Marine Cpl. Andres Perez, 21, Santa Cruz; Killed in Combat

Andres Perez was always the life of the party.

So it came as no surprise that friends and family packed his boyhood home in Santa Cruz last week, sharing stories about the young man who joined the Marines Corps out of high school to help pay for college.

They talked about his passion for football, and the way he danced around the house. They talked about how he liked to sing with his mother, was protective of his two sisters and developed a deep love for Mexican ranchera music.

“He was definitely old-school,” said his sister, Sandra Perez, 24. “He was just a very happy guy.”

The 21-year-old Marine corporal died Nov. 14 in combat in Iraq, one of dozens of Americans killed in the U.S.-led offensive to regain control of the insurgent stronghold of Fallouja.

Perez’s parents, Hipolito and Yolanda Perez, were told of the death Monday by military officials. Funeral arrangements are pending.

“He did everything he wanted to in life,” Sandra Perez said. “He was so sure of himself and what he was doing.”

Perez was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton.

He was born and raised in Santa Cruz and was a standout on the Harbor High School football team. At 6 foot 3, he played on the offensive line and helped a teammate set a league record for rushing in the 2000-01 school year.

He enlisted in the Marine Corps before graduating from high school. He was based first in Virginia and transferred to Camp Pendleton.

There Perez joined his youngest sister, 19-year-old Elvira, who was just out of basic training. She enlisted, in part, because she wanted to follow in her brother’s footsteps.

Andres Perez was due to leave the service next year, planning to tap the GI Bill to go to college. Then came the Iraq war, deployment of his unit and phone calls home from the Middle East.

“He really didn’t write; he would call,” Sandra Perez said. “Of course, nobody wants to go. But he knew that was part of the job, and he was mentally prepared.”

Crammed wall to wall in the family’s small Santa Cruz home last week, friends and relatives said they were not surprised by Perez’s desire to join the military or his commitment to the task at hand.

“He was the kind of guy who stood by his decisions and stuck to it,” Sandra Perez said. “We all supported him and we were there for him.”