(This article appeared in the July 9, 1999 issue of the
Observation Post, the base newspaper for Twentynine
Palms, California.)
1stLt Jason D. Grose
1st Tank Bn Adjutant
Marines are well known for never "leaving their own"
in the battlefield. That spirit not only pertains to fallen
combatants, but also to Marines and Sailors who succumb to
Father time and pass on. As a final tribute, Marines
are often called upon to participate in funeral details for
those recently deceased.
Such was the case recently when 1st Tank Battalion was
asked to provide a detail to a sailor in Riverside, California.
The mission was assigned to Staff Sergeant Castillo who picked
a handful of tankers and a few Headquarters Marines and boarded
a bus to Riverside.
Once there, the Marines and sailors dutifully donned their
dress uniforms and marched to the gravesite with their M16
rifles at port arms. Once again, a few Marines and Sailors
answered the call and a Sailor was laid to rest in Marine
Corps style. But there is a twist to this story
that better reflects the Marine Corps ethos.
As Castillo and his men loaded the bus and began to change
over into their civilian attire for the ride home, the funeral
director came running up and started pounding on the door.
He was frantic because there was another funeral starting
and the military detail had not arrived.
"He pleaded with me to provide a detail and most
of my Marines were already in shorts and T-shirts." Says
Castillo.
Sensing the urgency, Castillo told the director that he
had no blank ammunition to perform the gun salute but the
Marines could perform the ceremony, causing the director to
shower him with appreciation.
But Castillo had no time for the praise and turned to
his Marines saying, "Ok, Marines, get your uniforms back
on... quickly. We have another detail to perform."
Without hesitation, the Marines and Sailors returned to full
dress in a matter of minutes and were formed up outside the
bus.
Castillo marched the formation to the gravesite.
"The funeral was at the other end of the graveyard and
the place was pretty big. When we got close, we could
see it was a big ceremony and there were limousines and everything"
comments Castillo.
As they were marching, Castillo could see men in uniforms
loading a bus. He pulled a Marine out of formation and
gave him quick instructions to run over there and secure some
blank ammunition if they had any. The Marine darted
toward the bus and started negotiating with the Army detail.
Knowing that the funeral was waiting, Castillo gave the signal
to hurry up by pumping his arm up and down as the formation
neared the site.
The Marine returned with 17 rounds: four rounds short
of the 21 usually used for a three-volley salute. Quickly
thinking, Castillo distributed the rounds out and ensured
everyone had enough for at least two volleys. He then
instructed the Marines who did not have enough rounds to go
through the motions and no one would know they did not have
the last round.
For the second time that day, Castillo's Marines performed
a flawless burial detail. One might say that this is what
Marines do for other Marines and Sailors. But the truth
about this last detail, this last-minute commitment to provide
a dignified and honorable ceremony, was that it was not for
another Marine or Sailor. The fact is that the man being
buried was a United States Army soldier. But that did
not matter to Castillo.
After the ceremony, Castillo formed his detail and marched
off toward the bus once again. No one at the funeral
was the wiser about what had just happened but rather only
knew that this professional group of young men had added nobility
to the day's events.
LtCol Hawkins, the Commanding Officer of 1st Tanks, received
a letter a few weeks later from the daughter of the soldier
and she expressed her gratitude for the performance.
She stated that only herself and her husband understood to
meaning of what was happening and the other attendees had
no idea what an uncommon occurrence was happening in their
midst. Not only did the soldier receive proper honors from
a detail not scheduled for the funeral, but he received them
from an outstanding collection of Marines and Sailors.
Keeping the tradition alive, Castillo's Marines and Sailors
proved once again that we still do not "leave our own."
Apparently, Castillo's definition of "our own" extends
to all the Armed Services.
The Marines involved were:
SSGT Castillo, Ishmael
SGT Neal III, Leslie
CPL Bezdek, Bryce
CPL Brack, Eric
CPL Breen, Matthew
CPL Chapagarza, Oziel
CPL Harper, Christopher
CPL Harris, Paul
CPL McIver, Terrence
CPL Riley, Aldo
LCPL Potvin, Shawn
LCPL Anderson, Nickolas
LCPL Bell, Edward Jr.
LCPL McCoy, Mickel
LCPL Urena, Francisco
LCPL Walker, Philip
HN3 Bojoquiz, Troy
HN Ficlin, Trent
HN Hanley, Derrick
HN3 Rowain, Ken