something positive,' " his father recalled.
"It baffled me. Here he's got these two degrees. I asked him why," the elder Martinez added. "He said, 'It's something I've got to do.' "
While training at Camp Pendleton in California, Martinez met his future wife one night while they were digging holes, his father recalled.
"Dad, I met this chick," the elder Martinez recalled his son saying the next day.
"Well, what does she look like?" the father asked.
"I don't know, but we talked all night," his son said.
Later, Glen Martinez recognized her voice when they were in the mess hall. As it turned out, she was from Denver.
The couple were married on a California beach in February 2006, 10 days before they were first deployed to Iraq. Glen Martinez and Melissa Sue Martinez renewed their vows Dec. 28, 2007, in a formal ceremony in Golden.
Two other troops with ties to Colorado were reported killed in Iraq last week.
Sgt. 1st Class Lawrence Ezell, 30, of Portland, Texas, died Wednesday in Baghdad of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit. Ezell was assigned to the 71st Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group at Fort Carson.
Spc. Ronald J. Tucker, 21, of Fountain, also died Wednesday after the vehicle he was riding in was hit by a roadside bomb in Baghdad.
Ellie