Marine Cpl Gilorozco was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Gilorozco was killed when his tank rolled over an explosive device. Gil's family moved to the United States in 1993 when he was 8. Their hope was to leave behind poverty and provide a good education for their children. But Gil didn't do well in school – he was kind of a troublemaker, got bad grades and wouldn't do his homework but then the Marines caught his eye. He would stay up all night studying and took the test twice only to fail twice. But the third time was the charm and he joined the military two years ago after graduating from Willow Glen High School in San Jose, California. His dream was to become a San Jose police officer when his time in the military was up. Gil was on his second tour of Iraq and due to come home in November when he was killed. He left behind his wife, Esmeralda, and two sons whom he wrote to regularly – the youngest one was an infant he'd only seen in pictures and over the Internet. Gil's last letter home to his youngest son arrived the day after he was killed. It said, "I miss u my chiquito (little one), I can't wait until me and u go get a hair cut together and go in a green grass and play ball....I hope you think about Daddy because I'll be thinking about you."∼Cpl. Carlos Gil Orozco almost didn't become a Marine. He took the test twice and failed. But the third time, he passed. And when he finally joined the military, he was fulfilling a lifelong dream. He got bad grades in school and wouldn't do his homework. But he wanted to be a Marine. So he studied real hard, especially algebra. He would stay up all night studying until his eyes would be blurry. He graduated from Willow Glen High School. Joining the Marines was a good thing for Gil Orozco, his parents thought. Born in Colombia, South America, he was 23 years old and lived in San Jose, California for 15 years after his family moved to the United States in 1993 from Colombia when Gil Orozco was eight, leaving behind a life of poverty, and hoping to give their children a good education. They were frustrated when he didn't do well in school and thought the Marines might just be a good thing for him. Gil Orozco was close to coming home for good. He was supposed to have returned home Nov. 2, and had planned to become a San Jose police officer. He had last spoke with his family the night before he was killed, and promised to call again right after his patrol. He left behind an infant son he'd seen only in pictures and over the Internet. He was 23.

Marines
2nd Battalion
9th Marine Regiment
2nd Marine Division
II Marine Expeditionary Force
Camp Lejeune, N.C.