Friends, Family Remember Cerritos High Alumni-Soldier to Be Honored at Veterans Memorial Monday

The City of Cerritos will honor Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Mario Carazo, who was killed in action in Afghanistan last year, with an inscription on the Cerritos Veterans Memorial at Monday's Memorial Day ceremony at the Civic Center.

About 50 members of the 1987 Cerritos High School graduate's family and some of his close friends are expected to attend the 10 a.m. event.

According to the Cerritos Veterans Project, Carazo, 41, of Carlsbad, was killed on July 22, 2010 while flying on a support mission to help ground Marines in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was stationed at Camp Pendleton and last Wednesday would have been his 42nd birthday.

Carazo left behind a wife, two young children and numerous family and friends who remembered him as a humble, meticulous person who always looked into investing in the future. He was very dedicated to his country and to his family, even inspiring two of his nephews, into enlisting in the Marines.

“Since he was a little child, he was a huge patriot,” said older sister Sandra Carazo, noting that Mario, who was of Costa Rican descent, was the first member of the family born in the United States. “Even though he was the youngest [of four children], he was the light and leader of our family.”

Sandra recounted her brother’s dedication to the military, going far as training to be a pilot in the Marine Corps after graduating from the United States Naval Academy in 1991 and obtaining two master’s degrees.

She said that once her brother retired from the military, he would have wanted to pursue a career in politics and said that former presidential candidate and U.S. Senator John McCain, himself a former Navy pilot, was a big inspiration to himself besides his family.

Those who knew Mario during his formative years in Cerritos, like Jeff Berkenkamp, who has known Carazo since the second grade, said he was a person who knew what he wanted to do at a young age and that was to go into the Naval Academy and become a fighter pilot.

“He actually went out and followed his dream,” Berkenkamp said. “He knew the risks of the job and accepted those risks without hesitation.”

Ann Shaver and her husband Russ knew Mario during his days at Cerritos High School, where he played on the soccer team and was consistently on the honor roll.

However, Ann remembers him most as a loyal friend who was a "warm and giving person." She wrote letters to United States Senators on his behalf when he applied for the Naval Academy.

“It’s very touching to know that what the city is doing is a wonderful gift to those who knew Mario,” Shaver said about the inscription to the Cerritos Veterans Memorial.

Those who will attend the ceremony Monday like Berkenkamp praised Mario for his courage to serve his country for 23 years.

“Mario contributed to protect our way of life and it’s sad that somebody doing the great things like he has [as a Marine] isn’t here anymore,” he said. “He was doing what he wanted to do in order to protect our liberty.”