One Soldier's Story

  Six days a week, it's one of the most lucrative California tourism beaches. On the seventh, it becomes a place for families and friends across Los Angeles to come and remember loved ones.

One of the fallen soldiers is Luis Figueroa, who was 21 when he died in 2004. Figueroa grew up in LA and was stationed at Camp Pandleton before being sent to Iraq as part of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. Stationed in Fallujah, the then-dangerous city west of Iraq, Figueroa was conducting home-to-home raids with his fellow marines when he was shot by an insurgent.

  Most Sundays, Berto Figueroa drives 30 minutes west to visit a small patch of Santa Monica beach where thousands of white crosses dot the sand.

   One of them is for Figueroa’s son Luis, and by now Luis’ cross is nearly covered with photographs, notes from family and friends, fresh flowers and a small American flag that have all been taped on.

   “I make those things because that’s all I can do for him right now. I come here to give some flowers and visit sometimes, and sit over here,” said Figueroa. “I want to say ‘Hello, how are you?’ I don’t know if he can listen to me, but I feel that he was here right now.”
Figueroa has visited the memorial over a hundred times since his son died three and a half years ago.
   On Nov. 18, 2004, as Marine commanders became aware that insurgents in Falusia were hiding out with Iraqi families, troops were ordered to begin conducting home-to-home raids. The 21-year-old Luis Figueroa and his team were clearing one house when an insurgent broke free and fatally shot him.
   “He loved the marines, since he was thirteen years old,” said Figueroa, who wears a piece of black tape with the number “4053” etched in white on his left arm. “When I come here, I feel something in my heart. I want to see my son in life, but it’s no more. He’s passed away, and I feel bad. Really really really bad.”
   Figueroa said he appreciates having a memorial near his East Los Angeles home where he can visit his son. Mostly, though, he sees it as a way for people to become aware of the sacrifice his son and thousands of other soldiers have made.
   “All the people that come to the pier, they see what happened in the war in Iraq,” he said. “When you see in the newspaper the numbers — 4,000 — it’s a lot of difference when you come here. It’s special to come to here... more people see him here.”