Naming Las Vegas: Fallen Marine’s memory lives on in street name

When late Henderson resident Marine Lance Cpl. Richard Perez Jr. told his father the street formerly known as Buena Vida Drive was going to be “great” once completed, he didn’t know the impact it would have on his family.

“I used to drop him off on the corner of that street for school every morning,” said his father, Richard Perez Sr. “At the time, it was just dirt and mud, but he always told me he had a feeling it was going to be a great street once it was finished.”

Buena Vida Drive was renamed Rich Perez Jr. Drive in 2006 for the Coronado High School graduate after he was killed while serving in Iraq in 2005. The street sits near Horizon Ridge Parkway and Coronado Center Drive.

“I think my family went through a terrible tragedy, but we try to project it in a positive light,” Perez Sr. said. “There’s been many memorials for Rich, but the biggest is the street. It serves a purpose and represents someone who made a difference in the world.”

A California native, Perez Jr. moved with his family from Los Angeles to Las Vegas in 1989. After briefly relocating to California, Indiana and Denver, the family returned to Henderson in 2000.

Walking in his father’s footsteps, Perez Jr. loved sports and picked up baseball. He played at Foothill High School before transferring to Coronado.

“Rich was a good kid. I never had a problem with him,” Perez Sr. said. “He was the kid that would build card houses and tell everyone to stay away from the table for a week. He was friendly and befriended everyone growing up.”

As a senior in high school, Perez Jr. worked as a manager at Jack in the Box. His father said the idea of joining the Marines was brought up one night when he picked up his son from work.

“Of course, being a parent, I said, ‘Oh, no. You don’t want to do that,’ ” Perez Sr. said. “I gave in after meeting the recruiter. I knew he wanted to do this, so I was trying to be supportive.”

In 2003, Perez Jr. was part of Coronado’s first graduating class. Because he was only 17, Perez Sr. had to sign for him to join the Marines. He completed basic training in November that year.

“I had a deal with Rich. I told him that I would let him sign up if he didn’t volunteer to go anywhere,” Perez Sr. said. “Unbeknownst to me, in boot camp, they train them to defend the country and be proud to volunteer. So while I told him one thing, the Marine Corps encouraged the opposite.”

In 2004, Perez Sr. said his son called to confess he had volunteered to serve in Iraq for a few months.

“He said he had to come clean and tell me that he volunteered to go,” Perez Sr. said. “He told me, ‘I joined the military to defend my country and to do right in the world. It won’t happen if I sit around in Las Vegas as a reservist.’ ”

That August, Perez Sr. watched his son board a plane at March Air Force Base in California. Out of about 800 Marines, Perez Jr. was the first one called.

“He looked at me and threw up a peace sign,” Perez Sr. said. “It was the last time I saw my son.”

On Feb. 10, 2005, Perez Jr. had just returned from a convoy trip when he was killed in a truck accident. He was 19.

“His Marine buddy was backing up Rich’s truck at the exact second someone told Rich to move it. Rich took one step behind his truck and was crushed between two trucks,” Perez Sr. said. “It happened 10 days before he was set to come home.”

When Perez Jr.’s group members returned to Las Vegas the following week, they visited his family and sat in his room.

“They still couldn’t believe he was gone. No one could,” Perez Sr. said. “It was very shocking. I kept thinking he was going to walk in the door any second.”

To help the grieving process, Perez Sr. originally advocated to rename Valle Verde Drive in his son’s honor. He was required to get approval from every business and resident on the street.

“I had 99.9 percent approval. The last person I needed said, ‘No,’ and believe it or not, he was a former Marine,” Perez Sr. said. “The city of Henderson told me to try for another street, so I thought Buena Vida Drive was fitting because it means ‘beautiful life,’ and it was where I dropped Rich off for school every day.”

The residents and businesses of Buena Vida Drive agreed to the change, and the street was renamed, a somewhat rare occurrence, according to Clark County Museum administrator Mark Hall-Patton.

“Renaming a street is often a very difficult process because it can be quite expensive to the businesses and residents on the street,” Hall-Patton said. “It’s much easier to name a new street.”

In addition to physical memorials, each family member has dedicated something in his honor.

“I got my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in his honor. My daughter, Risa, is an excellent gymnast at the University of Oregon, and her motivation is her brother,” Perez Sr. said.

“It’s been an eye-opening experience. For whatever reason, Rich was put in that situation that night, but we’ve all tried to do something to live up to his legacy.”

To reach Henderson View reporter Caitlyn Belcher, email cbelcher@viewnews.com or call 702-383-0403. Find her on twitter: @caitlynbelcher.