That is a part of a Yahoo News series honoring a number of the American lives misplaced to COVID-19. Their tales are informed by household and buddies, who have been left to take care of their usually sudden and painful deaths.
Former Employees Sgt. Robert Pedro Mendoza, 43, of Oceanside, Calif., died on April 20, 2020, after turning into in poor health with COVID-19. He’s among the many greater than 550,000 Individuals who’ve misplaced their lives to the illness for the reason that first recognized fatality in early 2020.
His mom, Yolanda Mendoza, informed Yahoo Information that her son was a “loving particular person” who beloved his household, his son and his nation.
“He served in the USA Marine Corps for about 15 years. He beloved being a Marine, and every part that it stood for.”
Initially from Houston, Mendoza moved to California in 1994 at age 17 to affix the USA Marine Corps. He attained the rank of employees sergeant and was deployed seven instances, together with excursions to Afghanistan, Iraq and the Persian Gulf.
In 2008, Mendoza determined to retire from the navy to start out a household. He was honorably discharged.
After his navy service, Mendoza ran Tactical Protection Methods, an organization in Oceanside, Calif., that made tactical gear for the navy and regulation enforcement businesses. Mendoza says her son “devoted the remainder of his life to his enterprise and his son.”
He was a loyal father to his 10-year-old son, Christian. “Robert was an superior dad,” Mendoza stated. “He beloved that little boy. He was so happy with [him].”
Final spring, simply earlier than Easter, SSgt. Robert Mendoza started to really feel in poor health. Inside days of testing optimistic for COVID-19 and growing signs, he died at a hospital in San Diego.
For his mom, his sudden dying was surprising and tough to just accept.
“He was only a massive, stable man,” she stated. “He had two black belts in Jiu Jitsu. He may sort out something. He may go to conflict. He got here again safely. My son has been shot at, and for him to die of a virus, I simply could not imagine it.”
Though the ache of dropping her son remains to be very recent, visiting him on the cemetery each Sunday brings her and her husband some consolation.
“We speak to him,” she stated. “We attempt to inform him how Christian is doing, and I at all times ask Robert, earlier than I go away, to only defend Christian and information him if he can.”
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