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In Memoriam |
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In Memoriam |
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Sgt. Julian Arechaga
(reprinted from MerrickLife.com, October 18, 2006)
Julian Arechaga dies in Iraq
by Joan Delaney
(We thank the Randazzo and Arechaga family for speaking with us during this difficult time. We met on Friday, October 13, and the following conversation took place just hours before they left for the airport to meet Sgt. Julian Arechaga’s wife Felicia, who was arriving with a military escort.)
Flags are flying at half mast as Baldwinites pay tribute to one of their own, Sgt. Julian Arechaga, 23, who died in Al Anbar province in Iraq on October 9, when an explosive hit the Humvee in which he was riding.
“We believe he was in the passenger seat, the most dangerous, because he wanted to be an example to his men. He was a good soldier; he loved this country and felt that the people in Iraq needed us, needed some kind of hope. I feel like I lost a son and a brother,” said Russ Randazzo, the brother-in-law of Sgt. Arechaga.
Mr. Randazzo, only 33 himself, and his wife Sheyla, Sgt. Arechaga’s sister, who were married in 1998, helped raise the young Julian, whose parents were divorced. “He was a funny kid. He went to Plaza School and the middle school. Sheyla and I went to Open School Night there and people looked at us. But we wanted him to know that someone cared. “He told us no one cared, but we told him that we cared. He lived with us. I was waiting for him to come home. He used to kid me because I was the only guy in the house. His mother was here and my wife and the kids. I was the only guy and he used to say to me, ‘Why don’t you just put on a dress?’ He was like my brother, my son.”
Eventually, Julian attended Oceanside High School, where he was on the honor roll. He loved wrestling and the martial arts and anything to do with the military. “He came home and told us he had heard recruiters at school and that he wanted to become a Marine. He went weekends in Hempstead in preparation for boot camp. Boot camp was hard but Julian and another guy graduated at the top of the platoon.
“His first tour he went to Afghanistan and was part of the big push during elections against the Taliban. He said it was hot, but he felt that they were doing great work. He came home and showed us pictures.
“He considered the Marines his family and he was so happy being a Marine that we knew it was the right thing for him.
“Then Julian went to Iraq, to Fallujah and it was tough. We know that he was involved in night patrols, getting intelligence. He was a squad leader and they were capturing insurgents. He won awards. “When he was finished there, he flew home to visit us. He told us, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll be back.’ We talked to him about becoming a cop. He applied to some colleges and was talking about getting some test books to study for the exams for being a cop,” Mr. Randazzo said.
“When he was in training in California, he called home knowing his mother was sick with cancer. He told us he had met someone and loved her. He told us about Felicia and his mother got to talk to her and to tell her to take care of Julian. His mother died in June. He was home for the funeral and a week later he was married in North Carolina. She’s a Marine, too, a mechanic.
“She was ready to come back here with him. We talked about his becoming a cop in Suffolk County and he was back here in July. We saw the fireworks and took them to New York City and had a great time.
“When he called us and told us he had signed up again, we asked why? He told us that his friends were being called back, his family, and he had to be with them. We went down there in August [Camp Le Jeune] and visited with them for two days and I’m glad we did.”
“We were so proud of him and I told him so. He had an apartment, a wife, he was a great Marine. He had a whole life. Here he was, an Hispanic kid from a divorced home, and look at what he made of himself.”
“They made him a sergeant and he left on September 7. I believe two other guys were killed with him, his friends.”
“We’re going to the airport to pick up his wife. His body arrived today at Dover Air Force Base. The funeral will probably be late next week. It’ll be a military funeral and he’ll be buried up here; he wanted to be near his mother.”
Sgt. Arechaga’s wife was contacted by her husband’s colonel in Iraq. Mr. Randazzo lowered his voice and bowed his head. “He said Julian was one of his best Marines and that he will be receiving a Purple Heart.”
Sgt. Arechaga served in the infantry and belonged to the 1st Battalion, Sixth Marine Charlie Company, which is based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
Services will be arranged by Hungerford and Clark in Freeport.