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thedrifter
03-04-06, 07:54 AM
Posted on Sat, Mar. 04, 2006
Friends honor fallen Marine
Fellow soldiers, family bid farewell to Staff Sgt. Jay T. Collado at funeral
By CHUCK CRUMBO
ccrumbo@thestate.com

Marine Staff Sgt. Jay T. Collado loved his family, country and the Marine Corps, but friends and comrades also recalled his humor and generosity.

“He was an outstanding Marine, but I remember him for his warmth. He was your friend first,” Staff Sgt. Dewayne Martin said.

Martin was among more than 200 people who attended Friday’s funeral for the 31-year-old Collado, who grew up in Columbia and graduated from Richland Northeast High School in 1993.

It was the first of two military funerals this weekend for fallen Marines from the Midlands.

Today, services will be held at 11 a.m. at the Lexington Baptist Church for 2nd Lt. Almar Fitzgerald, 23, who died Feb. 21 from injuries suffered in a bomb attack in Iraq.

Thirty-nine troops with S.C. ties have died in Iraq since the war began in March 2003.

Collado, who was about a month shy of returning home in time for his daughter’s sixth birthday, died Feb. 20 in Iraq when his Humvee struck a bomb near Baghdad.

A helicopter mechanic with the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing in California, Collado was helping to train Iraqi maintainers. He was assigned to the Army’s 4th Infantry Division.

Martin, who met Collado in 1999 when they were stationed at New River Marine Corps Air Station in North Carolina, recalled he once found a package at his shop bench from Collado.

Inside the package was a jacket. Collado, though, denied that he bought the jacket, Martin said. “He said his mother bought it, but it was the wrong size.”

Martin, who’s 6 feet 3 inches tall, doubted the mix-up was possible because Collado was about a foot shorter.

Collado was a proud family man who enjoyed spending time at home with his wife, Judy, and daughter, Kaiya, Martin said.

Most of the pictures posted outside the chapel showed Collado at home, at the beach and the park with his family.

In one picture, Kaiya delivered a playful karate kick to her father’s midsection. Collado, who held a black belt in the sport, was all smiles as he tried to defend himself.

Childhood friend, Army Sgt. Jose Garcia, looked down at Collado’s flag-draped casket as he struggled to deliver the eulogy.

“I have to be strong for Jay,” Garcia said as he fought back tears.

Garcia told mourners about a trip to the State Fair when he and Collado got on a ride that eventually had them spinning upside down.

“We went around the first time and Jay just looked at me,” Garcia said. “We went around a second time and he just gave me that look again. Then, the third time, he grabbed at my harness to get out, screaming like a little kid.”

During the service, the Purple Heart medal for being wounded in combat action was presented to Collado’s widow by Col. Darcy Kauer, who represented I Marine Expeditionary Force commander, Lt. Gen. John Sattler.

Collado, said Father Wilbroad Mwape, who officiated the service, “died for a noble cause” and is “a hero for this country and the world.”

Mwape called on mourners, who included Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., to draw inspiration from Collado’s life and the Marine’s willingness to sacrifice his life to protect his family and country from terrorism, and to bring freedom to Iraq.

“He died an honorable death,” Mwape said.

Following the service, Collado was buried with full military honors at the Florence National Cemetery.

Reach Crumbo at (803) 771-8503.

Rest In Peace

Ellie