Fort Worth Marine dies in combat

Star-Telegram ^ | Apr. 09, 2003 | Peyton D. Woodson

[Dubya]

FORT WORTH - A military chaplain and three members of the U.S. Marine Corps brought the news to the home of Mary and Freddy Medellin on Monday evening: Their second-oldest child had been killed in Iraq.

Cpl. Jesus Martin "Marty" Antonio Medellin was Fort Worth's first casualty in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Relatives remembered Medellin, 21, a 2000 graduate of Boswell High School, as a "mild-natured, friendly" person who knew at age 10 that he wanted to be a Marine.

"His parents are coping. They are a strong Christian family," Simona Sifuentes, Medellin's aunt, said Tuesday night. "They are very tired right now, very exhausted, but very proud."

Medellin was killed when an enemy artillery round struck his amphibious assault vehicle in central Iraq, said Staff Sgt. Richard Ruiz of the Department of Defense's press office. Medellin was assigned to the 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton.

He had called his family about a month ago to say he was being diverted to Iraq from his assignment in Okinawa, Japan, Sifuentes said. The family last saw him about six months ago, when he came home on furlough.

"He was just very proud," Sifuentes said. "He told us not to worry. He knew what he was doing. He was proud to be a Marine."

Relatives said Medellin, who was the second of four sons, was family-oriented. He spent time with his younger brother Simon and he loved his grandmother's tortillas, Sifuentes said.

"He would always play games with me -- chess -- and we would play on the computer," said Simon, 11. "He would take me to movies and to the store a lot."

The family is planning a candlelight vigil tonight outside their house in northwest Fort Worth. Tuesday evening, an American flag and a Marine flag flew at half-staff outside the one-story tan brick house, and a yellow ribbon and a small American flag tied to the mailbox rustled in the breeze.

Flowers, American flags and teddy bears were placed beneath a front window -- gifts from family and friends. Another yellow ribbon was tied in a big bow around a tree in the Medellins' front yard.

"My son served his country proudly," Freddy Medellin said tearfully.

Sifuentes said it had been difficult to come to grips with the thought of her nephew at war.

"It was scary to watch the news and see them approaching Baghdad," she said. "There's thousands and thousands of men over there. You just hope it's not yours.

"I was very nervous the past few weeks when my brother [Marty's father] would call me. I would panic and think they were calling me to tell me Marty was killed. My brother would say, 'It's going to be OK.' But not last night."

This Includes Material From the Associated Press.

Peyton D. Woodson, (817) 390-7539 pdwoodson@star-telegram.com

[Dubya]

Cpl. Jesus Martin "Marty" Medellin

[petuniasevan]

Rest in peace.

"All gave some. Some gave all."

[Arkinsaw]

His family should know that he joins a pantheon of American heroes and that what he has participated in will go down through the ages. What he participated in freed a lot of people from torture and death and gave them at least a chance for a normal life.

It is cold comfort for the family, but its true that he gave his life both for his countrymen and for a million strangers.

[Dubya]

Thank you very much.

[Dubya]

Thanks. I am going to print some of the post from here and give them to his father.

[Dick Bachert]

To fallen soldiers let us sing
Where no rockets fly nor bullets wing
Our broken brothers let us bring
To the Mansions of the Lord

No more bleeding, no more fight
No prayers pleading through the night
Just divine embrace, eternal light
In the Mansions of the Lord

Where no mothers cry and no children weep
We will stand and guard though the angels sleep
Through the ages safely keep
The Mansions of the Lord

[Dubya]

Thank you for your post 7 Dick. I know the family will like it.

[alfa6]

Semper FI, Cpl. Medellin

My deepest sympathy to his family.

With Utmost Regards

alfa6 ;>{

[Lx]

Thank You for giving the ultimate sacrifice to make mine and America's lives better.

It may be little comfort to his family during such a grievous time, but I know millions of Americans and even millions of people outside America appreciate what he did, the price he paid and what he stood for.

Thank You!

[Psycho_Bunny]

God bless you Cpl. Medellin.

[lone star annie]

He is now with the angels. Rest in Peace great hero. You have made America proud. You were only here a short time but in that time you made a difference--something that many do not do in an entire lifetime.

When I make it to heaven, look me up so I can say "Thank You" in person.

[GWfan]

Rest in peace Marty, for you truly are a hero.

May the Lord God bless this man's family, may He make His face to shine upon them and give them peace.

[Tennessee_Bob]

Tonight, somewhere in Iraq, a family sleeps in freedom for the first time in thirty years. Somewhere in Iraq, children have been freed from a prison they were being held in. Somewhere in Iraq, young people are living in freedom for the first time in their lives. A child that might have otherwise died will now live, families will be reunited, and those that yearned for freedom in secret will now have it in the bright light of a desert day.

All of this because of those such as Corporal Medellin, and his brothers and sisters in arms.

Semper Fi, Marine.

[GWfan]

A hymn for Marty: from TLH #660 copyright 1941 Concordia Publishing House (during another war).

I'm but a stranger here, Heav'n is my home;

earth is a desert drear, Heav'n is my home.

Danger and sorrow stand Round me on ev'ry hand;

Heav'n is my fatherland, Heav'n is my home.

[TEXOKIE]

Thank you for alerting me to this thread, Dubya. I was born and grew up in the Fort Worth area. This hits me literally at home.

Our Father,

We come to you holding in our hearts the name and memory of Cpl. Jesus Martin "Marty" Antonio Medellin a USMC who fell to enemy fire in central Iraq. We ask that you will enfold him in a comforting swaddling garment of your love and our prayers. Please tell him for us how grateful we truly are for his sacrifice. He heard the call as a child to serve this nation in the Marines, and he fulfilled that vow fully, honorably, and completely.

Father, we ask that you will send a legion of angels to his family and loved ones. Comfort them in their loss of this fine young man. Lift those who love him in the lawful pride they feel as they contemplate his brief heroic life. Heal the wounds which his absence creates in those close to him and also to the entire nation. Please let those grieving him know in their hearts how much we honor him and how we pray for their blessing.

Father, this which we call forth for Cpl. Medellin we ask that you will multiply and grant according to thy will to all souls and their families who have given their lives in protecting this nation against weapons of mass destruction reaching these shores and thereby liberating an oppressed people. Grant us who are left here to be mindful of their generous sacrificial actions by living our lives in such a way as to be a credit to their own.
Amen

[tiki]

God rest his soul and comfort his family in their grief. He gave the ultimate sacrifice for freedom.

[Brett66]

I Kissed My Son Goodbye Today

[NMFXSTC]

"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother."--Shakespeare, Henry V, Act IV, Scene III

Semper Fi, Jesus...heaven if full of Marines and they are at the gate.

[happygrl]

But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.

Thank you Cpl. Medellin. You have consecrated the ground of Iraq. May we never forget the price you paid for our safety and security, and for the freedom of the Iraqi people.