Marine veteran keeps promise to fallen friend by naming son after him

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Veteran Richard Silva shared his story of service and loyalty at the Henry Ford Museum this Veterans Day.

"I kind of went in late. I was 28 when I went in. I just wanted to serve this great nation and be a part of something big and greater than myself and kind of give back," he said.

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In giving back, Silva gave a lot. As a sergeant in the United States Marine Corps, he was deployed to Fallujah, Iraq in 2004 as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Overseas, he was in charge of a fire team of five guys who provided security.

On Aug. 15 of that year, a vehicle blew up their checkpoint minutes after Silva had been relieved. His friend and fellow Marine, Jeffrey Perez, was gravely wounded.

"Just cradled him and told him how appreciative I was, that he was a good Marine, that I love him, and unfortunately he died there in my arms," Silva said.

Nine days prior, Silva said they had this conversation on a rooftop while patrolling:

"He said, 'Hey if something happens to me, I want you to name a kid after me,' - and I was laughing because I was like - I have two daughters in junior high - there's no way I'm going to start over, and you know, I'm laughing - and I could look at his face and Perez was serious," Silva said.

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They made the same promise to one another, and three years later, Silva and his wife found out she was pregnant.

"We went for the ultrasound, found out it was going to be a boy. We knew what we were going to do, you know, fulfill that promise," Silva said.

All these years later it still brings tears but smiles as well. It turns out his son, Perez, is so much like his namesake.

"If you believe in karma or reincarnation, it's like having him here all over again. He's always trying to make me smile and laugh, my son, and just embodies who he was, and I think the name is definitely suiting for him," Silva said.

As for Silva, he is still having surgeries and has had more than three dozen operations for the injuries he sustained when he was blown up. Two days after Perez died, he suffered a broken neck, a collapsed lung, and nearly lost his leg.

"I have an implant in my right leg, six screws in my left elbow, nine in my right shoulder, a neck implant," he said.

His heroism was rewarded last year when Citizens Bank and the Military Warriors Support Foundation gave him a new Ford Escape. It helps with getting Perez, who plays travel hockey, to his games, but it also helps with so much more.

"I had surgery not too long ago so it allows me to go to physical therapy, allows me to go to doctor's appointments, and then it allows me to give back, so I try to pay it forward," Silva said.

He lives in Macomb but has to go to the VA in Ann Arbor, and he takes other veterans to their appointments. He has also started his own organization called Hit the Cut, giving sports equipment to the children of first responders and servicemen and women.

"Doing stuff like this is our best way of paying it forward," h said.

It's the true spirit of a U.S. Marine, always serving, always giving, always thinking of others, present and past.

"If you look at all the branches, the Marines are the only ones with a hymn, and if you look at the last verse it says, "If you ever look on heaven scenes you will see the gates guarded by the United States Marines, so I know Jeffrey Perez is on post, and someday I'm going to relieve him," he said.