After nine months in Afghanistan, Raymond Cardoza sees daughter
for first time
Gilroy – Yellow ribbons mark the entranceway of 500 Eighth St. A flurry of children scratch chalk messages into the pavement outside.
“Best day ever,” one reads. “This day is very different from the other days.”
And it is.
Raymond Cardoza is home.
The Marine Sgt.’s first week back after a nine month tour of Afghanistan was highlighted when he got to hold his 2-month-old daughter Kayla for the first time.
“This is my first time seeing her,” he said, smiling as he gazed at the infant in his wife’s arms.
Cardoza is a member of the Third Battalion H&S Communications Platoon, and works setting up Internet, radio and satellite connections for the platoon back to the base.
He joined the Marine Corps in 2002 while attending Gavilan College. He visited recruiting offices on campus to learn more about how he could pay for school.
“Less than half hour after we talked, I was like, ‘Where do I sign?'” Cardoza said.
He has never once regretted the decision – not after being shot at visiting “friendly” villages, not after two members of his crew were killed by a roadside bomb.
He made positive connections with villagers while distributing medical and school supplies.
“You kind of see the big picture and why we’re over there,” he explained. “We’re not there to take over anybody.”
Cardoza is the oldest of three boys raised by a single mother in a Gilroy neighborhood plagued by gang violence. Growing up, his mother Norma could not afford to take her sons out of the county. Cardoza’s travel was limited to participating in national wrestling tournaments until he joined the Marines. His military service has made the family proud – he’s honored his country and seen the world – and set a new standard for neighborhood kids.
They skipped around the homecoming party eating cake frosted with the symbol of the American flag, and laughing with the Marine many had never seen before, knowing only that he was a hometown hero.
“I wonder what some of their lives are like at home?” Cardoza’s godmother Anita Ruiz asked. “Cesar Chavez once said, ‘Si se puede,’ They have to believe.”
Everyday, Norma wears a picture of her son in uniform pinned to her shirt. At work, she has papered his photograph around Wal-Mart.
Cardoza contacted his wife Delilah whenever he could so she could relay messages back to other family members. But he didn’t always tell her the whole story.
“I was scared a lot driving. I would pray before, ‘God, I hope we make it,'” he said.
But he didn’t want to worry her.
“There were times when I wanted to call my wife and tell her, ‘I’m scared,’ but I didn’t,” Cardoza said.
The sentiment is not uncommon – one of Cardoza’s fellow Marines never told his parents he was in Afghanistan so they wouldn’t think about it.
Having him home means one thing for Cardoza’s family members – less stress.
“Every night wondering, praying … You see things on TV and it scares you,” Ruiz said. “But you’re proud of them and what they do. We’re glad he’s home.”
But he won’t be for long.
Cardoza married Delilah just two weeks before shipping out. He is in the process of adopting her two daughters – Abigail, 5, and Melody, 3. Friday, the family will move to a base camp in Hawaii. There he will decide whether he wants to sign on for a six-month tour of Iraq or pursue a career in law enforcement.
“I’m really proud to be a Marine,” he said. “The only thing pushing me to get out is my new family.”
