My friend and Brother ENRIQUE VARGAS,  I will always remember you and all our conversation, We share alot of good times and not so good ones to. This is my story One day while at Battle Assembly at Ft Buchanan, Puerto Rico a group of Drill Sergeant approached us and asked us if we wanted to be Drill Sergeants. So V looked at me and said let's do this I said you think we can be Drills he said yes and we left that unit and went on to Drill Sergeant School and Graduate.Thanks to you my friend we made it and I just wanted to say Like I told you so many time V you are not just my friend you are and always will be my Brother MAY THE GOOD LORD ALWAYS LOOK OVER YOU REST IN PEACE and Happy 54th 

 To the Vargas family and Ana but most of all Enrique. My name is Ruben A. Fernandez. I will refer to Enrique as Vargas and myself Fernandez. we never used our first names.As we were or are still Marine Corps brothers.Well My memorial is as follows. I first met Corporal Vargas a long time ago as Marine Corps Cadets his father was our Cadets Commander Lt. Coronel Vargas. Corporal Vargas was my Cadet Drill Instructor. It sounds very fomal but out of respect I want it to be. We drill train and practice Marine Corps all the time.( By the way I just found a book Vargas lone me 30 years ago It was title the Guerilla and how to find him. I will take it to Puerto Roco and place it in his headstone when I visit him.) So years later We join the marine Corps as it had been our wish since childhood I went to 3rd Batallion Marine Recruit Depot Then to 2nd Battalion 10th Marines Fox Battery Gun #6 I became an Artillery Gunner and Vargas went to become a Combat Photograher and then 2nd Recon Batallion He went to Okinawa he ran in the Marine Corps Marathon and so many things. I told him about my good and bad times in the Marines and he do the same. He told me he play the Congas in Okinawa on his time off and alot of peronal things that I can not and wont mention here. I Fernandez was a hot head with a short fuse. One time I got into a fight and was lock up in the Brig in Camp Lejeune .I was all alone but my own brother Tony a former Marine who lived oustside the base after he got out of the Marines did not visited me.Vargas upon finding out boom was there visiting me and cheering me up always a motovator giving me hopeand concern. our pockets most of the time were empty but we were rich with loyalty, integrety and honesty. as time went by we lost contact. Then one day in New York City Times Square I was getting on the A train and Vargas was getting off and desteny and God reunited us and we rekindle our friendship. I trusted Vargas more than my own Brother and Mother.He would always listen and no matter what he always gave me hope there are so many things I just can not put them here. But we last met afew years back when I visited Puerto Rico. I invited him out to dinner with me and my family and Ana also came with him. I remember him he was so healthy and full of hope.He stay living in Puerto Rico and I came back to New York. And before the marine Corps contact me. Vargas called me to tell me about the marine Corps Water Poisoning. I spent 4 years in Camp Lejeune and Vargas spent 10 Years Vargas was a healthy young man. I know it was the watering Poisoning at Camp Lejeune that caused his down fall and CANCER I know it was that because Im starting to suffer now. Im 53 years old Vargas was 54 years old. Im losing my vision and I have Artrithis so advance it should be on a 70 year old man and a non cancerous tumor on my liver. I stand witness for Vargas I'll testify in any court on his behave that what kill him was that damn water. Imagine drinking Dry Cleaning fluids and WD 40 solvents. I look forward to dying because I know Vargas is waiting for all of us when our time comes. Well Enrique I will always keep you in my prayers and dreams make sure we live together in the same barracks in heaven so we can stand guard duty and protect the weak and frail innocent people we are going to meet in Heaven. I have alot more to say about Vargas but I'll leave it here for now. My brother Marine may you Rest in Peace and keep the gates of Heaven safe for when we all meet again. And I promise you. Ill do my best to make sure you and I and all the other Marines get justice for that water poisoing that was done to us.I love you my brother Rest in Peace. Your Marine brother Ruben Antonio Fernandez     

When we were younger my dad had Marine Cadets and we all had to be in the cadets the brothers and all the sisters. Enrique loved it but us the girls we hated it. Well one day we were in Highland Park with the cadets and we walked the reservior. We were exhausted and thirst and we decided to stop and drink water from our canteens well this one cadet named Carlos he was asking us all to just give him a sip of water. We all refused because he had his own canteen.Well Enrique and Raymond my other brother decided to take away as they tossed it around to each of us till they found what was in his canteen. they wanted  to see why he didnt have water and when they opened it the canteen was full of CORNFLAKES. Laughing out loud I am right now, because they named Carlos Cornflakes and till this day I see him and still call him Cornflakes. Well as we got older I continued to call him Cornflakes and he hated it. but Im so bad and mean that one day he chased me home and I hid behind Enrique and I told Enrique he was trying to hit me.Well he wasnt and he told Enrique " you better tell your sister to stop calling me Cornflakes" I thought Enrique was going to hit me for being so mean but he looked at me then at Cornflakes and told him "If you hit my sister I'm going to kick your a--. Cornflakes was certianly scared of Enrique he always was. So he let me alone after that. Enrique being the good man he is when Cornflakes left he turned around and told me you better stop calling him that because its mean or he was going to kick my butt.  Cornflakes Im so sorry. Thanks Enrique for those awesome memories and for always having my back. I love you so very very much and I miss you dearly. Love you always your Twin Sister Ana

When we were growing up, my little brother's favorite words were "Welfare Day" ... 
Why because he would clean out his room and get rid of stuff he no longer wanted so he would yell at the top of his lungs "Welfare Day" and he would flashed that big beautiful smile of his.. We would drop whatever we were doing and run up to his room.. We would sit on the floor outside his door awaiting whatever goodies he had that he was going to give away.. It might sound dumb and silly but we always Love Welfare Day because Enrique would give out some good stuff.. Sometimes me and my sisters would fight for the same article that he was giving away... We would pull and tug until the best man won.. Enrique would laugh at us and say "Wait I got more!!" .. Fun times.. Thank you Little brother for the laughs.. So now I smile and think of you little brother and say to myself "Welfare Day" those were the good ole days.. We had so many good times.. WE LOVE AND MISS YOU ENRIQUE SO MUCH <3 '' ...

My first and only Christmas in Puerto Rico 2005. Enrique took us to an Arecibo Lobos game. Great time!