Lance Cpl. Ceniceros didn't have to go back to the war. The 23-year-old had served four years as a Marine. He'd seen combat in Afghanistan. He'd come home, fallen in love and gotten married. He wanted to have children and buy a house in Santa Ana. Still, he re-enlisted. He told his wife not to worry about him going overseas again. He'd come home soon and they'd get started on all their plans. When he was 16 his father died, leaving Manny and his mother alone. He left Valley High School and got a job working in a mortuary. He soon went back to school, graduating from Santa Ana College's continuing education adult high school program in June 2000. From high school, he went straight to the military. He served in Afghanistan, then went back to Camp Pendleton. It was there that mutual friends introduced him to his future wife. At first there was no attraction at all. He couldn't dance, he didn't have rhythm whatsoever. Still, he didn't leave his date alone on the dance floor to be approached by other men. Five weeks later on Dec. 27, 2002 they were married. The couple could not afford a place of their own, so they moved in with her grandmother in East Los Angeles. Because he was planning to deploy with the rest of the 1st Marine Division, they knew they had limited time together. They made plans every weekend. On her birthday, he rode a roller coaster with her even though he was afraid. For holidays, he drew poster-size pictures they colored together: Santa for Christmas, a turkey for Thanksgiving. Then, right after their marriage, Liz got sick. Doctors found a tumor on one of her ovaries, and discovered that she had a pulmonary embolism. Manny delayed redeployment to attend his wife's doctor's appointments. Meanwhile, he kept a Captain America action-figure in their bedroom and told his wife, That's what every Marine should be. He named their dog Tank and bought him Marine gear to wear. Manny went to Iraq at the end of February. His wife learned that she would be able to start fertility treatments six months later. That meant they could start trying to have children in September right when he was supposed to come back from Iraq. The couple picked out possible names for their children. He sent her e-mail telling her not to worry, that he was going to be fine. The most recent one came June 22. Four days later, Marines in dress uniforms went to Liz' East Los Angeles home to tell her that her husband had been in a convoy hit by an explosion. He was 23.

Marines
Regimental Combat Team
1 Headquarters Company
1st Marine Division
I Marine Expeditionary Force
Camp Pendleton, California