Wapato Marine Killed

[darrels joy]

Wapato Marine Killed
By MARK MOREY
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC


A U.S. Marine from Wapato was killed this week while fighting in Iraq, a military spokesman confirmed Friday.

Sgt. Yadir Reynoso, 24, suffered a fatal gunshot wound Thursday during a combat incident in the southern Iraq city of Najaf, First Sgt. Mike Gardner said.

U.S. military and Iraqi security forces have been engaged in heavy fighting with insurgents the past two days in and around Najaf.

Reynoso is the third Yakima Valley resident to die in the war in Iraq. The other two were also Marines.

Reynoso was proud of joining the service, said Bob Johnson, a former Wapato High School principal.

Reynoso enlisted soon after graduating in 1997, Johnson said.

He described Reynoso as a rough and tough kid who turned himself around in the last couple of years of high school in order to earn his diploma.

"When he found out he could join the Marines, he was really proud of that," Johnson said.

Jeff Sevigny, former Wapato wrestling coach, recalled Reynoso as a good kid. Reynoso joined the wrestling squad his junior year.

"I remember him going to school to try to make something of himself," Sevigny said.

Issai Perez, a Wapato city councilman who went to school with Reynoso, said he was good role model.

"I know that the community feels for the loss for his family," Perez said.

Family members declined to comment when contacted at home Friday.

Gardner said Reynoso was a mortarman serving with a weapons company that was attached to the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit. He was based at Camp Pendleton, Calif.

A Camp Pendleton spokesman did not return a call Friday evening.

The other local residents killed in combat in Iraq were Lance Cpl. Dustin Sides, 22, of Yakima, and Staff Sgt. Marvin Best, 33, of Prosser.

Sides died during an ambush as his unit was returning from a successful night mission.

Best died when his Humvee struck a land mine.

[darrels joy]

Marine Did 'Something Good for Us'
By MARK MOREY
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC


The Wapato Marine killed in Iraq last week was always willing to help, a relative recalled.

"He was a person that would do anything for you if you needed it," Felipe Reynoso said Saturday about his cousin, Sgt. Yadir Reynoso.

That makes the circumstances of his death so much harder to take, considering he died trying to free the Iraqi people, Felipe Reynoso said in a telephone interview.

"He was doing something good for all of us. It's tragic what happened to him," he said.

A Marine spokesman said Sgt. Reynoso, 24, suffered a fatal gunshot wound in a combat incident in Najaf, the site of vicious encounters last week with a militant Shiite cleric's militia.

Officials at Camp Pendleton, the home base for Reynoso's weapons company, said they were not authorized to release more information about Reynoso's death.

Reynoso enlisted in the Marines after graduating from Wapato High School in 1997.

He and his cousin, a 1994 Wapato graduate who now lives in Union Gap, grew up together.

Felipe Reynoso said relatives were continuing to grieve.

"It's hard because I've never had something like this happen before. It's hard to comprehend the fact that somebody does something good for us and then get the news that he died in something bad like this," he said.

Reynoso's father declined to comment when contacted at the family home in Wapato on Saturday.

Survivors include Yadir Reynoso's parents, a brother and two sisters.

Reynoso's body is expected to be flown to the United States this week, but details were not available about a memorial service.

Felipe Reynoso said he last talked to his cousin about six months ago, when he came home on leave. Yadir Reynoso knew at the time he was probably headed to the war, and he had been in the Persian Gulf since March or April, his cousin said.

Felipe Reynoso said he didn't recall discussing the dangers of Iraq with his cousin.

"We never talked about the worst. It was always the positive," he said.

After his cousin's death, Felipe Reynoso said he's upset that the Iraqi people don't seem to appreciate the United States' effort to help free the country of a dictator.

"I think that should be a wakeup call to get the hell out of there," he said.

Two other Yakima Valley Marines ? Lance Cpl. Dustin Sides, 22, of Yakima and Staff Sgt. Marvin Best, 33, of Prosser ? died in Iraq in June.
_______________________________

My opinion: His cousin never heard about the people in Iraq that do appreciate what we are doing there. Sad

Joy

[darrels joy]

Published on Monday, August 9, 2004
Family-- Slain Marine Had Courage to Give Up Life for Family

By MARK MOREY
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC


WAPATO ? Yadir Reynoso sounded at peace the last time he spoke with his family.

It seemed like an unusual happiness for the 27-year-old Marine Corps sergeant, who called home by satellite phone Aug. 1, which was his mother's birthday.

"The way we are looking back at it now is that he was saying goodbye," said his sister, Patty, 26.

Reynoso, a mortarman who graduated from Wapato High School in 1997, suffered a fatal gunshot wound Thursday in a combat incident in Najaf, Iraq. The city has been locked in heavy conflict over the past few days.

Friends, relatives and strangers have been stopping by the family's home since word of the death spread across town late last week.

His parents, Jose and Gloria, spoke briefly Sunday of the pride they had in their son.

"There are so many things, so many memories," Jose Reynoso said.

Showing off a picture of the pair standing together in a hop field, he recalled leaving his son in charge of the house whenever he left on trips.

His mother said she remembered Yadir standing in front of a mirror dressed in his uniform during his last home leave.

