Giovani Cruz

Rank: Lance Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps

Unit: Fleet Anti-terrorism Security Team, Alpha Company, 6th Platoon, based in Norfolk, Virginia

Hometown: Camden, New Jersey

Born: April 15, 1988

Died: July 4, 2010, Drowning, Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

Buried: Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Wrightstown, New Jersey

Lance Corporal Giovani “Gio” Cruz was born on April 15, 1988, in Camden, NJ. He grew up in East Camden and graduated from Camden County Vo-Tech High School in 2007. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in March 2009. His unit was based in Norfolk, Virginia, and in May 2010 went to Guantanamo Bay for a three-month security detail, guarding the fence line between Cuba and the U.S. base. On July 4, 2010, Cruz and two other Marines — Cpl. Paul Fagundes and Lance Cpl. James May Jr. — drowned while swimming off a recreational beach at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay. He was 22 years old. He was planning to marry his fiancée, Jackie Mass, in August upon his return. He is survived by his mother, Isabel Febres, of East Camden; his father, Herminio Febres; brothers Herminio Febres Jr. and Christopher Cruz; and sister Tiffany Febres.

A U.S. Marine from Camden has died in a swimming accident at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Lance Cpl. Giovani “Gio” Cruz, 22, was one of three Marines who drowned while swimming off a recreational beach at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay on July 4, military officials said. The Navy offered no details about the swimming deaths. It said Cruz and two other stricken Marines — Cpl. Paul Fagundes and Lance Cpl. James May Jr. — were recovered from the surf but could not be revived.

Two Marines who became separated from Cruz’s group were able to return to shore. They reported Cruz and the others were in distress, the Navy said.

“He died doing what he loved,” Cruz’s mother, Isabel Febres of East Camden, said Monday. “He loved being a Marine.”

She said her son enlisted in March 2009, almost two years after his graduation from Camden County Vo-Tech High School in Gloucester Township.

“He wanted to become somebody better, which he did when he became a Marine,” she said. “He served his country proudly.”

Cruz, who was based in Norfolk, Va., went to Guantanamo Bay in May for a three-month security detail. His Marine unit guarded the fence line between Cuba and the U.S. base, which holds a detention facility for terror suspects.

“While not lost in combat, they were lost in the defense of our nation,” Marine Major Winston Tierney said at a memorial service last week at Guantanamo.

Febres described her son as “lovable, respectful and fun-filled,” saying he tried to avoid negative influences on the city’s streets. “That’s why he joined the Marines, to not be involved in that situation,” she said. “He always played his Xbox with his fiancée (Jackie Mass). He was going to get married when he came back in August.”

“When he joined the military, I asked him, ‘Why the Marines?’ And he said to me, ‘Why go soft when you can go hard?’”

Age 22, of Camden, was born on April 15, 1988. Giovani also known as Gio was a member of the United States Marine Corps. He is survived by his mother Isabel Febres and his father Herminio Febres, brothers Herminio Febres Jr., Christopher Cruz and his sister Tiffany Febres, his fiancée Jackie Mass and a host of aunts, uncles and cousins. The viewing and services will be held Thursday, July 15th at May Funeral Home 4522 Westfield Ave., Pennsauken from 5–10pm. Interment Friday 11:30am at Brig. General William C Doyle Veterans Cemetery. Ministry of comfort entrusted to MAY FUNERAL HOMES, Camden, Pennsauken, Vineland and Willingboro.

Jackie Mass was supposed to join family and friends at a bridal shower this weekend, celebrating her planned marriage next month to a young Marine from Camden.

Instead, the 19-year-old and other loved ones gathered at a funeral home Thursday to say goodbye to her fiancé, Lance Cpl. Giovani “Gio” Cruz, who drowned while swimming at a U.S. Navy base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on July 4.

“He was my everything,” said Mass, who wore Cruz’s dog tags and ring on a necklace. “We talked about a lot of future plans.”

Family members said Cruz, 22, had overcome obstacles to reach many goals. He had graduated from Camden County Vo-Tech High School in 2007, started his military career in 2009, and navigated a path away from Camden’s dangerous streets.

“He inspired us a lot,” said Christopher Cruz, the Marine’s 20-year-old brother. “He chose this course because he wanted to make us all proud.”

“He was always about (accomplishing) something,” said Debra Russ of West Deptford, the mother of Cruz’s fiancée. “He wanted to make a better life for Jackie. He told her, ‘Babe, I want to be out of the streets of Camden.’”

More than 150 mourners, many in colorful T-shirts adorned with Cruz’s photo and inspirational messages, attended the services at May Funeral Home.

City Council President Frank Moran said Cruz was representative of many young people in Camden. “Our kids in this city have dreams and aspirations. Although he had a short life, he loved what he was doing.”

Cruz was one of three Marines who drowned while swimming off a recreational beach at the base in Guantanamo Bay. The Navy has offered few details, but family members say the men were caught in an undertow.

Cruz was expected to return in August, when he was to marry Mass, a Franklinville resident.

“I want everybody to know that living here in Camden, we can make it happen,” said Cruz’s aunt, Alisia Reyes, a city native who moved her family to Orlando. “He did what he had to do to get out.”