Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Lance Corporal Juan Garcia-Schill ~ Farewell and Walk with God

LCpl Juan Manuel Garcia-Schill
April 8, 1987 - July 1, 2007




Marine Lance Cpl. Juan Manuel Garcia Schill, 20, of Grants Pass, died July 2, 2007, during combat operations in Anbar province in Iraq. The Marine was killed by small arms fire, officials said. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, based in Twentynine Palms, California.

Manuel was born April 8, 1987, in Klamath Falls, Ore. to Manuel Garcia and Brenda Schill. His parents separated at an early age and Manuel moved to Madras with his father. He lived there until moving to Grants Pass when he was 11 years old. He attended Junior High and High School in Grants Pass. While in high school he participated in football. Manuel also began taking Tae Kwon Do and earned his black belt when he was a junior in high school. From 8th to 10th grade he volunteered with an after school program in Grants Pass where he would teach the children spanish and how to play soccer. Following graduation, Manuel attended one term of college before following in his family's footsteps and enlisting in the U.S. Marine Corps. He served from January 23, 2006 until being killed in action on July 1, 2007.

Manuel loved to help children. He had wanted to be an elementary teacher after his military service. When he deployed to Iraq, he told his family that he going for "the honor and protection of my country and my family." After serving in Iraq, he changed his reason to "the honor and protection of my country, my family and the children here."

He also loved Tae Kwon Do and had become very intrigued by Japanese culture. Manuel was very proud of his own Mexican roots and had traveled to Mexico on several different occasions.

Survivors include his father, Manuel Garcia of Grants Pass; his mother, Brenda Ochoa of Chiloquin; his brother, Esteban Garcia-Schill of Grants Pass; his sister, Sandra Garcia-Schill of Chiloquin; his step-brother, Joey Ochoa of Chiloquin; and step sister, Victoria of Chiloquin; grandmothers, Ies Garcia-Placsencia of Mexico and Pamela Speaker of Klamath Falls; grandfather, Richard Schill and his wife, Bev of Klamath Falls; numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his grandfather, Adrian Garcia and great-grandparents, Ron and Maxine Schill and Mr. and Mrs. Hernandez.Memorial contributions may be made to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, P.O. Box 29119 Phoenix, AZ 85038-9119.

A celebration of Manuel's life, with full military honors, will be held on Sunday, July 15, 2007 at 10:00 a.m. at Eternal Hills Chapel. Interment will follow at Eternal Hills. Visitation will be held at Eternal Hills Funeral Home from 8:00 a.m., Friday, July 13 to 8:00 a.m., Sunday, July 15, around the clock. A memorial mass will be offered for Manuel at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. The Patriot Guard Riders will be providing a Flagline for the Burial Service at Eternal Hills in Klamath Falls, on Sunday morning, July 15.
Eternal Hills Memorial Garden and Funeral Home, 4711 Highway 39, Klamath Falls.

We will be keeping this Marine and his family in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

WORDS CAN'T EXPRESS WHAT U MEANT TO ME!!! I LOVE U SOOOOOOOOO MUCH "YOU REALLY DON'T KNOW WHAT U HAVE TILL IT'S GONE" LOOKIN AT U AT THE FUNERAL WAS SO SAD AND WEIRD I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT I THOUGHT U WERE JUST SLEEPIN BUT I'LL SOON SEE U IN HEAVAN AND U KNOW I'LL BE PRAYING 4 U EVERY NIGHT I LOVE U!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

