Peninsula Marine killed in Afghanistan
Henry K. Lee
Updated 9:12 p.m., Monday, August 13, 2012
Capt. Matthew Manoukian was going to go to law school. Photo:
Santa Clara County, Superior Court / SF
U.S. Marine Capt. Matthew Manoukian of Los Altos Hills planned to
leave the service next year and enroll in law school, following in the
footsteps of his parents who both serve on the bench.
But Capt. Manoukian, 29, and two other Marines were killed Friday
“while conducting combat operations” in Helmand province, Afghanistan,
the Defense Department said.
The three, who were assigned to the 1st Marine Special Operations
Battalion in Camp Pendleton (San Diego County), were shot and killed
at a police checkpoint, the Associated Press reported.
Capt. Manoukian was the son of Judge Socrates “Peter” Manoukian of
Santa Clara County Superior Court and Associate Justice Patricia
Bamattre-Manoukian of the Sixth District Court of Appeal in San Jose.
“On behalf of the entire court family, I wish to express our profound
sorrow. Matt was killed in action serving his country and the death of
this amazing man is a tremendous loss to our community and nation,”
said Presiding Judge Richard Loftus Jr. of Santa Clara County Superior
Court. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Manoukian family.”
Capt. Manoukian joined the Marines in 2006.
A year later, he was serving in Iraq when he was injured by an
improvised explosive device. He received a Purple Heart medal, one of
many decorations he would receive during his career.
Capt. Manoukian was also a parachutist and held a first-degree black
belt in the Marine Corps martial arts program.
“Matt was just a remarkable man of his generation,” state Supreme
Court Justice Carol Corrigan, a family friend, said Monday. “He was
kind and brave and smart and was absolutely committed to serving his
country and the Marine Corps. It’s just a tragedy to lose him.”
He was planning to leave the Marines in 2013 to attend law school,
possibly at Golden Gate University School of Law in San Francisco
where he had already been accepted, Corrigan said. He had hoped to
become a public defender, she said.
Besides his parents, Manoukian is survived by his brothers, Michael,
27, and Martin, 21.
A public memorial will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday at St. Francis High
School, 1885 Miramonte Ave. Mountain View, CA 94040. Contributions can
be sent to the Matthew Patrick Manoukian Scholarship Fund, in care of
the school.
Henry K. Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.
E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: @henryklee
From: Baghdasarian