Marine Victor Dew killed in the line of duty

I got to know Victor just because he was Victor. He was an individual – he didn’t follow the crowd. I mean, he just stood out. As a teacher, I think you have specific kids that you think about often (because) they made an impression on you –  I’ve been here seven years (and Victor was one of those kids).

In class, he was always a participant. It’s not that he always had the right answer; but he always had an opinion, believed in the opinion, backed it up and that affected other kids (so that)  they respected him when he spoke. He was a silent leader.

He really touched my heart. There are kids you (teach) that make you say: ‘God I hope my kids turn out like that’. That’s how I felt about Victor.
                                                                                                                          ***

Granite Bay High School teacher Liz McCuen is one of many who remember Victor Dew, a GBHS 2008 graduate and Private First Class in the U.S. Marine Corps. Dew, who joined the Marines in 2009, was killed in combat Oct. 13 in Afghanistan.

He made similar impressions on all who knew him.

GBHS 2008 graduate Eric Seidman graduated in the same class as Dew. The boys met at Olympus Junior High School soon after Dew’s family relocated from the Bay Area.

“I was pretty intimidated (when I first met Victor), to be honest. But upon hearing him speak, I realized that he was one of the most down-to-earth guys,” Seidman said.

“He could talk to anybody, and nobody ever had anything against him. This is how he always was – perhaps if anything changed about him, it was that more and more people realized it,” he said.

Granite Bay parent Valisa Schmidley is one of many others who were impacted by Dew’s kind heart and quiet demeanor. She worked with him at the OJHS snack bar, where he insisted on being her teacher assistant.

“When he came to Olympus as a seventh grader,  he was really shy – like painfully shy,” Schmidley said. “Even though he was quiet, he had a tremendous inner strength – he was very loving, very sweet, very kind-hearted.”

It was at OJHS where Dew met his best friend, GBHS 2007 alum Arash Mottaghian. The two met in leadership class and soon after discovered they were neighbors.

Dew and Mottaghian remained close during their years at GBHS – they ate lunch together, walked home from school together, spent time after school together and hung out on the weekends.

One of Mottaghian’s favorite memories from their friendship was riding their bikes or skateboards around town.

“(Once), close to Halloween, we were biking around and we went over to Party City. They had those toy M16 rifles that make that really annoying clicking sound when you pull the trigger,” Mottaghian said with a laugh. “(We each grabbed one) and ran through the aisles, hiding behind walls and using them as guards, pretending to shoot at each other.  I don’t know how long we (lasted) before we were kicked out.”

Dew also left an impact on GBHS staff, including science teacher Shane Dixon.

“I remember he had very characteristic handwriting. As I recall, it was a fancy type of script – artistically unique,” Dixon said.

GBHS 2010 graduate Lauren Paulson met Dew in Mimi Hafeman’s Spanish 2 class. Paulson remembers Dew’s unique personality quirks.

“His Spanish name was Ignacio, like Ignacio Libre (from the movie Nacho Libre),” Paulson said. “Whenever he was (called on in class, and) in a good mood, he would yell ‘Ignaaaaciooo!’ He liked that movie a lot.”

Paulson and Dew kept in touch even after he graduated; they would often watch zombie movies, play Wii and cook together.

“He liked to make people feel comfortable and happy – he really cared about you,” Paulson said.

McCuen recalls Dew’s distinct presence in the classroom.

“(I can still picture him) coming in with his headphones on and his long hair, sitting down and throwing his feet up (on a chair),” McCuen said.

She said Dew’s personality was evident when he would enthusiastically raise his hand in a way that no one else does: hand straight up, even though his whole body was relaxed.

One of Dew’s personal achievements was earning his second-degree black belt in jujitsu. Despite his talent in the sport, many who knew him were impressed by how humble he was – McCuen said she didn’t even know Dew participated in jujitsu.

“He never bragged about himself in class. (And jujitsu was) something that (in) our many conversations (he) could’ve brought up,” she said.

After graduating, Dew briefly attended Sierra College before enlisting in the Marines in March of 2009. The 20-year-old departed for Afghanistan in September 2010.

“(Victor) had been talking about joining for God knows how long – all eight years that I had known him,” Mottaghian said.

Both Mottaghian and Paulson remember the big Marines flag that was hanging on the wall in Dew’s room.

“I thought he was completely meant for (the Marines),” Paulson said.  “He had that military mindset; he wanted to protect his friends and protect his people.” 

Even though Dew’s family and friends supported his decision, they went through a myriad of emotions in response to his enlistment, according to Mottaghian.

“I remember his mom always talking about how nervous she was. I would always try to calm her down, saying ‘Hey, everything is going to be good – he’s a tough kid’,” Mottaghian said. “She was worried, anxious, proud, happy – just every single emotion you can imagine going through her and her husband.”

Among the family and friends Dew left behind was his fiancée Courtney Gold, whom he proposed to at Disneyland weeks before he departed for Afghanistan.

Mottaghian said Dew and Gold’s engagement epitomized what Dew believed: “Live life the way you want to and don’t be afraid to take chances.”

To those knew him, Dew was fun-loving, caring and always full of life.

“There are few genuine, honest, good men in the world,” Seidman said. “Victor was one of them.”