Bonifacio Jr., Jerry Lee

Location: 1956

Date: 10/10/2005

Rank: Staff Sergeant

Branch: U.S. Army

Operation: Operation Iraqi Freedom

SSGT. Jerry L. Bonifacio Jr. was killed by a car bomb Oct. 10, 2005 in Baghdad. He was assigned to Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment in the Bay Area city of Dublin. Before his deployment to Iraq earlier this year, he served in Kuwait and in the Sinai Peninsula. Posthumously promoted to staff sergeant, Bonifacio was a squad leader, mortar man and dismount team leader.

Jerry bore a striking resemblance to Jerry Mathers, the actor who played Beaver in the 1950s television sitcom “Leave It to Beaver.” Many of his friends, in fact, called him “Beaver.” Carol Dummer recalls him as a quiet teenager who would come in to wash dishes and do other chores around his grandparents’ homey corner café. “He was always as helpful as anyone could be,” said Dummer. Nathan Padilla, owner of Gamewarden Comics shop, said Bonifacio would spend hours in his shop when he was home on leave. “He’s been a customer here for years really into comics like ‘Conan,’ ‘Tomb Raider,’ ‘X-Men,’ ‘New Avengers,’ ‘Wolverine’ and ‘Witchblade,’ Padilla said. “He was a hero before the war,” said Tammy Lambert-Diaz, Bonifacio’s godmother. “He always found the good in everybody.”

He is survived by his parents Jerry and Anna Bonifacio; sister Esther and brother; John; his grandparents, Elizabeth and Hope Steele; and his only nephew, Nathan R. Bonifacio. He is also survived by several aunts, uncles, cousins, and his fiancé, Michelle Baptiste.

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