Domingo Arroyo
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Private First Class Domingo Arroyo Jr. (1970-January 12, 1993) born in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, was the first United States Marine to be killed in Operation Restore Hope during the Somalian Civil War.
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Domingo was born in Puerto Rico. His family moved to mainland United States in 1975, in search of a better way of life. They moved to the city of Elizabeth, New Jersey, where Domingo received his primary and secondary educations. Even though he graduated with good grades from high school and his family was keen for him to attend, he was unable to go to college because of his family's difficult economic situation.
In 1989, Domingo joined the United States Marine Corps and was sent to Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island in South Carolina where he received his basic training. Upon the completion of his basic training he was deployed with his unit to the Persian Gulf for Operation Desert Storm. After finishing his tour of duty, he was reassigned and sent back to the United States. Domingo had plans of attending college upon his military discharge with the benefits of the GI Bill.
With the outbreak of the Somalian Civil War, Domingo was sent to Somalia in the relief effort code named Operation Restore Hope. On January 12, 1993, he was part of a patrol in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, that was ambushed by Somali gunmen.
PFC Domingo Arroyo died from gunshot wounds received in the attack, thus becoming the first of forty four American soldiers and Marines that would die during the Somalian Civil War.
On February 17, 1993, the United States Senate paid tribute to PFC Domingo Arroyo Jr. There is a beach several hundred yards southeast of the Mogadishu Airport that was named "Arroyo Beach" after PFC Arroyo. His name is inscribed in "El Monumento de la Recordacion" (Monument of Remembrance), dedicated to Puerto Rico's fallen soldiers and situated in front of the Capitol Building in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
[edit] See also
- List of famous Puerto Ricans - Military
