thedrifter
04-30-09, 07:37 AM
Second burial ceremony for local Marine
By Doug Hoagland
dhoagland@selmaenterprise.com
Richard Morelos of Selma didn't go to his teenage brother's first funeral more than 40 years ago. He plans, however, to be at the second one in two weeks. Morelos' younger brother, Marine Pfc. Catarino Morelos Jr., died at 19 in a helicopter crash during the Vietnam War. His remains were buried in 1968 in Parlier. Then more remains of the crash victims were discovered in 2006 and 2007 in the mountains of Vietnam. Those remains -- fragments of many of the victims, including Catarino Morelos -- will be buried in a single casket May 14 at Arlington National Cemetery in northern Virginia. "I don't think it will hurt as bad as it did back then," said Richard Morelos. "But until I'm there, I don't know what I'm going to feel."
Though long over, the Vietnam War continues to trigger sadness and difficult memories for some Americans -- including the Morelos family of Selma and the surrounding area.
In the summer of 1968, Richard Morelos couldn't bring himself to see his brother's casket lowered into the ground.
"I had seen too many funerals and too many mothers crying for their sons," he said. "It was going to be that much harder to attend my brother's funeral. I didn't think I could handle that."
Richard Morelos -- a year older than Catarino -- fondly remembers the kid brother that family members called "Junior" and others knew as "Cat" -- short for Catarino.
He was a ladies man who loved to go the dances in Fresno and Sanger, where he grew up. Richard Morelos would take him in his black 1953 Mercury.
Those carefree days ended in the mid-1960s as war raged in Vietnam and young men had decisions to make. Catarino Morelos left high school before graduating to go into the military with three buddies. They enlisted in the Marines rather than get drafted in the Army.
Morelos was sent to Vietnam, and was a month away from coming home when he went on the ill-fated mission June 6, 1968. He was aboard a Sea Knight helicopter that was trying to make an emergency rescue of Marines fighting enemy forces.
Enemy ground fire struck the helicopter, causing it to crash and roll down a steep hillside, according to a government report. Twelve of 23 passengers and crewmen were killed in the crash.
Only parts of Morelos' jaw and leg bones were recovered in 1968 and identified by military officials for burial by his family.
As the years passed, Richard Morelos said, he had an eerie and recurring dream about his brother. In that dream, Catarino Morelos had been buried but no one could find his grave site. What it meant, he didn't know.
Neither did he know that American and Vietnamese teams had started investigating the crash site in 2000. Such searches began after the United States and Vietnam normalized relations following the war.
Investigators eventually found a tooth, and using dental records, they concluded that it belonged to Morelos.
Richard Morelos said he's glad that the government kept searching. "You can't say, 'Vietnam was 40 years ago. No need to keep looking.' You can't say that nobody cares anymore. Families care."
Government officials met with the Morelos family last September about the new discovery.
Irene Ramirez, a sister who lives in Dinuba, said the news stirred up many sad memories, causing her to relive the heartbreak of her brother's death.
"It's like it was just yesterday, even though it was 40 years ago," Ramirez said.
The Morelos family could have had the tooth buried in Parlier. However, they decided it was better to keep it with the other newly-discovered remains -- fragments from other men killed in the crash. Additional remains from Catarino Morelos could be part of those fragments, too, officials said.
"They can't decipher who is who, and what is what" from the remains, Richard Morelos said. "The best thing is to get it all together in Arlington."
Officials couldn't determine -- except in a few cases -- which remains went with which Marines because the remains "weren't viable" for DNA testing with today's technology, said Gregory Berg, a forensic anthropologist at the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command in Hawaii.
Meanwhile, the Morelos family is preparing for the trip to Arlington. The government is paying for Richard Morelos and his four sisters to fly to Virginia for the May 14 service. Their mother died in 1998; their father in 1952.
Greg Morelos of Selma -- Richard Morelos' son -- is paying his way to his uncle's funeral.
"I'm going to show respect for a man who served his country, and I'm proud that he was a Morelos," said Greg Morelos, 36, who never knew his uncle.
Another family member, Marine Col. Daniel Pinedo -- Richard Morelos' nephew and Irene Ramirez's son -- is scheduled to escort the remains from Hawaii to Arlington.
Kingsburg resident Doug Levers, a Marine veteran of the Vietnam War, also will be at Arlington. He will represent Kingsburg-Selma VFW Post 6152. Levers, a friend of Greg Morelos, said the Morelos family asked him to attend the burial and that it will be an honor to be there.
The family's pain has eased some over the years. However, they never stopped thinking about young Catarino Morelos with the easy smile.
Richard Morelos sometimes remembers that his brother would be 60 years old had he lived. Said Morelos: "He'd probably still be after the girls or the girls would be after him."
