Growing up, baby brother Enrique “Quique” Roman-Martinez imagined himself as the heroic blue Power Ranger, beating the bad guys, saving the day and driving his older sisters crazy.
Born in Pomona and raised in Chino, he was youngest of three children. He was funny, kind, calm and spiritual, family members said, and often described as a peacemaker.
So it stunned his family when at the age of 17, he decided to join the Army. He had graduated early from Buena Vista High School, and though he was known for playing video games and making his sisters watch his beloved anime series, he had big plans to provide for his family and his future by joining the military.
“He surprised me when he told me he wanted to go to the Army,” admitted his older sister Griselda, who was among the loved ones who shared memories of Roman-Martinez on Saturday, Aug. 22, at Forest Lawn cemetery in Covina Hills, where he was laid to rest.
“I will be honest, I didn’t want him to go,” Griselda said. “We desperately asked him not to go, but he was so excited.”
Just three months before he was to be honorably discharged, Enrique mysteriously went missing at a campsite near his base, Fort Bragg, in North Carolina on May 23.
One week later, his partial remains washed ashore, his case ruled a homicide. Enrique was only 21 years old. The investigation into his death continues.
“I was afraid because Enrique is not a fighter,” Griselda said. “He’s not mean. We were always afraid that he was going to be a pushover, and that he wasn’t going to make it very far, but he did.”
Enrique enthused that joining the Army meant he could go to college, enjoy a secure job and a good life, that his service would bring him respect, and his family couldn’t deny how happy he was about it. So his mother relented. She signed the waiver that let him join early.
Enrique was part of the Engineer Battalion of the 37th Brigade, the Combat Team of the 2nd Brigade and the 82nd Airborne Division.
In the four years that Enrique served in the Army, he became a paratrooper and a human resources specialist, and served as part of the Immediate Response Force — a role that meant he could be deployed anywhere in the world at a moment’s notice.
For his work, he was lauded with commendations such as the Army Commendation Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, and the Basic Paratrooper Badge.
Nearing the end of his service, Enrique had big plans to study pharmacology and psychology, so he could develop treatments for mental disorders.
A bit of a “hippie,” his family remembered him gleefully learning about new treatments involving microdosing psychoactive drugs, like LSD, to treat depression and anxiety. Tie-dye shirts bearing Enrique’s visage dotted the gathering, though his friends all knew Enrique’s taste in music went far beyond his love for the Grateful Dead.
“He was so helpful. He just wanted to help the world, help his friends, his family,” said Griselda. “He wanted to make sure that they were living a great life, and they were never sad.”
Enrique’s family didn’t know that his death was being investigated as a homicide until they saw it on the news. Details regarding his death and disappearance have been difficult to obtain from the Army’s Criminal Investigations Division (CID), family members said, and the Army did not allow the family to speak to the soldiers who were camping with Enrique when he disappeared.
The circumstances around Enrique’s disappearance remain a puzzle.
According to the Army Criminal Investigation Division and media reports, Roman-Martinez was camping with other soldiers in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. He vanished without his t-shirt, his phone, his glasses, or his wallet. He was last seen around midnight, but he wasn’t reported missing until 7:30 p.m. the next day.
Few clues were found until partial remains washed ashore on Shackleford Banks Island, where bodies have been found in the past.
Griselda said the medical examiner told her that the injuries could not have been made by a propeller or shark, leading in part to his death being investigated as a homicide.
In a media release, Rep. Norma J. Torres, D-Ontario, urged the public to share any information regarding Enrique’s murder, and her office has asked the Army for a full update on its investigation.
The Army CID is currently offering $25,000, for credible information leading to the arrest of those responsible for Martinez’s death.
“No one has the right to take someone’s life, my son’s life, away,” said Enrique’s mother, Maria Martinez. “That was my youngest, my baby, and I don’t have him anymore, only his memories. I demand justice for him.”