CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - Marines, friends and family members gathered for a memorial service to remember Staff Sgt. Alberto Moreno at the South Mesa Chapel, Jan. 6.
Moreno, 28, a food service specialist with I Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group, died as a result of a vehicle accident in Santa Maria, Calif., Jan. 1.
“He was more than a man and more than a Marine,” said Sgt. Calvin Reed, a food service specialist who worked with Moreno. “My brother taught me so much. I’ll never forget him.”
Col. Steven M. Hanson, the I MHG (Forward) commanding officer promoted Moreno to the rank of staff sergeant in December and spoke to those gathered at the service.
“He didn’t look for a lot of fanfare or recognition,” Hanson said. “He quietly went about doing his job.”
Moreno is a graduate of Ernest Righetti High School. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in Sept. 2002 and attended recruit training at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego in early 2003. He attended Marine Combat Training in Camp Pendleton, and graduated from the Basic Food Service Specialist School in Fort Lee, Va., in August 2003.
Moreno served with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division, at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif., from 2003-2006. Upon completion of his first deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004, he returned to the Combat Center and was transferred to Headquarters and Support Battalion, Twentynine Palms, from 2006-2007.
He attended drill instructor school at MCRD, San Diego in July 2007 and completed the successful drill tour in 2010.
Moreno transferred to I MHG at Camp Pendleton and served as the color sergeant, food service warehouse chief and food service platoon sergeant. During his off-time, Moreno volunteered with non-profit charity organizations. He also mentored and taught his Marines.
“He was the best mentor I could have possibly ever had coming up in the Marine Corps,” said Cpl. Alexander J. Angelikis, a field mess clerk with I MHG. “He was the first good example that I’ve had the privilege and honor of falling behind.”
Moreno is survived by his son, Christian, mother, Elia Perez, brother, Marco, and two sisters, Emma and Jazmen Moreno.
“He was very free spirited— always trying to have fun,” Angelikis said “He wasn’t just a mentor to people - he was family.”
His awards include the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (with gold star in lieu of second award), Combat Action Ribbon, Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal (with bronze star in lieu of second award), National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal (with bronze star in lieu of second award), Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon (with bronze star in lieu of second award), and the USMC Drill Instructor Ribbon.