Marine Lance Cpl Ayon was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, California. Ayon was killed during a fierce gun battle in the Al Anbar province where he was stationed. From the time he was a small boy, Eric dreamed of becoming a Marine to fight for his country. He would put his G.I. Joe action figures into battle and the good guys always won. After graduating from Herbert Hoover High School in Glendale, California, he worked as a youth counselor in his community helping kids keep away from drugs and gangs. He then decided it was time to join the Marines and was sent to Iraq in February. Eric's wife, Angie, and his son meant the world to him. He loved taking his boy to Chuck E. Cheese and Olive Garden restaurants. The Monday after Eric's death, a birthday card from him to his son arrived in the mail. In the card, he wrote to his son, "Being your dad is the coolest thing I've ever done in my life. You being my son makes me a better man. I'm sorry I'm not there with you today. I love you and I will always be around."
Marine Lance Cpl Ayon was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, California. Ayon was killed during a fierce gun battle in the Al Anbar province where he was stationed. From the time he was a small boy, Eric dreamed of becoming a Marine to fight for his country. He would put his G.I. Joe action figures into battle and the good guys always won. After graduating from Herbert Hoover High School in Glendale, California, he worked as a youth counselor in his community helping kids keep away from drugs and gangs. He then decided it was time to join the Marines and was sent to Iraq in February. Eric's wife, Angie, and his son meant the world to him. He loved taking his boy to Chuck E. Cheese and Olive Garden restaurants. The Monday after Eric's death, a birthday card from him to his son arrived in the mail. In the card, he wrote to his son, "Being your dad is the coolest thing I've ever done in my life. You being my son makes me a better man. I'm sorry I'm not there with you today. I love you and I will always be around."
