Thousands of people lined the streets and filled St. Martin De Porres Catholic Church in Yorba Linda to pay there respects to Lance Cpl. Rick Centanni. Centanni was killed on March 24th along with another Marine from Yorba Linda Sgt. Major Robert Cottle when an improvised explosive device exploded in Afghanistan.
Centanni is the son of Santa Ana Police Sgt. Jon Centanni. Hundreds of officers from Santa Ana and other agencies across the county were there to offer their support to Centanni and to honor his son. Ironically Cottle was a police officer as well, he was a member of the LAPD.
Lance Cpl. Centanni hoped to follow in his fathers footsteps one day and become a Santa Ana police officer. Santa Ana Police Chief Paul Walters made the younger Centanni a police officer today, presenting his father with an honorary badge, a nameplate and identification card. The badge inscribed with number 3228 will never be worn again by a Santa Ana officer.
Click here to read the rest of this post.