Father of Marine who died in Iraq still has questions

Thursday, Feb. 17, 2005 | 8:30 a.m.

A father's anguish is turning into an agony full of unanswered questions over the death of his 19-year-old son, Marine Lance Cpl. Richard Perez Jr., in Iraq.

"It's a terrible thing that happened," Richard Perez said by telephone from Burbank, Calif., where he and his family will bury the Marine reservist on Saturday.

"I have lost my best friend and I am mad, sad and cannot do anything about it."

Perez's son died in a "non-hostile" incident during the night of Feb. 10 near Al Aribar Province, according to Capt. Patrick Kerr, a spokesman for the Marine Reserves in Maryland.

Perez was assigned to Marine Forces Reserve's 6th Motor Transport Battalion, 4th Force Service Support Group. He was the 12th serviceman with connections to Nevada who died in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The Marine's family had expected him to return home to Las Vegas at the end of this month.

From what the Marines told Perez when they visited him in a Hawaiian hotel room on Friday, his son was crushed behind a truck when it backed up, the father said.

"How did he get behind the truck?" Perez asked. The answer may not come for 45 days because a military investigation is under way.

The Defense Department's inspector general is also investigating the incident, Perez said.

Marine reservists in Hawaii and Las Vegas have offered "phenomenal" support to the family, Perez said.

Perez said he supported his son's decision to join the Marine Reserves, but the younger Perez had plans when he came home to follow in his father's footsteps as a sports radio broadcaster.

The father has fond memories of his son in photos taken with boxer Mike Tyson and with Pat Tillman, the NFL player-turned-soldier who was also killed by friendly fire in Iraq.

"That's what makes it hard," Perez said. "I was trying to build something for my only son."

His youngest daughter, 10-year-old Risa, is an accomplished gymnist, while 17-year-old daughter Richelle is a UNLV student who has not settled on a major and 16-year-old Rheanne is an 11th grader at Coronado High School.

Born Sept. 21, 1985, in Hollywood, Calif., the son played sports at Coronado High School, Foothill High School, Cowan High School in Henderson and in Denver, Colo., before the family moved to Las Vegas in 2000.

"He was a great man and he did a lot of great things in 19 short years," Perez said of his son. "I'm very, very proud of him."

A viewing has been scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday at Forest Lawn in the Hollywood Hills. Funeral services are set for 2 p.m. Saturday at Forest Lawn.

A Las Vegas memorial service has been scheduled for 10 a.m. Feb. 26 at St. Thomas More Catholic Church, 130 N. Pecos Road in Henderson.