MERCEDES — Staff Sgt. Michael Cinco’s teacher described him as a model student.
A large American flag draped the entrance of the Mercedes Early College Academy auditorium. The main street was dressed with a lining of American flags placed by the Mercedes Sons of the American Legion Post 172 honoring the loss of Cinco and directing the community to his memorial.
“He just did it the right way all the time,” said Orlando Rodriguez, Cinco’s science teacher.
During the memorial yesterday, he described Cinco as having the moral fiber the district teaches its students, called the TIGER way.
The model stands for talent, integrity, goodness, effort and respect. Rodriguez said Cinco, a graduate of Mercedes High School, already possessed these character traits long before the school began teaching them to students.
Rodriguez said Cinco would go out of his way all the time with a smile on his face and he didn’t need a pat on the back for his good deeds.
Cinco’s sister-in-law told the audience how he met her sister and when they fell in love. She said the two were inseparable and if Cinco had it his way, they would be together all the time.
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