PDA

View Full Version : Buddies mark death of a fighter, a jester



thedrifter
12-28-05, 06:58 AM
Buddies mark death of a fighter, a jester

By Christian Lowe
Times staff writer

RAMADI, Iraq - A pair of desert tan combat boots sits on both sides of an M16 rifle propped barrel down, a helmet placed lightly atop its stock. A set of silver dog tags hangs upon the rifle's grip.

"Lance Cpl. Samuel Tapia!" shouts 1st Sgt. Joe Breze. A long, silent pause.

"Lance Cpl. Samuel Tapia," Breze bellows once more, his voice more firm. Again, silence descends on the cool concrete room. The Marines' faces clench with emotion.

"Lance Cpl. Samuel Tapia!" the Weapons Company's top staff noncommissioned officer growls for the last time. Not a word.

"Lance Cpl. Samuel Tapia was killed in action Dec. 18, 2005, in Ar Ramadi, Iraq," Breze says in a deep, formal voice.

"Company, atten'hut!" orders Capt. Tim Powledge, commander of Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines. "Honor the dead."

With that, the Marines of Combined Anti-Armor Team Blue, Weapons Company, 3/7, pay respect to their fallen comrade.

On Dec. 18, during a routine daytime patrol, a section from CAAT Blue was walking through the insurgent-infested streets of Ramadi. They'd taken a house to get a better view of their route from its rooftop. Tapia, of San Benito, Texas, was called up to the roof from his Humvee. On his way back to the truck, a single enemy shot rang out, killing the 20-year-old mortarman.

It was his daughter, Samantha's, first birthday.

"He was one of the funniest guys in the platoon. He could always make you feel better when you were down," said Lance Cpl. Ernest Phillips, 21, of Highland, Calif.

"He used to sing to us all the time. He'd sing these Christmas carols in this heavy Mexican accent, and we'd tell him: 'Shut up man, you don't even know the words,'" Phillips, a mortarman with CAAT Blue, recalled with a chuckle. "Then, he'd start singing 'Feliz Navidad.'."

In a solemn ceremony carried out in the sparse recreation room at Camp Hurricane Point, the Marines of Weapons Company remembered Tapia - who was also affectionately known as "Chupie" - as a diligent leatherneck, a good friend and a dedicated father.

"It gave me chills wishing I had what he had," said Lance Cpl. Anthony Petrini, 21, of Foster City, Calif., as he read his memorial tribute from a crinkled piece of paper. "He was one hell of a friend. … He's engraved in my heart forever."

When the formal ceremony was complete, Marines filed past a framed picture of Tapia, propped against a makeshift altar draped with camouflage netting.

Some stopped to issue a silent prayer; others walked slowly by with a gentle touch of the helmet, their grief barely concealed under taut expressions.

Lt. Col. Roger Turner, 3/7's commander, told his Marines to honor the fallen but keep up the intensity of their mission.

"I think Tapia would want us to move on," Turner said.

"Rest in peace, Warrior. Semper Fidelis."

lucien2
12-28-05, 07:00 AM
Semper Fi brother until the very end.