Joshua Corral Funeral Today

Joshua Corral was the first SRVHS graduate to die in combat in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

It has been a difficult month for military families in the Bay Area. Sean Walsh, 21, of the Army National Guard and Joshua Corral, 19, of the Marines were both killed in Afghanistan in the past two weeks.

Lance Cpl. Corral, affectionately known as "Chachi," of Danville was buried Wednesday in a private ceremony at Oakmont Cemetery in Lafayette. Before the burial, a memorial service will be held at  the East Bay Fellowship Church.

"When Chachi joined the Marines, he told us he was joining because  he wanted to make a difference," his father ArnieCorral said during the service.

Many mourners wiped away tears as an honor guard carried the casket, draped in an American flag, that contained Corral's body.

Toward the ceremony's end, Corral was posthumously awarded a  Purple Heart, which was presented to his family.

Corral died on November 18 while in combat in Helmand province on his first tour of duty.

Corral was a 2010 graduate of San Ramon Valley High School. His classmates knew him as a sports enthusiast who wanted to make a difference. His death was announced to the crowd attending a Friday night home game against Castro Valley and was met with audible gasps.

After his passing, hundreds of friends, family and well-wishers turned out two Mondays in a row to honor his sacrifice. They lined the streets near Corral's home holding American flags, patiently waiting for his family to return from Dover Air Force base where they received his body. A second show of public support came two days ago when hundreds of people lined the streets outside his grade school and his high school. They watched the procession after his body was flown from Dover to the Bay Area on its way to the mortuary.

Wednesday's funeral wase immediately followed by burial at the Oakmont Memorial Park. 

 Bay City News contributed to this report.

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