Mario De Leon remembered

Mario De Leon loved the old "Star Wars" movies, fast cars, hip-hop music, shooting pool and hanging out with his pals in Rohnert Park.

He loved his wife, Erika, and his 2-year-old son, Keoni.

And, in February, he told them he'd be home soon from his Army tour of duty in Iraq.

"He kept saying, 'Nothing's going to happen to me, nothing's going to happen to me,' '' Erika De Leon said Wednesday. "He was fearless. In his mind, he was so strong and so brave. He was so sure of himself. He said he was coming back, and so we all knew he was coming back. That's how he was.''

On Sunday, the Army said, the 26-year-old De Leon was killed in Baghdad by enemy small-arms fire.

De Leon, known to family and friends by his middle name of Kawika, was a sergeant with the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, based in Schweinfurt, Germany.

He was a native of San Francisco, the son of an Air Force officer and a longtime resident of Petaluma, where he graduated from Casa Grande High School. He met his future wife when the two were students at Santa Rosa Junior College.

A tall, large man with what one friend described as a "goofy grin,'' De Leon enlisted in the Army after graduating from high school and served for four years, including a tour in Afghanistan. After attending college for a while, he served two years in the Air Force Reserve before rejoining the Army last year. He was sent to Iraq over the winter, and spent most of his time on patrol in Baghdad.

When his Army service was over in 2010, his wife said, he wanted to become a Sonoma County firefighter.

"He loved making everyone laugh,'' his wife said. "Nobody could make people laugh like Kawika. He lighted up everyone's day.''

He drove a 15-year-old Nissan and he was pretty good at the motor sport technique known as "drifting,'' or driving sideways in a controlled slide. He and his friends enjoyed watching drifting competitions, reading car magazines, and talking about the best pro drivers and the latest tricks.

He wanted to get another car, something fancier, someday.

"He'd always go and test drive cars,'' Erika De Leon said. "He never bought one, but he test drove them.''

In the evenings, the De Leons would hunker down on the sofa and watch a "Star Wars" movie -- he had the complete set -- or episodes of the old "ThunderCats'' cartoon show, in which giant human cats battled the Mutants to save the innocents on a planet called Third Earth. In his 20s, De Leon still enjoyed the animated shows and "X-Men" comic books he treasured as a kid.

"At first I didn't like watching those shows,'' his wife said. "But he was so passionate about it. He'd say, 'But Babe, everyone has to watch it.' So I did. And now I'm wearing the 'ThunderCats' sweater. ''

His best friend, 26-year-old Ryan Miller of Petaluma, said De Leon was "always full of energy, always happy, always with a smile on his face.''

Miller, who met De Leon in seventh grade, said he chatted with him on the phone last week, not long after his friend was promoted to sergeant two weeks ago.

"He had just come in from patrol, and he said he wished he could have a beer,'' Miller said. "We joked around about that. He said he was going to try to get some rest. He said he would call me back later. I never talked to him again.''

Miller said De Leon didn't fret about what might await him on his next patrol.

"He wasn't worried,'' Miller said. "But if he was worried, he was the kind of guy who wouldn't let on to it. He wouldn't want anyone else worrying.''

Above all, Erika De Leon said, her husband was a gentleman.

"Sweet, polite, kind. I never met anyone like him. I wanted his son to grow up like him. Now all he has is pictures.''

He is survived by his wife and son, by his mother, Barbara, and by his brothers, Gabe and Bruce. Funeral arrangements are pending.

From the SF Chronicle

Related Link:
Mario K. De Leon dies of 'wounds sustained from enemy small arms fire'