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Chula Vista streets named to honor fallen military members

The city of Chula Vista is honoring the lives of fallen members of the military and is dedicating seven new streets named for those killed in Afghanistan and Iraq.

SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8) - The city of Chula Vista dedicated seven new streets today that are named for local members of the military killed in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The roadways are in the Village 2 development in Otay Ranch. The naming stemmed from a partnership between the city and developer Baldwin & Sons.

Around 200 people attended the ceremony, including families the honorees, who were given commemorative street signs.

The roads were named for:

-- Salem Bachar, a U.S. Marine corporal who died at age 20 in a 2006 battle in Fallujah, Iraq;

-- Michael Idanan, 21, a U.S. Army specialist killed in 2005 when a roadside bomb exploded near his Humvee south of Mosul, Iraq;

-- Kristofferson Lorenzo, a 33-year-old U.S. Army staff sergeant who died in 2011 when a device exploded in Kunar province, Afghanistan;

-- Michael Martinez, 24, a U.S. Army sergeant killed in combat in 2007 in Baghdad;

-- Joshua Mattero, a 29-year-old U.S. Army staff sergeant who died in 2007 when a device he was trying to defuse exploded northeast of Baghdad;

-- Curtis Spivey, 25, a U.S. Army specialist who died in 2007 of wounds suffered in an explosion in Baghdad the previous year; and

-- Charles Wyckoff Jr., 28, a sergeant with the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division killed by gunfire while on patrol in Afghanistan.

Army Sergeant Michael Martinez was killed in Iraq in 2007. His son Landon Martinez not only feels safe, but is also proud of his father. 

Young Landon Martinez, son of Michael, told News 8, "Look at this, we have a street name. My dad sacrificed just for us and now I'm just so proud of him. I will never stop being proud of him."

The sister of Sergeant Charles Wyckoff Jr. said she was said her kids never knew their uncle, but on Friday it was all about celebrating and honoring his service. 

"I feel very honored to have a street named after my brother because he really did make the ultimate sacrifice," she said. 

The seven streets joined over 85 roadways in Chula Vista named to honor the South Bay city's veterans.

In addition to each name, the street signs are red, white and blue with a flag and notation on each individual.

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