Cpl. Claudio Patino IV

Cpl. Claudio Patino IV, 22, of Yorba Linda, Calif., died June 22 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.  He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif.

In a bright gym plastered with yellow championship banners commemorating student achievement, a somber crowd of 500 gathered Monday night to remember a different kind of El Dorado High School champion: a local Marine who gave his life in battle. Cpl. Claudio Patińo IV, who joined the Marines shortly after graduating from El Dorado in 2006, was killed by small-arms fire June 22 in Afghanistan. A fierce warrior who was steadfast in his devotion to his family, his country and the Marine Corps, Patińo wouldn't have wanted to die any other way, friend and former team leader Marine Sgt. Ryan Lindner said. "Let that be his legacy," Lindner said. After watching a slideshow chronicling his life, friends, family members and mourning strangers shared memories of Patińo, a laughing kid who turned into a serious Marine. He was rough on the outside, family members said, but he was also the most loveable guy you could ever meet. A scout sniper, Patińo had served a tour in Iraq and another in Afghanistan when he requested a special transfer to redeploy to Afghanistan in March. He had talked about becoming a Marine since early childhood, family members said. "He was always striving, always testing himself," Lindner said.

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Marine Saluting Courtesy Sgt Michal S. Williams

"He was a modern day Spartan." After a long week of training, Patińo would often stay on base over the weekend, using the time to practice mixed-martial arts, Lindner said. Before the memorial services, Patińo's family gathered near his last car, which a neighbor had covered with Marine decals and parked in front of the high school. "He was so excited to have a fast car," his father, Claudio Patińo remembered. "Maybe he was thinking he could go fast anywhere." Friends recalled that Patińo had often talked of dying in battle, predicting that he would die by the age of 20. He was killed in battle at age 22. He is survived by his wife, Jamie Burns, his parents, and seven brothers and sisters.