The Optimist Club’s guest speaker on March 4 was Cpl. Carlos Torres USMC (Retired). Carlos was born in Mexico, raised in California, and graduated from Lawndale High School in 2007. Following graduation, he joined the Marines at MCRD San Diego. During his subsequent training, Carlos earned a meritorious promotion to Private First Class and earned both the Battalion Commander’s Honor Roll and the distinguished Physical Fitness Award while training to become an Assault man at the School of Infantry West
After numerous overseas assignments in Romania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Ukraine, Cpl. Torres was stationed in Afghanistan. On July 3, 2011, while on patrol in the Helmand Province, he stepped in and IED. The resulting explosion caused the loss of both legs and severe injury to his arm. What could have been an ending became the beginning of a legend of resilience.
Carlos awoke not in defeat, but in defiance. Since that day, he has rewritten what it means to live fully—surfing, cycling, diving, skiing, and competing in marathons. In 2018, he joined The Heros Project, pedaling 1,200 miles across the Andes and later summiting the world’s tallest volcano, Ojos del Salado at 22,615 feet. His journey continued in academia: earning a Bachelor’s in Economics from Cal State San Marcos and, most recently, a Master’s in Homeland Security from San Diego State. He continues his service as a Red Cross Duty Officer answering emergency calls day and night from across San Diego and Imperial Counties. Perhaps most exciting of all, Carlos and his wife of ten years are expecting their first child in three months.
Through every challenge, Carlos Torres reminds us that valor is not defined by what we lose but by how we rise.
VOL. 116, NO. 11 – Mar. 18, 2026