KETTLEMAN CITY - A candle with the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe burned Tuesday afternoon on top of a small round table holding the picture of Victor Hugo Toledo-Pulido, smiling in his U.S. Army dress uniform.

Behind Toledo-Pulido's photo, a bouquet of light pink roses and a yellow calla lily plant dressed the altar his family had made.

Toledo-Pulido's mother, Maria Gaspar, 51, appearing without expression, recalled her son as having a lot of friends and being somewhat mischievous, although a good boy.

Toledo-Pulido, a 22-year-old corporal in the U.S. Army from Hanford, died May 23 in Al-Nahrawan, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. The Defense Department released the news late Sunday. A fellow soldier also died in the explosion.

They were assigned to 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry division based in Fort Benning, Ga.

"We were together at Christmas," said Gaspar in Spanish as she remembered her son. "He had just turned 22 on Feb. 3."

Gaspar shared a folder full of family photos which included some taken at her last family Christmas with Toledo-Pulido and pictures of Victor with his 1-1/2-year-old son, Isak, in Georgia where he was stationed at Fort Benning.

Gaspar said her son Victor Toledo-Pulido married his wife, Christi Toledo, 20, a few months before he left for Iraq in March.

"She was his first love," she said. "He always said she was the love of his life. He couldn't be without her."

"He left on March 10," Gaspar said. "It's been only two months since he left."

Gaspar said she, Christi Toledo, and the couple's son, Isak, were in Georgia when Victor Toledo-Pulido left for his deployment.

"He called us every day," Gaspar said of her son's short stay in Georgia. After a few weeks of feeling depressed in Georgia, all three of them came back to California. "He was OK with us coming back."

"Things happen for a reason," Gaspar added. "His mission was for a year. He had some vacation time and was planning to come (home) in November."

"Only God knows if they come back or not," Gaspar said of her son's death in Iraq. "I put him in God's hands."

For Gaspar, who was in Sonora, Mexico, visiting family and relatives when her son died, receiving the news last Wednesday was difficult to believe.

"He was my baby," Gaspar said. "I was not here. I couldn't believe it. I thought they were telling me lies."

As soon as she got the news, Gaspar came back to the Unites States traveling all night long from Sonora, Mexico, on a bus. She arrived in Kings County on Thursday.

Toledo-Pulido, who was the youngest of four, was born in Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico, and immigrated to the United States with his family when he was 7. He grew up in Avenal, Lemoore, Hanford and Kettleman City.

The 22-year-old went to two different high schools - Avenal and Lemoore high schools - before he received his GED from Proteus, Inc. in Hanford in 2004, Gaspar said.

Toledo, who was a legal resident of the United States, joined the Army Reserve after receiving his GED, Gaspar said, adding that a year later, her son signed up for eight years of active duty.

"He loved his work," Gaspar said. "He told me that he had another mission either in Germany or Japan, and that he wanted me to go with him."

Gaspar said she didn't want her son to go to Iraq, but she couldn't persuade him not to join the Army.

She said Victor used to tell her that if it was God's will for him to die, he would - whether it was in California or in Iraq.

"He gave his life for this country," she said.

With a soft voice, Yosio Toledo, Toledo-Pulido's older brother, recalled the times he and his younger brother spent together.

"He was my little brother," Yosio Toledo-Pulido said in Spanish over a phone interview. "And we always took care of him. We love him so much."

The last time Yosio talked to his younger brother was on May 22 - the day before he died.

"He told me that everything was fine and that he was not in danger," Yosio said. "In November he was going to come back."

Yosio, who received the news about his brother's death last Wednesday, said he couldn't find the words to tell his mother about Victor's death.

"We were afraid she was going to get ill," he said.

Gaspar said her son loved to cook and one of his dreams was to become a chef.

The family expects Toledo-Pulido's body to arrive by Friday. Funeral arrangements are still pending.

Gaspar said Victor's older brother Gaston is trying to get a visa to come to California from Mexico for the funeral.

The features editor can be reached at 582-0471 ext. 3054

Casualties in Iraq with ties to Kings County:

Army Cpl. Victor Hugo Toledo-Pulido, 22, of Hanford, died May 23, 2007, in Al-Nahrawan, Iraq.

Army Staff Sgt. Christopher Moore, 28, of Alpaugh, died May 19, 2007, in Baghdad, Iraq. His mother lives in Corcoran.

Marine Pfc. Javier Chavez Jr., 19, of Cutler, (former Hanford West High School student) died Feb. 9, 2006, near Fallujah, Iraq.

Army Sgt. Adrian Noe Orosco, 26, of Corcoran, died Dec. 9, 2005, when a car bomb exploded near his unit in Baghdad.

Marine Lance Cpl. Jeremy Daniel Sifton Bow, 20, of Lemoore, died Oct. 30, 2004, outside Fallujah.

(May 30, 2007)