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thedrifter
03-18-06, 07:04 AM
Remember the soldiers
By Tina DeLuca-Caruso
special to the herald news

David Caruso, a 1998 graduate of Waubonsie Valley High School, was a member of the elite Reconnaissance division of the U.S. Marines. Based at Camp Lejeune, N.C., he reported for duty in Iraq in August 2004. He was killed Nov. 9, 2004, as U.S. troops fought to capture Fallujah from Islamic insurgents. For Joe and Gloria Caruso of Naperville, this was the second son they would lose.

David's older brother Michael and sister-in-law Tina DeLuca-Caruso live in Palos Heights. Tina tells her story of the family's loss.

When we brought out the cake and started singing "Happy Birthday," David said, "My birthday is not for two months. Why are we celebrating now?"

It was August 2004, and after serving four years in Japan, David was on a two-week leave before he was sent to Iraq.

His dad, Joe, looked at David and said, "It's because you have not been home for a birthday in years, and we want to spend this one with you."

On Oct.

25, 2004, on his 25th birthday, David told us he ate a piece of frozen pie in Iraq. I'm sure he thought of that cake his mother made, and it probably made him smile.

David was in the eighth grade when he first decided he wanted a career in the Marines. After high school he got his wish, working for six years in reconnaissance for Marine special operations and participating in the Army's Ranger school to enhance his skills.

David called his parents every week — always around 3 a.m.

His last call was four days before he was killed.

He told his mom his unit in Iraq was "going to do some things," and that he may not call for a while. Being reconnaissance, he was always first to go in. His last words to his family were, "Just watch the TV, and you will know where I'll be." And then he said, "Don't worry, Mom, I'll be all right."

David died Nov. 9. We found out the next day.

When his mom got home that day, there were Marines at her house. She saw the white hats and asked them not to tell her the news.

They said they had to.

When a family member is notified of a death in war, there is an ambulance that parks down the street from the home, just in case the person hearing the news passes out or has some other bad reaction.

Michael — David's older brother and my husband — was not prepared for this. He had lost another brother, Steven, in an accident eight years earlier.

I remember Michael saying to God, "Why would you take another brother?"

I don't know what was harder on us. Hearing the news, or seeing David's body when he arrived in the United States. He must have dropped 30 pounds.

The week David died, six other Illinois Marines were killed in Iraq.

I remember David's childhood friends and neighbors in Naperville holding American flags on the roadsides as the procession drove from the church through the neighborhood and towards the cemetery.

Not a day goes by that our hearts do not ache for the loss of David.

Whatever your viewpoint on the war in Iraq, I want people to remember the soldiers and what they and their families sacrifice.

David was very proud to be a Marine. In his letters, he told us of his unit's success in catching most-wanted men ... of sneaking into places at night to look for these individuals, and of protecting women and children during the process.

Last summer, almost a year after David's death, the guys that served in his unit came to visit his parents in Naperville. They told stories of their time together in Iraq, and I know their words helped bring closure to David's parents.

Some of those guys shared that they are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. We hope to keep in touch with them, and we pray that they get the help they need.

We remember David the way he was before the war. We remember the toast he gave when he was a best man at our wedding. And we remember how when he made it home for Christmas, he really loved to hang his ornaments on the tree.

I think in the end that David taught us that life is precious and every day is a gift. He showed us that if there are goals we cannot achieve, there are many others we can conquer with great satisfaction.

We believe in angels and we feel him with us.

We hope others remember every soldier who gave his or her life, and the families they left behind.

— As told to The Daily Southtown

03/18/06

Rest In Peace

Ellie