Oscar Sanchez, a 19-year-old private first class, is the second Modestan to die during the war in Iraq.
ModBee.com A Modesto teenager serving in the Army was killed Wednesday when a series of suicide bombs exploded in Iraq.
Oscar Sanchez, a 19-year-old private first class, is the second Modestan to die during the war in Iraq.
The attack that killed Sanchez in Mosul came two days after the funeral for Modesto Marine Cpl. Michael Anderson Jr., 21.
Sanchez was in an observation outpost when, according to an Army spokesman, a suicide bomber drove up, detonating 1,500 pounds of explosives, followed by a blast from a second suicide bomber as help arrived.
The blasts injured 14 other soldiers, said Fort Lewis spokesman Dick Devlin. Sanchez's unit was based at the Washington state base south of Tacoma.
Friday would have been Sanchez's first wedding anniversary.
"I was hoping he would call," 19-year-old Tiffany Sanchez said. "Last time I talked to him was on Sunday. I told him I loved him and missed him. He was going to come home in February."
Instead, she spent the day making funeral arrangements.
Other family members spent the day sorting through his childhood pictures. They said he joined the Army because he wanted to get a good job and provide for his family.
"His hopes and dreams were always to take care of his brothers and of getting his things together," said a cousin, 30-year-old Stella Padilla. "A home for his father. A home for his brother."
Sanchez tended to his brothers
Tragedy first struck Sanchez at age 11, at a mobile home on Latimer Avenue where part of his family still lives.
His mother's boyfriend shot her to death in the carport in a murder-suicide, family members said. Sanchez was home at the time, said his brother's fiancée, Linda Garza, 20, who now lives there with him.
"His father raised him. He spoiled him. He tried to give him what he wanted. The shoes, the clothes, the skateboard," she said, but he wanted a better life. "He wanted to get a good job. To go to college. That was one of the reasons he went (into the Army) I think. Before he left, we said at least come back with one leg.
"We were just joking around. Now it's like … I don't know," her words trailing off.
Nearby, her 2-year-old son seemed quizzical about the silence. The young boy and Garza's 8-month-old daughter were favorites of Sanchez, Garza said.
They share the mobile home with two of Sanchez's brothers. The youngest, 12, has lived with Padilla and an aunt since the shooting.
Sanchez was always quiet, she said. But when it came to his brothers, he was always there — particularly for the youngest and oldest, who is 25 and has Down syndrome.
"He was so close. He was pretty much a father to both the boys, starting when he was only 14 or 15 years old," Padilla said.
Sanchez joined the military after graduating from the Stanislaus County alternative education program in August 2003.
The next month, he went to basic training and advanced individual training at Fort Benning, Ga. He was assigned in October 2003 to Fort Lewis.
Tiffany Sanchez said the couple had dated since shortly after they met at her neighbor's house when they were 13.
She returned to stay with her family in Salida when he was sent to Iraq.
"We were saving up to buy a house," Sanchez said. "When he came back, we wanted to buy a house, and last year we didn't have a honeymoon, so we were going to go on a cruise. We thought probably the Bahamas or Hawaii, somewhere beachy. It really didn't matter, as long as we had a good time and we were together."
He arrived in Iraq in October
He left in October as part of the Stryker Brigade Combat Team, a brigade of 3,700. The brigade uses high-tech, $2.5 million vehicles designed for maneuverabil-ity over any terrain and rapid deployment.
Six brigade members were killed in a suicide attack Dec. 21 in a cafeteria in Mosul. After that, Sanchez called home to say he was safe.
"He just wanted to let us know he was OK," Garza said.
Devlin, the base spokesman, said Sanchez will be posthumously awarded a Bronze Star, given for valor or service, a Purple Heart and a Good Conduct Medal.
A service will be held Sunday in Iraq, Tiffany Sanchez said. His body is to be flown to Fort Lewis on Monday or Tuesday, and a service will be held there. Local services have not been set.