Guam Pacific Daily News -- Victor Michael Fontanilla joined the Army less than two years ago as a step to pursuing his dreams for his young family.
In almost-daily e-mails to his mother in Saipan, the young soldier shared some of those dreams: He would build his dream house on Tinian where he grew up and graduated from Tinian High, said his stepfather Ramon Quichocho, an attorney.
And in that house, Fontanilla said he would provide for his wife Noel, who is eight months pregnant with their second son. Fontanilla also was thinking of his 2-year-old son's future.
Now the soldier's wife will have their baby in about a month without him. And their 2-year-old will never see his father again.
Fontanilla died May 17 in Iraq, his family and the Military Veterans Affairs Office in the Northern Marianas confirmed yesterday. He died in a bomb blast, his family said.
He was 23.
Fontanilla died about six months into his deployment there, where he became the 20th casualty from the Northern Marianas, Guam and the rest of the Micronesia region to die in the war.
As of Friday, the nation has lost more than 3,400 lives in the Iraq conflict, according to The Associated Press.
Ramon Quichocho said Fontanilla had been diligent about sending daily e-mails to his mom, Frances.
"My wife normally receives an e-mail from him every day -- until May 17," according Quichocho.
In his e-mails, Ramon Quichocho said Fontanilla would share his dream of building a home for his family and relocating them to Tinian once the house is built. This was his plan after his Iraq duty was completed.
"He wanted to move to Tinian. That's where he graduated, and he grew up there, too," Quichocho said.
And in the e-mails, Fontanilla would ask, according to Quichocho, about details of his childhood.
"He would be asking his mom about how he was when he was a kid," Quichocho said.
Close to homeOn Tinian, Northern Marianas historian Don Farrell, an Air Force veteran of the Vietnam War, said it's difficult to put into words his reaction to the loss of yet another life in Iraq.
"It's a real shame to have it come so very close to home. It's impossible to express ... How do you express something like that?" he asked.
Farrell said with the limited economic opportunities in the Northern Marianas, more and more high school graduates from the commonwealth have chosen to join military service.
"Without ... jobs available, there are few choices left," Farrell said of Northern Marianas youth's lack of career or job prospects at home after high school.
He said his granddaughter enlisted almost a year ago with the Air Force after having graduated from Tinian High.
And a grandson of Farrell, who is graduating from Tinian High in weeks, plans to join his sister in the Air Force.
"My grandson is following in his sister's footsteps," Farrell said. "And they're not the only ones."
Fontanilla will be buried in Stockton, Calif., where most of his relatives on his mom's side live, Quichocho said.
"He told his wife if he dies, he would like to be buried in Stockton," Quichocho said.
Quichocho said he and his wife are now waiting for a flight to California, where Fontanilla moved in from Tinian in 2001.
"We deeply miss him. We are very proud of him. We know that he died defending our country," he said.
He said his family would remember Fontanilla for being a respectful man.
"He was an honest boy. I call him 'boy' because for me he will always be my boy," Quichocho said.
A nightly rosary is being held at Fontanilla's aunt Lysia Cantoria Espinosa's residence in Stockton. There will be a special memorial service for Fontanilla in Sacramento. Mass will be held at St. George's Church and interment will follow at the San Joaquin Cemetery, also in Stockton.
Fontanilla was born Aug. 26, 1983, in French Camp, Calif.
He graduated from basic training with high honors, completed the Army's Airborne School in April 2006 and was deployed to Iraq in October 2006, according to his family.
Fontanilla's death adds to the Northern Marianas' list of casualties from the war in Iraq.
Sgt. Yihjyh "Eddie" Chen, Staff Sgt. Wilgene Lieto, Cpl. Derence Jack, Lance Cpl. Adam Quitugua Emul, and Cpl. Lee Roy Camacho also died in Iraq.
