Robbie M. Mariano, Army, Private -- Rest In Peace

Robbie M. Mariano, 21

Army, Private

Based: Ft. Hood, Texas

3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division

Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom

Died: January 5, 2006

Najaf, Iraq

Single

Gender: Male

Hometown: Stockton
High School: Stagg Senior High (Stockton)

The 21-year-old from Stockton was among five soldiers killed Jan. 5 when a roadside bomb exploded near their Humvee in Najaf, south of Baghdad, according to the Defense Department.

Also killed were Maj. William F. Hecker III, 37, of St. Louis; Sgt. Johnny J. Peralez Jr. , 25, of Kingsville, Texas; Capt. Christopher P. Petty, 33, of Vienna, Va.; and Sgt. 1st Class Stephen J. White, 39, of Talladega, Ala.

All were assigned to the Army's 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division at Ft. Hood, Texas.

Mariano's father, Bob, said his son joined the Army in November 2004, shortly after graduating from Stagg High School, and soon found a second family among his fellow soldiers.

"He was always upbeat about the war and believed in what he was doing over there," said the elder Mariano, a Stockton police sergeant. "The Army was his new family. I talked to him about 10 hours before he died. He said he was doing fine."

Bob Mariano said his son had planned to leave the service in 2008, attend college on the GI Bill and possibly follow in his father's footsteps with a career in law enforcement.

In addition to his parents, Robbie Mariano is survived by a 19-year-old brother, Bobby.

Read the entire store about Army Private Robbie M. Mariano here and find more here,  visit Private Mariano's Guest Book, and listen to an NPR story here.