‘Joey was my best friend:’ Memorial service honors young Delaware soldier killed during training

GEORGETOWN, Del. – Friends, family and loved ones gathered Monday evening to honor the life of a 19-year-old fallen Delaware soldier who was killed during a training exercise last month.

According to police, Joseph A. Marquez was involved in a single vehicle incident and died instantly during a training exercise in April at Yakima Training Center in Washington State.

Service was in the family’s blood as he followed in his grandfather’s footsteps and enlisted in the Army. Marquez was a member of 2-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 7th Infantry Division, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. With a rank of Private First Class, his duties included working as a combat motor operator.

A Dover native and 2020 graduate of Sussex Tech High School, Joey was also passionate about sports. Yet, his mother Kristen Giordano tells 47ABC  it was who he was off the field that mattered most.  “He was a mama’s boy, he was a great brother to his sister. He was a great friend and teammate. At the services, everybody who stood up said ‘Joey was my best friend.’ He was just kind of that guy to everyone,” Giordano said.

Former coaches, his youth pastors,  and more filled seats Monday evening at a memorial held at Sports at the Beach in Georgetown.  It was a place that was a huge part of Joey’s life as a kid.

Many spoke of how much of a respectable and brave young man he was. It’s those words his mother tells us will help her smile through the pain. “Today, for me, just is the opportunity for everybody that loved Joey just to stand up and celebrate him a bit and for me to see the little pieces that he gave everybody,” Giordano said. “Everybody remembering his dimples, his smile, his laugh. Just the love that he had that was shown out of him and just to see it carry on through my family and his friends.”

In honor of his legacy, one former coach is establishing a scholarship in his name continuing his legacy for future athletes to come.

As for the wreck that claimed Private First Class Marquez’s life, it remains under investigation.