MCRAE, AK, U.S.A.
U.S. MARINE CORPS
LCPL, E CO, 2D BN, 3D MARDIV, MCB KANEOHE BAY, HI
09/26/2005, CAMP BLESSING, AFGHANISTAN
LCPL Valdez, of McRea, AK was born July 19, 1985 . He graduated from Beebe High School in 2004. Steven joined the Marine Corps in June 2004 and was stationed at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii in November 2004. LCPL Valdez is described as an amazing young man who loved his country.
SGT Glenn Skaggs Valdez’s brother describes his brother as competitive, but as living his dream of being a Marine. That’s the way he saw it.” SGT Skaggs says defending the United States is exactly what his brother wanted to do. “My brother was over there for something he believed in.”
“I was stationed at Camp Blessing with Steven, or Valdez as we all came to know him. Valdez was one of the most motivated and truly happy Marines that I’ve come across in my time in the Marine Corps. He never really complained about anything, and he was almost always positive about whatever situation arose. Whenever we would be in the gym, we would almost always see Valdez in the gym as well. He had a saying that he used a lot when he saw us. He used to flex and say “all natural baby” with that southern accent that he was so well known for. I remember about just a few days before his death, I was sitting with him using the computers, and we were arguing about who was the better football team. He was a huge Patriots fan and I love their rivals the Colts. We went back and forth for about 30 minutes about who would come out on top this year. He was so convinced that the Pats were gonna win it again, and he was like that about everything. CONVINCED. We joked about him being convinced, not conceited. He was so sure of everything he ever said. That’s what made him who he was, and that’s what we miss. He was one of the truly great people that I ever met and I truly miss him. I just wanted to write here in hopes that the Valdez family might read this and see yet another person that your son affected in a positive way. God bless you all and my heart goes out to you.”LCPL Steven C. Mosley of Kaneohe Bay, HI