thedrifter
01-31-06, 07:48 AM
Family grieving for fallen Marine
By Bob Burchette
Staff Writer
Article published Jan 31, 2006
HIGH POINT -- Cpl. Felipe Barbosa of High Point, 21, a U.S. Marine whose ambition was to become a foreign missionary when he had finished serving his adopted country, was killed in Iraq late Friday when the Humvee in which he was riding overturned.
Details of the accident in Al Anbar providence have not been released by the Marine Corps. Barbosa's body already has been returned to Dover, Del., but details for the funeral service haven't been announced. He was an infantryman with 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment.
His brother, Andre Barbosa, a freshman at Page High School, turned 16 on the day his brother was killed. Andre Barbosa, a member of the Page Navy JROTC, said he's planning his own tribute to his brother.
"When they bring him back and the Marines do their six-gun salute, my own color guard is going to do a salute too with air rifles."
Christina Barbosa, 19, Felipe's wife of 18 months, and other family members gathered in High Point on Monday to mourn his passing and to remember the gregarious Andrews High School graduate.
They told stories of how he loved to fish, play with the children in the family and "always had funny stories to tell."
"This is a boy born in Brazil who loved this country so much and worked so hard to get his citizenship," said his mother-in-law, Taresa Dupke of High Point. Barbosa became a United States citizen last February, long after he joined the Marines on Dec. 31, 2002.
Since he was a child, Barbosa spent a lot of time with his favorite aunt and uncle, Ruth and Dean Charlton of High Point, who were like second parents to him, said Ruth Charlton. The Charltons have one son, 24-year-old Ronald.
"He and my son Ronald were very close. My son said, 'Now I've lost my only brother.' "
Barbosa wanted to become a Marine in part because his father and grandfather had served in the Brazilian military, said his mother, Iraci Dunbar of Greensboro. The family moved here in 1994.
His ambition was to go to college and qualify as a foreign missionary when he finished his time in the military, said his wife. Barbosa became a missionary in his own way in Iraq by distributing bandannas and Bibles not only to his American friends but to Muslims, said his mother.
The bandannas, some red, others white and blue, with Bible verses printed on them, were provided by Conrad Memorial Baptist Church in High Point, where Barbosa was baptized. Bibles were shipped to him by his wife's church, Green Street Baptist Church.
"He had Bibles and tracts in his backpack when he left Camp Lejeune last September for Iraq,'' said Lee Rodgers of High Point, Christina Barbosa's grandmother.
Christina Barbosa's last conversation with her husband was by cell phone last Monday. "We just talked a minute; they were having a sandstorm and the phone was breaking up. He said he was doing fine. He had told me not to worry about him; he was going to come back home; he wasn't going to die," she said. Barbosa called back later that evening and talked with his wife's stepfather, Greg Dupke.
"He died a hero and a martyr, and I am very proud of him," his wife said.
"He said if his going to Iraq would help one person get converted (to Christianity) that it would be worth going," Rodgers said. "He accomplished a lot more than that."
Contact Bob Burchette at 883-4422, Ext. 234, or bburchette@news-record.com
Ellie
By Bob Burchette
Staff Writer
Article published Jan 31, 2006
HIGH POINT -- Cpl. Felipe Barbosa of High Point, 21, a U.S. Marine whose ambition was to become a foreign missionary when he had finished serving his adopted country, was killed in Iraq late Friday when the Humvee in which he was riding overturned.
Details of the accident in Al Anbar providence have not been released by the Marine Corps. Barbosa's body already has been returned to Dover, Del., but details for the funeral service haven't been announced. He was an infantryman with 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment.
His brother, Andre Barbosa, a freshman at Page High School, turned 16 on the day his brother was killed. Andre Barbosa, a member of the Page Navy JROTC, said he's planning his own tribute to his brother.
"When they bring him back and the Marines do their six-gun salute, my own color guard is going to do a salute too with air rifles."
Christina Barbosa, 19, Felipe's wife of 18 months, and other family members gathered in High Point on Monday to mourn his passing and to remember the gregarious Andrews High School graduate.
They told stories of how he loved to fish, play with the children in the family and "always had funny stories to tell."
"This is a boy born in Brazil who loved this country so much and worked so hard to get his citizenship," said his mother-in-law, Taresa Dupke of High Point. Barbosa became a United States citizen last February, long after he joined the Marines on Dec. 31, 2002.
Since he was a child, Barbosa spent a lot of time with his favorite aunt and uncle, Ruth and Dean Charlton of High Point, who were like second parents to him, said Ruth Charlton. The Charltons have one son, 24-year-old Ronald.
"He and my son Ronald were very close. My son said, 'Now I've lost my only brother.' "
Barbosa wanted to become a Marine in part because his father and grandfather had served in the Brazilian military, said his mother, Iraci Dunbar of Greensboro. The family moved here in 1994.
His ambition was to go to college and qualify as a foreign missionary when he finished his time in the military, said his wife. Barbosa became a missionary in his own way in Iraq by distributing bandannas and Bibles not only to his American friends but to Muslims, said his mother.
The bandannas, some red, others white and blue, with Bible verses printed on them, were provided by Conrad Memorial Baptist Church in High Point, where Barbosa was baptized. Bibles were shipped to him by his wife's church, Green Street Baptist Church.
"He had Bibles and tracts in his backpack when he left Camp Lejeune last September for Iraq,'' said Lee Rodgers of High Point, Christina Barbosa's grandmother.
Christina Barbosa's last conversation with her husband was by cell phone last Monday. "We just talked a minute; they were having a sandstorm and the phone was breaking up. He said he was doing fine. He had told me not to worry about him; he was going to come back home; he wasn't going to die," she said. Barbosa called back later that evening and talked with his wife's stepfather, Greg Dupke.
"He died a hero and a martyr, and I am very proud of him," his wife said.
"He said if his going to Iraq would help one person get converted (to Christianity) that it would be worth going," Rodgers said. "He accomplished a lot more than that."
Contact Bob Burchette at 883-4422, Ext. 234, or bburchette@news-record.com
Ellie