Fil-Am Marine murdered in Afghanistan

SAIPAN— A 21-year-old Filipino-American Marine corporal was allegedly stabbed to death by his fellow Marine in Afghanistan early Friday. U.S. Marine Corporal Dave Michael Maliksi Santos, who grew up in Cavite, his mother’s hometown, was in Afghanistan as part of “Operation Enduring Freedom." The killing is still under investigation but initial reports showed that he was stabbed by a fellow Marine on the left side of his neck around 2:00 a.m. in Marjeh, Helmand Province in Afghanistan. He was pronounced dead some two hours later. Santos was born in Rota in the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), about three hours away from the Philippines, but he lived in Cavite until he was nine. In an interview with GMANews.TV, his mother Charito Maliksi-Runge, said "Dave Michael was an honorable man, son, father, husband and friend. He’s a very generous man. Even if he has one dime left, he would give it to friends who need it more. That’s how he was… He cannot hurt a fly." Runge, who now lives in Newark, Delaware, said “we are all hurting and mourning. Dave Michael’s brothers and sisters here miss him… We love Dave Michael so much." Runge says she misses her son “but as they say, God needs soldiers in Heaven. I’m so grateful God trusted me to raise Dave Michael and to have a great son like him. I know he’s in Heaven now and I have an angel up there." ‘Justice for Dave’ Santos’s father, David Santos, said his son was “loved by many." “He’s a great kind, a wonderful son, and I will miss him forever," he said. “As a father, I don't have any hatred toward anyone, even to God, I just want the truth and justice to be served, for closure," the father said. CNMI Lt. Governor Eloy Inos on Monday said the CNMI government hopes the U.S. military “will do a full investigation of the situation, to keep the family at peace. Hopefully that will bring closure to this." CNMI Senate President Paul Manglona, who is also from Rota, said “it is understandable that because of this tragedy, Corporal Santos' family wants answers as to how this could have happened." “I am confident that the U.S. military justice system will provide those answers so that the Santos family may find some closure. I offer the family my sincerest condolences during this difficult time of grief," he said in a statement. Representative Teresita Santos, who is also from Rota and an aunt of the late corporal, said her nephew is “not the type who would provoke anyone to a fight." “He's very respectful… I just hope that justice will prevail, and that truth will come out to bring closure to this, and for his family's sake. Killing someone is not a reason to resolve anything," she said. Santos is the 13th CNMI resident, and the 37th from the Micronesian region, to die since 2003 while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. His cousin, the late Corporal Joe Charfauros Jr., also from Rota, died while supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Charfauros, 33, was one of the four U.S. troops who were killed on June 20, 2007, in Baghdad, Iraq after an improvised explosive device blew up near the vehicle they were riding. –VVP, GMANews.TV