Remembering ONE of our FINEST:
Richard's brother, Stewart has made it a mission to ensure others do not forget the service of our 'warriors'... our 'fallen heroes'.
This is some information he sent regarding Richard and the memorials set up.
On October 6, 2003 Lieutenant Torres became the first son
of the city of Passaic, New Jersey,
first ROTC graduate from Austin Peay State University
and 1st Peruvian-American Commissioned Officer
to give his life while delivering the gift of freedom to the people of Iraq.
Even though my family is going on 25 months since Richard's passing,
it remains very hard for us and for those whose lives were touched during his 25 years of life.
Since my brothers passing, I have crusaded relentlessly to preserve his memory in both the U.S. and in Peru.
I immediately created the Lieutenant Richard Torres Committee
and through the committee we were able to have Richard’s alma mater,
Austin Peay State University (Clarksville, TN) rename
their advance ROTC classroom to "Torres Hall"
and to start the 2 LT Richard Torres scholarship fund
(Richard graduated with honors “cum laude” in May of 2002
majoring in Political Science and History with a 3.7 GPA).
In our hometown of Passaic, we petitioned the City of Passaic to add a secondary street name to Beech Street
(where we lived for over 18 years).
It now reads "LT. Richard Torres Square",
and a war hero’s plaque is prominently displayed in the entrance hallways
of the Passaic City Hall.
In the July 25, 2004 Peruvian Day Parade, I dedicated a float in honor of my brother, and my family, Operation Iraqi Freedom Veterans,
friends and officials joined me.
The message was to remind everyone of our young men and woman
continuing to sacrifice their lives, their limbs and their prime years
for you and me.
To the world, Richard was just a soldier,
but to us he was our world.
October 6, 2004 marked the one year anniversary of my brother’s passing.
As a die hard fan of NY based teams;
specifically the Knicks, Rangers & Yankees,
it was befitting that we honor him in the “Big Apple”.
The “Day of Remembrance” ceremony was held on board the
USS Intrepid battleship museum in New York City.
The ceremony was attended by state officials from New Jersey,
New York and Connecticut,
Peruvian Consul Generals from New York and New Jersey,
as well Richard’s Company Commander Captain Brad Duplesis.
The ceremony was covered by the New Jersey Network.
On this day, I made a public promise that by next October the committee will be in Lima Peru honoring the sacrifice of the first Peruvian American Officer in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
My crusade for 2005 has been renamed to Operation “Destino Lima 2005"
and it took place on October 6, 2005
throughout various municipalities in Lima Peru.
Some of the scheduled events were as follow:
10AM -
Official Presentation of the Lt. Torres painting to the National Peruvian Military Museum “Real Felipe” in the district of Callao. The ceremony will include a brief mass, families of fallen Peruvian heroes in the U.S., Procession march to the newly designated gallery for “Peruvian Fallen Heroes Abroad”, We will have a Peruvian Army and United States Marine Corps honor guard with representatives from the U.S. Military Group (District of Callao)
1PM -
Day of Remembrance Lunch/Ceremony program at Carrera Las America (District of Lince)
4PM –
Official ceremony at the US Embassy to honor and remember the four fallen Peruvian Heroes in the U.S. We will be presenting Ambassador James Curtis Struble with a commemorative plaque to remind all about the price of Freedom.
Below is the sequence of events for the embassy ceremony
Opening Remarks
Raising of the Colors
National Anthem - USA
National Anthem - Peru
Special Remarks - Mr. Stewart Torres
Introduction of the Families
Special Remarks - Ambassador J. Curtis Struble
Presentation by the Families of the Fallen Heroes Plaque
Lowering of the Colors
Special Roll Call Reenactment - Tribute to Our Fallen Heroes
Playing of Taps
Closing Remarks
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lt. Torres School Supply Scholarship
Creation of the Lt. Torres School Supply Scholarship
to be awarded to the top 2 middle school graduates
Lima gifted and talented program.
The scholarship will be in the form of school supplies
(district of San Luis)
Our mission is to inspire our youth about the price of freedom
which continues to be paid today by our servicemen and women,
while further educating the public and preserving the legacy of the first Peruvian-American Commissioned Officer
to give his life in defense our Liberties!.
May
God Bless Peru
and
Continue to Bless the
United States of America!
