Fallen Miramar Marine battled weight in order to join service

By: MARK WALKER - Staff Writer | Friday, January 28, 2005 12:28 AM PST ∞

MIRAMAR ---- The parents of a 22-year-old lance corporal confirmed Thursday that their son was the crew chief aboard a helicopter that crashed in Iraq on Wednesday, killing all 30 U.S. Marines and one Navy sailor aboard.

Lance Cpl. Tony Hernandez of Canyon Lake, Texas, was attached to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing based at the Miramar Marine Corps Air Station.

Hernandez joined the Marines in December 2001 and was deployed to Iraq in July. He was scheduled to return to the United States in March, his stepmother Evelyn Hernandez said during a telephone interview from the family's Texas home.

"He was a good boy doing what he wanted to do," she said. "He had worked hard to get into the service."

When he first tried to join the Marines, Hernandez was turned away because of his weight. Refusing to give up, his stepmother said he began a diet and exercise regimen that resulted in his dropping about 50 pounds and his entry into the service.

Hernandez went through basic training at Camp Pendleton and went on for further training in North Carolina for his specialty as a helicopter crew chief, his stepmother said.

On Wednesday, his father, Leroy Hernandez, told the Associated Press that he had last spoken with his son on Sunday. During that conversation, the young Marine told his father that the weather was cold and that he was "working his butt off," his father said.

Wednesday's crash of the CH-53E Super Stallion occurred during a security mission in an area about 220 miles west of Baghdad.

As of Wednesday, at least 1,409 American troops have died in the war in Iraq, according to the Defense Department. Including Hernandez, at least 211 troops from Camp Pendleton and Miramar have died in Iraq.

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