thedrifter
06-25-08, 07:02 AM
With honors: Resolutions commend fallen Marine for sacrifice
By Timothy Woerner | Enterprise-Journal
Posted: Tuesday, June 24, 2008 12:31 PM CDT
State legislators on Monday presented the mother of slain Marine Lance Cpl. Casey Casanova with a framed copy of resolutions honoring the fallen soldier’s life.
In a ceremony at Casanova’s former school, Southwest Mississippi Community College, faculty and administrators joined lawmakers in remembering the 22-year-old McComb resident who was one of four Marines killed on May 2 in a roadside bomb explosion in Iraq’s western Anbar Province.
“Words, of course, are inadequate to speak of this young lady who gave her life for our country,” said SMCC President Dr. Oliver Young.
“Casey blessed this school with her talent and ability ... We’re just so grateful and thankful for her life and her commitment to our country.”
Young called the event a “meaningful occasion” for the college and admonished that “sometimes we have too many people in our country that are not grateful and appreciative.”
Casanova’s mother, Paula Carruth, was thankful for the memorial, expressing pride in her daughter’s efforts alongside other Marines.
“You are honoring a woman in the military,” Carruth said. “You see soldiers and Marines, and you think of a man. ... She was doing everything a man could do, honorably and with no regret, and she was doing a great job at it.”
Carruth also said she was overwhelmed by local support since Casanova’s passing.
“It’s been wonderful,” Carruth said, specifically thanking National Guard Lt. Col. Phillip Parker and his wife, Carol. “This community has been more loving and caring for our family than I could imagine. It’s awesome.”
State Rep. Sam C. Mims V, R-McComb, reading the version of the concurrent resolution passed in the state house of representatives, said he hoped the gesture would make it clear legislators echoed that support.
“Corporal Casanova is believed to be the first woman from Mississippi lost in combat in Iraq, which makes her loss of life all the more heart-wrenching upon Mississippi’s military ranks and citizenry and gives her the honor of being Mississippi’s heroine of the Iraqi war by paying the ultimate price for our land and our nation,” the resolution reads in part, going on to acknowledge the posthumous awarding of the Navy Cross and Mississippi Medal of Honor to Casanova.
“Though Lance Corporal Casanova has transcended this earthly life and war of nations,” it continues, “she now stands on golden heavenly shores, sword in hand, to join God’s army against spiritual principalities.”
A similar resolution was introduced by Sen. Kelvin Butler in the state senate, and Mims was joined by Reps. Angela Cockerham and Bill Pigott in presenting the resolutions.
Also killed in the May 2 explosion that took Casanova’s life were Cpl. Miguel A. Guzman, 21, of Norwalk, Calif., Lance Cpl. James F. Kimple, 21, of Carroll, Ohio, and Sgt. Glen E. Martinez, 31, of Boulder, Colo.
They all were assigned to the Combat Logistics Battalion 1, Combat Logistics Regiment 1, 1st Marine Logistics Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif., for which Casanova served as a radio technician.
By Timothy Woerner | Enterprise-Journal
Posted: Tuesday, June 24, 2008 12:31 PM CDT
State legislators on Monday presented the mother of slain Marine Lance Cpl. Casey Casanova with a framed copy of resolutions honoring the fallen soldier’s life.
In a ceremony at Casanova’s former school, Southwest Mississippi Community College, faculty and administrators joined lawmakers in remembering the 22-year-old McComb resident who was one of four Marines killed on May 2 in a roadside bomb explosion in Iraq’s western Anbar Province.
“Words, of course, are inadequate to speak of this young lady who gave her life for our country,” said SMCC President Dr. Oliver Young.
“Casey blessed this school with her talent and ability ... We’re just so grateful and thankful for her life and her commitment to our country.”
Young called the event a “meaningful occasion” for the college and admonished that “sometimes we have too many people in our country that are not grateful and appreciative.”
Casanova’s mother, Paula Carruth, was thankful for the memorial, expressing pride in her daughter’s efforts alongside other Marines.
“You are honoring a woman in the military,” Carruth said. “You see soldiers and Marines, and you think of a man. ... She was doing everything a man could do, honorably and with no regret, and she was doing a great job at it.”
Carruth also said she was overwhelmed by local support since Casanova’s passing.
“It’s been wonderful,” Carruth said, specifically thanking National Guard Lt. Col. Phillip Parker and his wife, Carol. “This community has been more loving and caring for our family than I could imagine. It’s awesome.”
State Rep. Sam C. Mims V, R-McComb, reading the version of the concurrent resolution passed in the state house of representatives, said he hoped the gesture would make it clear legislators echoed that support.
“Corporal Casanova is believed to be the first woman from Mississippi lost in combat in Iraq, which makes her loss of life all the more heart-wrenching upon Mississippi’s military ranks and citizenry and gives her the honor of being Mississippi’s heroine of the Iraqi war by paying the ultimate price for our land and our nation,” the resolution reads in part, going on to acknowledge the posthumous awarding of the Navy Cross and Mississippi Medal of Honor to Casanova.
“Though Lance Corporal Casanova has transcended this earthly life and war of nations,” it continues, “she now stands on golden heavenly shores, sword in hand, to join God’s army against spiritual principalities.”
A similar resolution was introduced by Sen. Kelvin Butler in the state senate, and Mims was joined by Reps. Angela Cockerham and Bill Pigott in presenting the resolutions.
Also killed in the May 2 explosion that took Casanova’s life were Cpl. Miguel A. Guzman, 21, of Norwalk, Calif., Lance Cpl. James F. Kimple, 21, of Carroll, Ohio, and Sgt. Glen E. Martinez, 31, of Boulder, Colo.
They all were assigned to the Combat Logistics Battalion 1, Combat Logistics Regiment 1, 1st Marine Logistics Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif., for which Casanova served as a radio technician.