Ellie
By Doug Hoagland
dhoagland@selmaenterprise.com
Richard Morelos of Selma didn't go to his teenage brother's first funeral more than 40 years ago. He plans, however, to be at the second one in two weeks. Morelos' younger brother, Marine Pfc. Catarino Morelos Jr., died at 19 in a helicopter crash during the Vietnam War. His remains were buried in 1968 in Parlier. Then more remains of the crash victims were discovered in 2006 and 2007 in the mountains of Vietnam. Those remains -- fragments of many of the victims, including Catarino Morelos -- will be buried in a single casket May 14 at Arlington National Cemetery in northern Virginia. "I don't think it will hurt as bad as it did back then," said Richard Morelos. "But until I'm there, I don't know what I'm going to feel."
Though long over, the Vietnam War continues to trigger sadness and difficult memories for some Americans -- including the Morelos family of Selma and the surrounding area.
In the summer of 1968, Richard Morelos couldn't bring himself to see his brother's casket lowered into the ground.
"I had seen too many funerals and too many mothers crying for their sons," he said. "It was going to be that much harder to attend my brother's funeral. I didn't think I could handle that."
Richard Morelos -- a year older than Catarino -- fondly remembers the kid brother that family members called "Junior" and others knew as "Cat" -- short for Catarino.
He was a ladies man who loved to go the dances in Fresno and Sanger, where he grew up. Richard Morelos would take him in his black 1953 Mercury.
Those carefree days ended in the mid-1960s as war raged in Vietnam and young men had decisions to make. Catarino Morelos left high school before graduating to go into the military with three buddies. They enlisted in the Marines rather than get drafted in the Army.
Morelos was sent to Vietnam, and was a month away from coming home when he went on the ill-fated mission June 6, 1968. He was aboard a Sea Knight helicopter that was trying to make an emergency rescue of Marines fighting enemy forces.
Enemy ground fire struck the helicopter, causing it to crash and roll down a steep hillside, according to a government report. Twelve of 23 passengers and crewmen were killed in the crash.
Only parts of Morelos' jaw and leg bones were recovered in 1968 and identified by military officials for burial by his family.
As the years passed, Richard Morelos said, he had an eerie and recurring dream about his brother. In that dream, Catarino Morelos had been buried but no one could find his grave site. What it meant, he didn't know.
Neither did he know that American and Vietnamese teams had started investigating the crash site in 2000. Such searches began after the United States and Vietnam normalized relations following the war.
Investigators eventually found a tooth, and using dental records, they concluded that it belonged to Morelos.
Richard Morelos said he's glad that the government kept searching. "You can't say, 'Vietnam was 40 years ago. No need to keep looking.' You can't say that nobody cares anymore. Families care."
Government officials met with the Morelos family last September about the new discovery.
Irene Ramirez, a sister who lives in Dinuba, said the news stirred up many sad memories, causing her to relive the heartbreak of her brother's death.
"It's like it was just yesterday, even though it was 40 years ago," Ramirez said.
The Morelos family could have had the tooth buried in Parlier. However, they decided it was better to keep it with the other newly-discovered remains -- fragments from other men killed in the crash. Additional remains from Catarino Morelos could be part of those fragments, too, officials said.
"They can't decipher who is who, and what is what" from the remains, Richard Morelos said. "The best thing is to get it all together in Arlington."
Officials couldn't determine -- except in a few cases -- which remains went with which Marines because the remains "weren't viable" for DNA testing with today's technology, said Gregory Berg, a forensic anthropologist at the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command in Hawaii.
Meanwhile, the Morelos family is preparing for the trip to Arlington. The government is paying for Richard Morelos and his four sisters to fly to Virginia for the May 14 service. Their mother died in 1998; their father in 1952.
Greg Morelos of Selma -- Richard Morelos' son -- is paying his way to his uncle's funeral.
"I'm going to show respect for a man who served his country, and I'm proud that he was a Morelos," said Greg Morelos, 36, who never knew his uncle.
Another family member, Marine Col. Daniel Pinedo -- Richard Morelos' nephew and Irene Ramirez's son -- is scheduled to escort the remains from Hawaii to Arlington.
Kingsburg resident Doug Levers, a Marine veteran of the Vietnam War, also will be at Arlington. He will represent Kingsburg-Selma VFW Post 6152. Levers, a friend of Greg Morelos, said the Morelos family asked him to attend the burial and that it will be an honor to be there.
The family's pain has eased some over the years. However, they never stopped thinking about young Catarino Morelos with the easy smile.
Richard Morelos sometimes remembers that his brother would be 60 years old had he lived. Said Morelos: "He'd probably still be after the girls or the girls would be after him."
Ellie