MANUEL! I DONT EVEN KNOW WHAT DO DO WITHOUT U! U WERE MY EVERYTHING! U WERE ALWAYS THERE FOR ME IN THE GOOD TIMES AND THE BAD TIMES! ITS JUST SO HARD TO KNOW TAHT UR GONE NOW AND I WONT SEE U AGAIN TIL I GET TO HEAVEN! ITS REAL HARD WITHOUT U! I WANT U TO KNOW THAT YES I STILL HAVE UR CLASS RING (I WEAR IT EVERYDAY) AND I HAVE UR NECKLACE! I WEAR THAT EVERYDAY TOO! ITS HARS TO LOOK AT UR PICS AND HEAR THE THINGS U USED TO TELL ME ALL THE TIME... "I LOVE U" "ILL SEE U SOON I PROMISE" "I WILL LIVE TO BE A HUNDRED YEARS OLD, DONT WORRY ABOUT ME" "IRAQ CANT KEEP ME FROM U" I MISS U MORE THAN ANYTHING! I WOULD GIVE ANYTING TO GO BACK IN TIME AND TELL U NOT TO GO ONTO THE BACK OF THAT HUMMER ON THE 1ST! I WOULD TELL U TO STAY IN THE BUILDING AND TALK TO ME:) I MISS U! I LOVE U MANUEL GARCIA WITH ALL MY HEART AND SOUL! I WILL ALWAYS HAVE U IN MY HEART! U WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN! I LOVE U MORE THAN U CAN EVEN IMAGINE!!!

CPL Ramirez Henry said...

its been a while since you have left us i still remember the days we used to be on post making fun of everyone and everything man from the sgt jah jah to the cooks screwing us over for mornign chow when we got off post man i will allways remember the weasel that always came to our post haha it was good times. i learned alot from you my brother u have made me a better man and a better marine i will never forget you my brother and until we meet again watch out for that weasel coming around the corner

Cpl J. Vargas said...

Lcpl Garcia you were my brother in arms and a close friend. I did not know for long but i felt a close connection to you. I remember our days in iraq like they were yesterday. From the first day that we mounted up to that final day when I pulled you out of that blown up humvee. I remember the laughs the smiles the tears and the screams. It has been 4yrs since we were togethar over there but to this day not a single day goes by where i do not think about what happened. For a while I blamed myself and felt an anger and hate for the people who did this. I prayed and spoke to you in thoughts and I know that thas not what you would want me to feel. I cried for you my dear friend Im sorry if i let you down, im sorry if i didnt see it coming but please know that i tried my best. These are words and thoughs that ive repeated over and over. I loved you like the brother i always wanted. In the short amount of time i knew you we had our fall outs but we had some great memories. I wanted also to thank you because without you being in that humvee on the night of july 1st at 2300 i would probly not be here today. I know you saved my life your actions will never be forgotten. You will never be forgotten. Semper Fi my brother Semper Fi!

Anonymous said...

Juan M. Garcia Schilling...will always be honored by my family. My son in law, Frank Guzman, has kept Juan's memories alive since that fateful day. He has told me such wonderful things about Juan and the wonderful stories they shared in Iraq. I feel like I knew Juan even though I have never met him. May your family and friends find comfort in knowing you are in Heaven watching over them from up above. Semper Fi!!!

Anonymous said...

Kenneth W. Nesbitt III

PTSD, post traumatic stress disorder, is never being able to forget or even get the images out of you mind of watching your brothers in arms die.

RIP my brother Lance Cpl. Juan Garcia Schill

Not a day goes by that I don't think about you. What hurts the most is remember more the images of seeing you die than the seeing you live. We had good times and you really taught me a lot especially to acce...pt other peoples customs and culture. I still laugh every time I think about you teaching me how to CUMBIA dance and various other Latin dances while we were on down time in Camp Fallujah, Iraq.

I tat your name, so you can live through me.

I may not make us famous, but I will never bring us shame.

DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR

Semper Fi ! ! ! ! !

Anonymous said...

By: Kenneth W. Nesbitt III

PTSD, post traumatic stress disorder, is never being able to forget or even get the images out of you mind of watching your brothers in arms die.

RIP my brother Lance Cpl. Juan Garcia Schill

Not a day goes by that I don't think about you. What hurts the most is remember more the images of seeing you die than the seeing you live. We had good times and you really taught me a lot especially to acce...pt other peoples customs and culture. I still laugh every time I think about you teaching me how to CUMBIA dance and various other Latin dances while we were on down time in Camp Fallujah, Iraq.

I tat your name, so you can live through me.

I may not make us famous, but I will never bring us shame.

DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR

Semper Fi ! ! ! ! !