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Mexican Town Mourns Marine Killed in Iraq
Hundreds of residents from this bean- and chile-growing town gathered around a small church on Sunday to mourn a Mexican-American who became a U.S. Marine and died in Iraq. Lance Cpl. Juan Lopez was one of four U.S. Marines killed in an ambush in Ramadi, west of Baghdad, on June 21. His death left residents here grappling with how to best honor the 22-year-old who gave his life in a conflict most Mexicans don't believe in. U.S. Marines, five of whom served with Lopez in Iraq, loaded his gray coffin onto a hearse, as a swell of people filled the street. Relatives, carrying a framed picture of Lopez in uniform, locked hands and marched behind the hearse past shabby brick homes. A mariachi band wearing green sang: "Goodbye forever, goodbye." The music never stopped during a somber 45-minute march across town. Initial arrangements asked for a 21-gun salute, but Mexico's Secretary of Defense rejected that, saying the salute would violate constitutional measures preventing foreign soldiers from bearing arms on Mexican soil.
| Then why didn't the Mexican military provide an honor guard? |
Mexican soldiers apparently objected to the ceremonial arms carried by two of the Marine pallbearers, U.S. officials said. Four Mexican soldiers had blocked the pallbearers path, asking the Marines and six others who had served as pallbearers to return to a Chevy Suburban that had brought them to the funeral. More than a dozen Mexican soldiers blocked it from leaving for about 45 minutes, before finally allowing the Marines to go.
| Idiotic machismo. The Marines were there to honor the young man, not invade the country. |
During the service, about 300 people who could not fit into the church listened over loudspeakers and sang along. Born in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato, Lopez migrated as a teenager to be with his father, three brothers and sister in Dalton, Ga. His mother and other relatives stayed in Mexico. In Dalton, Juan met his wife, Sandra Torres; they married in December. Oscar E. Lujan, of the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City, arrived Sunday to present Lopez's citizenship to his widow, making her eligible for benefits. Family members said they were proud that Lopez became a Marine though they were grief-stricken by his death. Juan served in Iraq for two months at the start of the war and was supposed to be completing his last trip there before the end of his tour of duty in December. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion of the 1st Marine Division and based at Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Posted by: Steve White 2004-07-05 |
