`IT'S LIKE ERIC IS HERE AGAIN' IN CHILDREN'S FACES, FAMILIES SEE FALLEN TROOPS' IMMORTALITY.

Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem Staff Writer

With a few strategic tucks at the legs and sleeves, the Marine uniform that Pfc. Eric Ayon wore so proudly fits 8-year-old Joshua just right.

Josh, who also wears his daddy's goofy smile at times, loves to march about his Atwater Village home, toy gun in hand, performing the drills Ayon taught him after his return from boot camp. For Josh, the game keeps alive the memory of his dad, who was killed in April in one of the bloodiest battles of the Iraq war.

The U.S. men and women who have died in Iraq and elsewhere in the War on Terror have left behind more than 800 children - some infants they never got to see, according to Internet data bases that list the dead.

Of the local servicemen killed in Iraq, five were fathers and had a total of nine children. They include the twins born to Janina Bitz while Marine Sgt. Michael Bitz of Ventura was overseas, killed in battle on March 28, 2003.

For grieving widows and the families of fallen soldiers, these offspring are living, breathing extensions of their fathers. Slight resemblances, quirky inherited habits and shared personality traits are treasures held close to the hearts of the heartbroken.

``We look at him, and it's like Eric is here again,'' said Cynthia Ayon, Joshua's aunt, who lives with family members in Arleta. ``Having him - it's helped out my mom a lot.''

Josh and his dad were close, and adults see his dad's personality in the little boy. He's protective of his young cousin, and he tells silly jokes, ``just like Eric,'' Cynthia said.

``Before my brother got into the military, he used to go for training. They would teach him how to march, and my brother would be all hyped. He came home and taught Josh how the marches go, and he taught him the drills. Josh still marches around the house with his toy gun.''

Three thousand miles separate Adrienne and Ken Hill of Moorpark from their son's grave - and from the little girl he left behind, a toddler who looks like her soldier daddy and, her grandmother insists, has his spirit.

Army Spc. Christopher Hill, 26, a graduate of Moorpark High School, died March 11 in Fallujah, Iraq, leaving his loved ones with a living treasure, a blue-eyed daughter named Cierra who will turn 2 this month.

Adrienne Hill's grief is overwhelming, but she takes comfort knowing her son's blood runs through Cierra. And she's doubly blessed, she said, because her daughter-in-law, Cheryl Hill, vows to keep memories of Chris alive.

``I can feel my son through Cierra,'' Adrienne said.

``Cierra is full of spirit. Her mom said she's so like her dad. She's full of personality. She loves life. Cheryl says she seems so much like Chris.''

Cheryl and Cierra Hill live in North Carolina. The Hills went to the South to bury their son, who died when his Humvee was hit by a roadside bomb. Chris joined the Army out of high school, then joined the Reserves after he was discharged.

The Californians hope to visit Cheryl and Cierra frequently, and the child and her mother have traveled west to the Moorpark house where priceless mementos of Chris Hill's boyhood are packed in a trunk and displayed in a curio cabinet.

``It was a joy to take Cierra to the beach. Chris loved the beach,'' Adrienne said. ``And we pulled out his memories, his toys and books, a teddy bear, a Raggedy Andy. She played with them, and Cheryl read his baby book. She loved it. It made me feel so honored as a parent.''

The Hills have added a Santa hat to their treasures, a cap they sent their son to wear for Christmas 2003 to brighten the celebration in the dismal desert so far from home. A comrade mailed the cap home to the Hills, along with a picture of Chris wearing it.

Gabriel Flores was just a few weeks old when his daddy, Army Pfc. Jose Ricards ``Ricky'' Flores, died Nov. 16 when an explosive hit his convoy in Mosul, Iraq. His bride, his parents and three sisters are among mourners for Flores, a graduate of Hart High School in Newhall.

And Sgt. Bitz had a 6-year-old son named Christian who lives in Ventura with Bitz's first wife, while 2-year-old Joshua and the 10-month-old twins live with their mother near Camp Lejeune, where Bitz had been stationed.

Cpl. Christopher Gibson died a hero on April 17, when he came to the aid of fellow Marines who were under fire in Iraq. A 1999 graduate of Simi Valley High School, Gibson joined up a year later and was on his second tour of duty in the Middle East when his unit was ambushed.

His widow, Jessica, remains in Twentynine Palms, where the couple was raising their daughter, Ivy, 3, and son, 1-year-old Luke, born when his dad was overseas.

Jessica Gibson joins family members in loving notes about her husband - and the children he left - on a Web site, www.fallenheroesmemorial.com.

``As his wife, I feel the need to let you all glimpse in to his heart,'' the young widow wrote. ``Here is an excerpt from a letter he wrote me, letting me know how he felt about the kids and me: 'If I don't come home, please let the kids know their daddy always loved them and that they were my favorite things in the whole world. Don't let them forget me.'

``Chris, we will never forget you. You will live in our hearts forever.''

From his mother, Terri Bowman of Las Vegas: ``In the last few weeks, I have been looking over the pictures in his adulthood, and I see more than anything how much he loved his precious children. I promise, Chris, to honor your memory and never let your children forget that you loved them with all your heart.''

Patricia Farrell Aidem, [phone]

pat.aidem(at)dailynews.com

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Josh Ayon, 8, of Atwater Village wears a Marine uniform and looks at photos of his dad, Eric. For Josh, carrying his toy gun and marching as he did with his dad keeps alive memories of the Marine who was killed in April in one of the bloodiest battles of the Iraq war.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer

(2 -- color) Christopher Hill, a Moorpark High graduate killed in Iraq, admires his child, Cierra, before he was sent overseas.