William J. Wiscowiche, Marines, Lance Corporal -- Rest In Peace

William J. Wiscowiche, 20

Marines, Lance Corporal
Based: Camp Pendleton
1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: March 30, 2004
Anbar province, Iraq
Married, 1 child
Gender: Male
Hometown: Victorville
High School: Victor Valley High (Victorville)
Burial: Desert View Memorial Park, Victorville

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. William J. Wiscowiche returned from his first tour of duty in Iraq in October, married his high school sweetheart and met his daughter, who was born while he was away.

But duty called and the 20-year-old soldier returned, dutifully albeit reluctantly, for a second time in February.


"He didn't want to go back. But he told his mother he accepted it," said his father, Joseph Wiscowiche, 69, who served in Vietnam as a Marine. "He's a Marine and he has to obey orders. He was going to do what he had to do, so he could go home."
...
He was noticeably more reflective, although he tried to act nonchalant, his father said. "He would act like there was nothing to it: 'I just kicked butt like a Marine,' " Joseph Wiscowiche said.

But through it all, he kept his humor, said best friend Aaron Savedra, 19, a football team mate. "Willie would try to make the best of even the worst situations, make it seem like everything was fine," Savedra said.

One month after his marriage, Wiscowiche was deployed again to Iraq. "He knew he would go back to a different kind of war," said his mother, Patricia Wiscowiche, 49.

"He said, 'I don't want to go back again. Let's just get this over with, so I can start my life again,' " Savedra said.

In addition to his wife, daughter and parents, Wiscowiche is survived by three half sisters and two half brothers. He will be buried with full military honors Saturday at Desert View Memorial Park in Victorville.

Read the entire LA Times article about Marine Lance Corporal William J. Wiscowiche here, find more at the San Diego Union Tribune, at Fallen Heroes, at Military Times and visit Corporal Wiscowiche's Guest Book.

Veronica Wiscowiche, 19, left, grieves as U.S. Marines fold the American flag during her husband, Lance Cpl. William Wiscowiche's funeral at Desert View Mortuary in Victorville, Calif., Monday, April 10, 2004. Wiscowiche, 20, of Victorville, was killed March 30, 2004, in the Al Anbar province by hostile fire, said Marine Corps spokesman Robert Shuford. (AP Photo/San Bernardino Sun, Gabriel Acosta)
The above photo can be found with others here.