Posted on 04/20/2003 7:16:10 PM PDT by Dubya
FORT WORTH -A rifle salute by a Marine honor guard shattered the silence at Mount Olivet Cemetery, where hundreds of mourners paid their final respects Saturday to Marine Cpl. Jesus Martin "Marty" Antonio Medellin, Fort Worth's first casualty of the war in Iraq.
But it wasn't until a lone trumpeter began playing the forlorn sounds of taps that many in the crowd -- including the Marine's parents, Mary and Freddy Medellin -- began to weep.
"Their hearts are troubled, but they're not troubled beyond repair," said the Rev. Paul Danielson, a former pastor at Baptist Church of the Open Door, where the Medellins are longtime members.
"His hope and confidence wasn't in a world system," Danielson said during a brief graveside service that included full military honors. "His hope was in Jesus Christ. Still, it breaks my heart, and I feel cheated that I have to let him go as we bid farewell to our brother."
Medellin, who had dreamed since age 10 of becoming a Marine, was a member of the 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 1st Marine Division. Military officials said he was killed April 7 when an Iraqi artillery round struck his vehicle.
The burial followed a funeral at the Baptist church, where about 300 people crowded inside.
Medellin's flag-draped casket was escorted into the church by a Marine honor guard, and he was remembered in English and Spanish for his strong faith and his commitment to living a Christian life.
Cynthia Schmerber, 22, was one of several of Medellin's former classmates to attend the funeral. She went to middle school and high school with Medellin, whom everyone called "Marty."
"He was a big clown, and he was funny and sweet," said Schmerber, who graduated from Boswell High School in 1999, a year before Medellin.
"I could never imagine this happening to someone that I know," Schmerber said. "Before, it was just a war. Now it's hit home. I've seen a lot of my old friends here that I wouldn't necessarily have seen if it wasn't for this."
Ken Watterson, a Vietnam veteran and member of the Marine Corps League, which is made up of those who have served in the Marine Corps, never met Medellin but said he wanted to pay his respects.
"Just the fact that he served our corps and our country is why I'm here," said Watterson, of Terrell. "Marty knew all of the support he would get when he joined the Marines. This is part of that support."
Medellin's aunt, Simona Sifuentes, remembered how she asked her nephew to commit his life to Christ before he left for boot camp two years ago.
"When it was time for him to leave for boot camp, I had a few things to say to him," Sifuentes said during a brief eulogy. "I said, 'You know Marty, you're a very responsible young man. It's good you decided to graduate from high school and that you've decided to join the Marines.' "
Sifuentes said Medellin said he would consider committing himself to God. A few days later, she received a letter from him saying that he had decided to do so.
That commitment brought his relatives comfort as they buried their loved one a few hundred yards from a 20-foot-high memorial at the cemetery that honors Tarrant County veterans, starting with World War I and ending with the Persian Gulf War.
Medellin's name will expand the list.
This is one experience that's hard to describe...
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