thedrifter
09-18-07, 08:01 PM
Sorrow attends Marine's funeral
LOVED ONES SAY GOODBYE TO WILLOW GLEN HIGH GRAD
By Lisa Fernandez
Mercury News
Article Launched: 09/18/2007 01:33:19 AM PDT
More than 300 mourners gathered Monday afternoon in downtown San Jose to say goodbye to a Marine who was killed in the line of duty in Iraq last week.
Fellow Marines, friends, family and even those who didn't know him well crowded the pews of the Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph to grieve the death of Marine Cpl. Carlos Gil Orozco. The 23-year-old Willow Glen High School graduate was killed Sept. 10 when his tank rolled over an explosive device, his family said. He was the fifth South Bay service member to die in Iraq in less than three months.
The hourlong Mass at the Catholic church was celebrated in Spanish, complete with uplifting liturgical songs and weeping relatives filling the pews of the magnificent domed church.
Father Michael Hendrickson led the service, attended by Gil Orozco's parents, Carlos Sr. and Myriam; his 15-year-old sister, also named Myriam; his wife, Esmeralda; and their 3-month-old son, Kenny, who had never met his father, but whose baby pictures were e-mailed to his father overseas. His 5-year-old son, Carlos Alexander, from a previous relationship, was also there, dressed in a gray vest and black pants, reading along in Spanish with the rest of the parishioners.
None of the immediate family spoke at Monday's service; there were personal eulogies during a Sunday ceremony.
"We're doing pretty bad," said Myriam, Gil Orozco's sister, after she escorted her grandmother - who flew in with a few other relatives from Colombia - outside for a drink of water and a breath of fresh air. "He was a great brother. I'm just going to miss him so much."
Gil Orozco's coffin, draped in white, rested at the head of the church. His photo and a white Marine hat sat stiffly on a podium, simply but strongly underscoring the fact that he was not present.
Gil Orozco's father - who wore dark sunglasses that could barely hide his emotions - printed up white T-shirts with his son's Marine photo on the front and back, depicting a muscular military man in full camouflage, holding a machine gun and sporting a big grin on his face.
A close friend, Luis Javier, 24, of San Jose, was wearing one of the T-shirts.
"We were part of the party crew," Javier said. "We would have parties, play soccer, go swimming, just hang out together. He was a very good American. I don't know what words to say. I lost somebody that I really loved like my brother."
Gil Orozco died alongside a Marine from New Jersey in Al-Anbar province while out on patrol. Both Marines were members of the 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, based in Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Relatives and friends said joining the Marines less than two years ago - after he failed the entrance exam twice - was a good thing for Gil Orozco, who didn't get good grades, and at times hung out with unsavory characters. But he studied hard, especially algebra, and passed his third time. His family said he was straightening out and hoped to become a San Jose police officer after he was scheduled to come home Nov. 2.
His family immigrated to San Jose from Colombia in 1993 when he was 8 years old to escape poverty and find a better life.
Before the service, Vanessa Vielma, 24, of Gilroy, said her parents had managed the San Jose apartment complex where she and Gil Orozco grew up.
"We used to just call him 'Colombia,' " she said, "because he was trying to learn English. He would just try and try and try."
She said she remembers Gil Orozco flirting with the idea of gangs and hanging out with the "wrong crowd," but it just "looked like he was trying to be cool and fit in."
But Vielma said she knew better.
"He was good though," she said. "He wasn't that type of person. That's why this is all just so sad."
Contact Lisa Fernandez at lfernandez@mercurynews.com or (510) 790-7313.
Ellie
LOVED ONES SAY GOODBYE TO WILLOW GLEN HIGH GRAD
By Lisa Fernandez
Mercury News
Article Launched: 09/18/2007 01:33:19 AM PDT
More than 300 mourners gathered Monday afternoon in downtown San Jose to say goodbye to a Marine who was killed in the line of duty in Iraq last week.
Fellow Marines, friends, family and even those who didn't know him well crowded the pews of the Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph to grieve the death of Marine Cpl. Carlos Gil Orozco. The 23-year-old Willow Glen High School graduate was killed Sept. 10 when his tank rolled over an explosive device, his family said. He was the fifth South Bay service member to die in Iraq in less than three months.
The hourlong Mass at the Catholic church was celebrated in Spanish, complete with uplifting liturgical songs and weeping relatives filling the pews of the magnificent domed church.
Father Michael Hendrickson led the service, attended by Gil Orozco's parents, Carlos Sr. and Myriam; his 15-year-old sister, also named Myriam; his wife, Esmeralda; and their 3-month-old son, Kenny, who had never met his father, but whose baby pictures were e-mailed to his father overseas. His 5-year-old son, Carlos Alexander, from a previous relationship, was also there, dressed in a gray vest and black pants, reading along in Spanish with the rest of the parishioners.
None of the immediate family spoke at Monday's service; there were personal eulogies during a Sunday ceremony.
"We're doing pretty bad," said Myriam, Gil Orozco's sister, after she escorted her grandmother - who flew in with a few other relatives from Colombia - outside for a drink of water and a breath of fresh air. "He was a great brother. I'm just going to miss him so much."
Gil Orozco's coffin, draped in white, rested at the head of the church. His photo and a white Marine hat sat stiffly on a podium, simply but strongly underscoring the fact that he was not present.
Gil Orozco's father - who wore dark sunglasses that could barely hide his emotions - printed up white T-shirts with his son's Marine photo on the front and back, depicting a muscular military man in full camouflage, holding a machine gun and sporting a big grin on his face.
A close friend, Luis Javier, 24, of San Jose, was wearing one of the T-shirts.
"We were part of the party crew," Javier said. "We would have parties, play soccer, go swimming, just hang out together. He was a very good American. I don't know what words to say. I lost somebody that I really loved like my brother."
Gil Orozco died alongside a Marine from New Jersey in Al-Anbar province while out on patrol. Both Marines were members of the 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, based in Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Relatives and friends said joining the Marines less than two years ago - after he failed the entrance exam twice - was a good thing for Gil Orozco, who didn't get good grades, and at times hung out with unsavory characters. But he studied hard, especially algebra, and passed his third time. His family said he was straightening out and hoped to become a San Jose police officer after he was scheduled to come home Nov. 2.
His family immigrated to San Jose from Colombia in 1993 when he was 8 years old to escape poverty and find a better life.
Before the service, Vanessa Vielma, 24, of Gilroy, said her parents had managed the San Jose apartment complex where she and Gil Orozco grew up.
"We used to just call him 'Colombia,' " she said, "because he was trying to learn English. He would just try and try and try."
She said she remembers Gil Orozco flirting with the idea of gangs and hanging out with the "wrong crowd," but it just "looked like he was trying to be cool and fit in."
But Vielma said she knew better.
"He was good though," she said. "He wasn't that type of person. That's why this is all just so sad."
Contact Lisa Fernandez at lfernandez@mercurynews.com or (510) 790-7313.
Ellie