Francisco R. Jackson

Marine Lance Cpl. Francisco R. Jackson called his family in Elizabeth on Monday to deliver a hopeful message from Afghanistan.  "He said, ‘I’ll be home very soon. I want to see you,’" his cousin, Evelyn Cordoba, recalled today. "We were so happy to hear from him."

But on October 19, 2010, Francisco Jackson, age 24, was killed by an improvised explosive device during a combat operation in Helmand province, Afghanistan. 

A field artillery cannoneer, Francisco Jackson enlisted in the Marine Corps a year ago and was on his first combat deployment. He had been assigned to the 1st Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, Calif., and already had been awarded a Purple Heart.

Francisco Jackson, who leaves behind a wife and a son, immigrated from the Dominican Republic at a young age.  He was the eldest of four children, with two sisters and one brother.   He decided to enlist last year partly because he had plans to become an engineer, and hoped the Marines would guide him to a better life. 

Let us pray to God the Father, Jesus, all of the saints and all of the angels that Francisco Jackson is in heaven. Let us pray that he is at peace and is with God. Amen