Darrell Issa: “Atanacio Marin, or as he was better known, Nacho, by his friends, typifies the soldiers that come from California. So…”

“Atanacio Marin, or as he was better known, Nacho, by his friends, typifies the soldiers that come from California. So many of them are from Los Angeles and surrounding areas, so many have stories like Nacho has: one in which he was born in Mexico; one in which his family came here for a better life; one in which he became integrated with the community that he grew up in; one in which he graduated from Sierra Vista High School and was on the track team and ran in the Los Angeles marathon; one in which he had a desire to serve his country; one in which he joined the National Guard after completing high school and decided to devote his life to serving the military. After his tour with the National Guard ended, Nacho transferred to the regular Army and was assigned to Battery C, 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery Regiment at Fort Hood, Texas. In January, 2 months before reporting for duty in the Middle East, Sergeant Marin was able to spend time with his close-knit family. While he was in Iraq he continued to remain close to his family. He called home often and characteristically sent his mother a Mother's Day card that read, "Don't worry, be happy." Tragically, those uplifting words were some of his last. A checkpoint was manned by the sergeant and came under fire on June 3, 2003. Unfortunately, this brave young man did not survive the attack. He was only 27 years old.”