Community Corner

Honoring Our Sons on Veterans Day 2012: Matthew Patrick Manoukian

Los Altos Hills pays tribute to Matthew Manoukian, who served four tour of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, and was killed on August, 10, 2012, along with two other Marines, by a rogue Afghan police officer in Sangin district.

 

By Alexander Atkins
Editor and Designer of Our Town


Matthew Manoukian was born in 1983, the son of Socrates “Peter” Manoukian, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge, and Patricia Bamattre-Manoukian, Associate Justice of the Sixth District California Court of Appeal.

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He grew up in Los Altos with two younger brothers, Michael and Martin. Manoukian attended Saint Nicholas school and Saint Francis High School, graduating in 2001; he attended the University of Arizona, graduating in 2005. Later that year, Manoukian joined the Marine Corps.

Manoukian graduated from Officer Candidates School and the Infantry Officer Course and served in the Marine Corps Special Operations Command, the elite unit of the Marines. In 2007 he was deployed for his first tour of duty in Western Iraq, where he studied Middle East history and culture and learned to speak Arabic.

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In May 2012, Manoukian was deployed to Afghanistan, his fourth deployment. He was killed on August, 10, 2012, along with two other Marines, by a rogue Afghan police officer in Sangin district, long a Taliban stronghold.

During his military career, Matt had received two Purple Heart medals and two Navy and Marine Corps Commendation medals.

A memorial service for Manoukian was held at Saint Francis High School in Mountain View on August 18, 2012. The Marines gave Manoukian a 21-gun salute, and at the end of the service, the parents were presented with the Purple Heart medal.

 

You can read about the other sons of Los Altos Hills: Larry Mullen, William Sigua, and Louis Gau in the Veterans Day tribute produced in Our Town.

[Editor's note: You can see the Los Angeles Times' Veterans Day article about Matt Manoukian at this link]

Our Town is a newsletter serving the Town of Los Altos Hills, edited and designed by Alexander Atkins. This excerpt from the latest edition was reprinted with permission.


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