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Sparrowhawk
11-06-04, 09:04 AM
Best Friends forever...


Semper Fi

Cook


<hr>

Field of Honor




Buchanan High pre-game ceremony pays tribute to two graduates who died during a Marine mission in Iraq.

By Tim Eberly / The Fresno Bee
(Updated Saturday, November 6, 2004, 5:52 AM)
Tomas Ovalle / The Fresno Bee

http://www.fresnobee.com/ips_rich_content/36-fence.jpg
Jeff Hubbard stood outside the football stadium, staring blankly as hundreds of people rose inside to honor his Marine son.


He couldn't muster the strength to walk through the gate, where a U.S. Marine Corps Color Guard took center stage Friday night before the Buchanan High School football game against Clovis East.

"We're just going to watch the ceremony and leave," said Hubbard, a retired Clovis police officer. "It was pretty tough to get this far."

Through the chain-link fence that circles Buchanan Stadium, Hubbard, his wife and several others watched the school memorialize his son and a childhood friend, both 2001 Buchanan graduates, with a moment of silence and military ceremony.

Early Thursday morning, Lance Cpl. Jared Hubbard, 22, and his best friend, Cpl. Jeremiah Baro, 21, were killed on an Iraqi battlefield. The pair of Marine snipers were attacked by the enemy on a mission west of Baghdad in the Al Anbar Province, where the military was preparing for a massive offensive into the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah.

Baro's family and friends stood in a cluster in the front rows of bleachers close to the 50-yard line. Wearing mostly black, they stood in silence as four uniformed men marched onto the field. About 15 of the fallen Marines' close friends huddled a few feet away.

"I couldn't do anything better than this," said one of the Marines' friends and former teammate, Charlie Morelock, 21. "This is awesome. We won our first football championship here."

The victims' family and friends were touched by the ceremony, but it didn't change reality.

"It's not going to bring them back," said 22-year-old Brandon Sanchez, a close friend of Hubbard and Baro since junior high. "It's not going to ease the pain. But it's a part of the healing process." The deaths rocked Hubbard's and Baro's family and friends, who were waiting for the pair to finish their second tour of duty in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Instead, the friends who had enlisted together became the sixth and seventh service members from the central San Joaquin Valley to die in the Middle East war. As of Friday, at least 1,127 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to The Associated Press.

Details about the deaths of Hubbard and Baro were not available Friday. But two Marine Corps officers told Hubbard's family that their son and Baro were the only two killed during the mission. The deaths occurred at 2:20 a.m. Thursday (Iraq time), or 1:20 p.m. PST on Wednesday.

The Marines said it could take as long as four weeks for the military to complete its investigation into their deaths, and as long as three months before it is reviewed.

Hubbard's body was scheduled to arrive Friday afternoon at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, where all war casualties are sent. It will remain there for three or four days before being flown to California.

Friday afternoon, both families released statements through the Clovis Police Department.

In the Hubbards' statement, they described their son as popular and protective of his friends:

"He went into the Marines thinking the experience would help him mature, and he planned to return home to finish college. Jared made the choice to serve his country and to support his friend, Jeremiah. He performed his duties in a very even-handed fashion. He was truly a voice of reason through the intense situations on the Iraqi battlefield, wherever it happened to be."

Baro's parents, Bert and Terry, stated: "Jeremiah and Jared were best friends, pals forever. They loved each other and died together protecting the country that they loved. ... The pain of losing a son is overwhelming — and we feel as though we have lost two sons — the loss we feel is unbearable. They will be in our hearts forever."

Hubbard and Baro met at Alta Sierra Intermediate School in Clovis. They remained classmates as they moved on to Buchanan, where they were on the wrestling team. Hubbard also was a standout football player.

Baro had planned to enlist in the Marines; Hubbard briefly attended Fresno City College before signing on for military duty. Hubbard and Baro joined the Marine Corps on Dec. 17, 2001 — roughly three months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"Those guys were like brothers," Morelock said. "Everywhere they went, they were together."

Hubbard and Baro may have participated in the Marine Corp's Buddy Program, which allows recruits to enter the 13-week boot camp together.

They completed boot camp at Camp Pendleton north of San Diego and were deployed to Iraq in the Marine infantry. They served about seven months in their first tour of duty and returned home in the summer of 2003.

While stationed at Camp Pendleton, Hubbard and Baro went to sniper school before returning to the Middle East in September.

Though their loved ones have spent the last two days grieving, some are having a hard time believing Hubbard and Baro are not coming home.

"It just doesn't seem real," Morelock said.

The longtime friends were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force.

They each received these service awards: Combat Action Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.

The reporter can be reached at teberly@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6465.

thedrifter
11-06-04, 09:17 AM
Rest In Peace



Ellie

hector verduzco
11-06-04, 10:56 AM
Once a MARINE always a MARINE! . They served our country with
Pride, Honor, and Courage. The Title MARINE is not for everyone,
It must be earnd. They both played sports togetheir, joined the corps togetheir and served in the FMF (fleet marine force) togetheir. They had respect towards others, family and themselfs.
And when a mission was called upon them to do, they didn't say NO SIR!, instead they said YES SIR! with Courage! Every MARINE knows that when called upon, that they called the BEST
Rest in Peace Brothers.
ONCE A MARINE ALWAYS A MARINE!!!!!!

Sgt. Smitty
11-07-04, 12:29 PM
R I P Bro's.....there's nothing any Mairne can say that will ease the pain and sorrow of those two families, we can only give them our heart-felt sympothy for the loss of their sons and grieve with them over the loss of 2 more Marines. My condolences go out to both families and friends. Semper Fi to them.

CAR
11-08-04, 12:22 AM
These two Marines are from my hometown and the support for the families here has been heart warming. These two Marines were truly the best of friends, they wrestled in HS together, played football, Went to the Corps, became a sniper team, went back for a second time and now sadly, are guarding the streets of heaven. They leave behind many in this town that loved those two boys. They left their brothers in arms to join those who have givin the ultimate sacrifice. Semper Fi Marines, God Bless both their families for their loss.

DSchmitke
11-08-04, 05:10 AM
Rest In Peace Marines !!!!!

cjwright90
11-08-04, 07:38 AM
Semper Fi, and Rest in Peace knowing you served your country and Corps Well.

ridingcrops
11-08-04, 11:48 AM
These Marines paid the ultimate price. Serving their country as Marines.
There is no prouder way to give your life than that.
Semper Fi!

HardJedi
11-09-04, 09:42 AM
Wow! I did the same thing. Enlisted with my best friend since the first grade, and we were stationed everywhere together.

This may souond cold, but there is NO ONE on earth I would have rather faced my own death with.

Semper Fi' and may thier families know in thier hearts that those two Marines will never be forgotten by some of us who never even knew them.