Stewart Torres, Brother/Official Spokesman
Lieutenant Richard Torres Committee
Lieutenant Richard Torres Honorable Mentions
and Committee Highlights:
December 2003 –
His alma mater Austin Peay State University (Clarksville, Tennessee)
renamed their ROTC Center to “Torres Hall”
and started the Richard Torres Scholarship fund
January 2004 –
The city of Passaic unveiled a war hero plaque in the
entrance hallway of city hall
February 2004 –
Spoke at the Salute to Heroes Dinner on board the Intrepid
(attended by Actor Gary Sinise/CSI,
General Richard B. Myers/Head of the Joints Chief of Staff)
July 2004 –
Dedicated a Heroes float in the annual Peruvian Day Parade (Passaic/Clifton/Paterson)
July 2004 –
The city of Passaic unveiled the secondary street name
“LT. Richard Torres Sq.” (added to Beech Street)
August 2004 –
Spoke on the Turner Broadcasting Station “TNT”
during the Robbie Knievel’s special “Robbie jumps over
the Intrepid battleship planes”
September 2004 –
Spoke in front of Peru’s Minister of Foreign Affairs
“Manual Rodriguez Cuadros” at the
Peruvian Consulate office in New York City
October 6, 2004 –
Held the 1 year anniversary “Remembrance Ceremony”
on board the USS Intrepid Battleship in New York City
(attended by Alejandro Ugarte/Vice Consul-NY (at the time),
Carlos Ortega/Vice Consul-NJ, Felipe Reinoso/Connecticut Assemblymen, Representatives from the City of Passaic on behalf of Mayor Sammy Rivera, James Anzaldi/Mayor of Clifton,
Clarice Jones – Representative from NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s office, Roberto Bustamante – Representative from Governor Jim McGreevy’s office, Daniel Jara/President-CEO NJ Hispanic Statewide Chamber of Commerce
October 9, 2004 –
Presented Peruvian Congressional President Dr. Antero Florez Araoz
with a Lieutenant Richard Torres Committee Plaque
in La Guardia Community College.
This plaque was taken to Peru and presented to
Roberto Chiabra Leon (Minister of Defense)
November 15, 2004 –
Presented the Passaic City Council with a Lieutenant Torres Committee plaque
November 22, 2004 –
Presented the Passaic Board of Education with a
Lieutenant Torres Committee plaque
December 4, 2004 –
The New Jersey Network aired a special “Peruvians
who have contributed to our society” which featured
Lieutenant Richard Torres
December 20, 2004 –
The committee commissioned a painting from one of Peru’s
most prized artist “Humberto Aquino”
(unveiling date May 30, 2005 USA; 10/6/2005 Peru)
February 7, 2005 -
The Torres committee donated 2 computers to the
Peruvian Consulate General of NJ/PA for public use
May 27, 2005 –
The Committee held a special Memorial Day assembly at
Thomas Jefferson School in Passaic, NJ
May 29, 2005 –
The committee honored LT. Torres during the annual Peruvian
convention in Queens, NY.
On this day, we unveiled the LT. Torres painting
which will be donated to Peruvian museum in October 6, 2005.
July 23, 2005 –
The Association of Peruvian Institutions in Middlesex County
honored Lieutenant Torres with a special plaque
at the Town Hall of Perth Amboy.
July 27, 2005 (Callao Lima) –
Club Sport Boys Association honored
Lieutenant Richard Torres by presenting the Torres family
a team jersey with Richard’s name on it.
July 28, 2005
(Plaza Olvera – Los Angeles California) –
Lt. Torres was remembered with a special reading
to all in attendance during the Peruvian Independence Day festivities
October 6, 2005 –
Operation “Destination Lima Peru”
(various ceremonies throughout Lima)
Feb 7th 2006 -
Street Dedication Ceremony in
Lima, Peru
(district of Lince)
Jan 2007
BOARD TO APPROVE RESOLUTION HONORING
THE WOUNDED AND FALLEN
(PASSAIC) -
In honor of our nation's military wounded and fallen, the Passaic Board of Education will announce a resolution approving a Purple Heart Memorial on the grounds of Passaic High School.
The monument will be in memory of United Sates Army Lieutenant Richard Torres, graduate of the class of 1996, who received his Purple Heart posthumously as a result of wounds sustained in action that led to his untimely passing on October 6, 2003 in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Lieutenant Torres is the first Passaic native to give his life
in the Global War on Terrorism.
Passaic High School becomes just the second public school in the state of New Jersey to erect a Purple Heart Memorial.
In 2006, the Montville Board of Education approved a similar monument which is set to unveil in the spring of this year.
The project is being coordinated by the Lieutenant Richard Torres Committee and will be completely funded through tax-exempt contributions from grateful individuals and organizations to the Military Order of the Purple Heart Service Foundation.
Additional information will be posted shortly on
