South Portland native, Angel Rosa, is being remembered as a leader, an athlete and a friend to many by staff at South Portland High School.

According to reports, Lance Cpl. Angel Rosa, 21, was killed March 13 while he was conducting combat operations in the Al Anbar province of Iraq.

Rosa was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 6, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), home based in Camp Lejeune, N.C.

He joined the Marine Corps Feb. 1, 2006, and was trained as an infantry rifleman. He was promoted to the rank of private first class on Aug. 1, 2006, and was posthumously promoted to lance corporal. Rosa’s decorations include the Purple Heart, the Combat Action Ribbon, the Iraqi Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the National Defense Service Medal.

Rosa graduated from South Portland High School in 2004. Principal Jeanne Crocker remembers him as “a competent scholar” who excelled as a soccer player. “He was very much a leader through his enthusiasm and his spirit,” Crocker said in an interview. She said the most memorable thing about Rosa is the fact that his wide range of friends transcended the bounds of cliques and groups. “He was very well liked and well respected by both staff and students.”

Crocker said that the soccer field “was where the very best of Angel came out.” He played sweeper and was the captain of his team during his senior year. His two soccer coaches remember him as a leader on and off the field.

Adam Perron had a unique perspective on Rosa. Perron coached him in his freshman year and then took over as head coach during Rosa’s senior year, which allowed Perron the chance to see him mature. “You could always count on him to make the right decision on the field,” Perron said. “He was someone I needed to count on.” Perron said that Rosa “had a great sense of pride in himself and in the team.”

Jon Shardlow, who coached Rosa for two seasons, called him an “exceptional athlete” who was “very physical, very intense.” He said Rosa was a leader by example, but was not afraid to use his voice. Besides being a strong and quick defensive player, Shardlow remembers Rosa as “an engaging kid.” Shardlow said, “He was very well respected by fellow players.” Shardlow and Rosa also spent time together working with children in the youth soccer program. “The kids just loved him,” Shardlow said.

Among the family members Rosa has left behind are his wife, Elise Rosa, of Standish; his sister, Mariemill Giordano, a 2006 graduate of South Portland High; and his parents, Anna and Robert Bradbury.

His uncle, Ron Bradbury, of Portland, called Rosa “a really nice guy and an excellent kid.” As a child, Bradbury said he was never a problem, just “a lot of good, honest fun.”

Rosa’s godmother and aunt, Kathy McInnis-Misenor of Saco, said Rosa was “a jewel among men. From the split second he came into this world, he was full of life,” she said. McInnis-Misenor described him as bright and charming with “a smile that could one mintue make you crack up and the next make you melt.”

She said his work with children was particularly important to him and that he would make sure he always knew everyone’s name. “Everything he did, he did to perfection,” said his aunt.

Along with youth soccer, Rosa was a member of the Boys and Girls Club. McInnis-Misenor said that the number of calls the family received from the young kids who are now middle schoolers is what inspired Elise Rosa to request that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Boys and Girls Club.

“Angel would have liked that,” McInnis-Misenor said.

Gov. John Baldacci ordered that all flags in the state fly at half-mast on the day of Rosa’s funeral, which was a private Catholic mass held on Wednesday at Sacred Heart Church in Portland.

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