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 Victor
Manuel was born in the United States to Ms. Pearl Lucas, a Nicaraguan
Caribbean coast native and though he never had the opportunity to see his
beautiful Nicaragua especially the Caribbean coast his love for Nicaragua
was unconditional.
Gregory Lewin
glewin@bluefieldspulse.com
Washington,
Jan 26,07-Cpl. Victor Manuel
Langarica Jr. 29, of Decatur, GA died in Baghdad, Iraq when the helicopter
UH-60 Black Hawk that he was traveling in crashed. The incident is still
under investigation by the United State Army. ABC news is reporting that a
senior military official stated that the helicopter was most likely shot
down by a surface to air missile.
Victor Manuel
was born October 5, 1977 in Hollywood, CA where he attended high school.
Shortly after high school his mother Ms. Pearl Lucas from the community of
Karawala on the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua who grew up in Pearl Lagoon
and his father, Mr. Victor Manuel Sr. from Mexico moved to Decatur,
Georgia with Victor Manuel.
Gordon Van
Vleet who is in charge of Public Relations at Fort Huachuca in Arizona
where Victor Manuel was stationed told the Pulse that Victor Manuel
enlisted in the army in November of 2004 where he was assigned to the 86th
Signal Battalion a member of the 11th Signal Brigade at Fort
Huachuca. Victor Manuel was a wheel mechanic working on trucks series 63B.
Mr. Van Vleet stated that Victor Manuel was deployed in August
2006.
Pearl Tirado, a
cousin of Victor Manuel tells us that Victor Manuel was her favorite
cousin and friend. He was the light of the party. He was always laughing
and full of so much energy she says. “As a young kid Victor has always
wanted to be a cop to make a positive difference in the lives of others” she
said. Pearl’s husband is also serving in Iraq and is scheduled to come
home in six months
Maria Lopez,
another cousin of Victor who he calls lovingly “aunt” tells us that
Victor was loving and caring. He loved Nicaragua and considered himself a
Nicaraguan. She says he loves Nicaraguan food and recalls that on July 4th,
2006 he came to visit and asked her to cook all the Nicaraguan dishes. She
complied and he ate everything. He loved frito, rice and beans and arroz
aguado. “I missed him so much” she says. Maria tells us that the
family had planned to visit Nicaragua in the summer when Victor would be
coming back from Iraq. It would have been his first trip to Nicaragua.
Another friend
told us that she knew Victor since he was 9 years old and that he would
always put others before him. He was kind and sweet she says.
It is not the
first time that tragedy has hit the family. Two years ago another cousin
of the family, a member of the Marine Corps died in Iraq after just two
weeks of active duty. “We can only pray that God keep Pearl’s husband
safe” says Maria Lopez.
Funeral is
scheduled for Monday January 29 in Decatur, Georgia.
Victor Manuel
is survived by two children: 6 year old Devina and 3 year old Devic.
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