Post Office renamed for local Marine

SEEKONK, Mass. (WPRI) - The Seekonk Post Office is being renamed the "Marine LCpl. Eric Paul Valdepeñas Post Office" after the Marine who died tragically in Iraq.

Eric Paul Valdepeñas, an honor student and accomplished lacrosse player, put his studies on hold at the College of Engineering at UMass, Amherst to serve his country when his reserve unit was activated in December 2005 and deployed to Iraq March, 2006.

Twenty-one year old U.S. Marine LCpl. Valdepeñas had one month left to complete his tour in Iraq when he was tragically killed by an IED (roadside bomb) in Fallujah, in the province of Al Anbar on September 4, 2006.

A trained machine gunner, Valdepeñas was on patrol with three comrades in a Victor 5 Humvee when the bomb exploded.