The Marine experience, he told her then, had changed him from a young boy into a man.

He went straight to the Marines when he decided to enlist in the military because he wanted to make something of himself, his sister said.

After eight years in the service, he planned to get out at the end of this year and come home to Wapato.

He told relatives that he planned to see them afterward, but he was ready for whatever happened in the war.

"He had the courage to give up his life for his family and his community," his sister said.

A memorial Mass has been scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday at St. Peter Claver Catholic Church in Wapato.

The public is welcome to attend, his sister said.

"We need all the support we can get," she said

Funeral details still depend on when Reynoso's body arrives, but he is expected to be buried at Tahoma Cemetery in Yakima.

Mayor Jesse Farias said Wapato police officers will escort the casket from the airport, probably either in Yakima or Seattle.

Reynoso had a 4-year-old son, Yadir Elias Jr., who lives in Yakima. Reynoso's ex-wife was grieving with the family in Wapato on Sunday.

Reynoso's survivors include a brother, Jose, 23, and a sister, Jasmin, 19.

[Keith_Hixson]

We have had thee severly injured that were from Ellensburg. Even small town America is being affected by the war.

Our prayers go out to the family.

Keith

[darrels joy]

Published on Wednesday, August 11, 2004

Wapato Marine's Funeral Saturday; Mass Tonight

WAPATO ? The funeral for Yadir Reynoso, the Wapato Marine killed last week in Iraq, is slated for Saturday, the Marine Corps announced Tuesday.

The 27-year-old Marine sergeant ? who graduated from Wapato High School in 1997 ? died of a gunshot wound Thursday during a battle in Najaf.

Reynoso's remains will arrive at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport sometime today and be escorted by the Marine Corps and Wapato police to Merritt Funeral Home in Wapato.

Friends and family are inviting the public to attend a 6 p.m. rosary and 7 p.m. memorial Mass tonight at St. Peter Claver Catholic Church in Wapato.

Saturday's services begin in Wapato High School's gymnasium, where visitation will be from 8 a.m. to noon, with a short church service and memorial during that time.

Graveside services will start at 2:15 p.m. at Tahoma Cemetery in Yakima. The public is invited, and graveside attendees must be at the cemetery by 1:45 p.m., according to the Marine Corps.

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Published on Thursday, August 12, 2004

Schedule Changed for Marine's Memorial, Burial

JEFF HALLER/Yakima Herald-Republic

The schedule has been revised for services for fallen Marine Sgt. Yadir Reynoso of Wapato. The most current information is as follows.

Friday: Visitation in the Wapato High School gymnasium from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with community memorial service to follow.

Saturday: Memorial Mass at 1 p.m. at St. Peter Claver Catholic Church, 509 S. Satus Ave. in Wapato. Burial will follow at Tahoma Cemetery, 1802 Tahoma Ave. in Yakima. Reception at 4 p.m., Wapato High School cafeteria.

A cross on a rosary hangs Wednesday next to a high school photo of Yadir Reynoso, the Wapato Marine killed in Iraq.

[darrels joy]

Published on Thursday, August 12, 2004

Marine's Mom Had Feeling of Foreboding
By PHILIP FEROLITO
Yakima Herald-Republic



JEFF HALLER/Yakima Herald-Republic

WAPATO ? A week ago, Gloria Reynoso awoke to a feeling telling her something was wrong.

She carried that feeling into the evening, when an unfamiliar vehicle carrying four Marines and a Wapato police officer pulled up to her home, asking if she was Gloria Reynoso.

Knowing something terrible must have happened to her son, Yadir Reynoso, who was serving in Iraq, she immediately called for her husband Jose, who was asleep in the other room.

It was then the couple learned their son, a 27-year-old sergeant, was killed in Najaf, Iraq.

"But my heart already felt something (was wrong) as a mother," Gloria said Wednesday.

Though family members new the risk of war, Yadir's death has been hard to accept.

"I can tell you, I almost went crazy," said Yadir's 26-year-old sister, Patty. "When I came down and saw that U.S. license plate ... I could not accept it."

Family members gathered around a dining room table Wednesday, tearfully recalling Yadir's life.

Consul Jorge Madrazo-Cu?llar, of the Mexican Consulate in Seattle, briefly spoke with the family, offering his condolences, and asked Wapato City Councilman Juan Orozco, who is helping with arrangements, to speak on his behalf at memorial services slated for Friday and Saturday.


Since the tragedy, there has been an outpouring of support from the community.

"Some (of Yadir's friends) say they always remember Yadir coming and putting them in a headlock, saying 'how ya doing,'" Patty said.

A picture of Yadir in uniform hung above the front door of his parents' home, while a flag flew at half-staff over the porch. The cyclone fence around the yard was dressed with American-flag ribbons.

More pictures of Yadir, some of his high-school wrestling days, and others with his military unit, covered a wall. A portrait of Yadir and his ex-wife, Lisa Reynoso, was framed with flowers.

"We just talked to Yadir, and he assured us he'd be back," Patty said, referring to an Aug. 1 call Yadir made on his mother's birthday from a satellite telephone. "The way he talked ... he didn't mention anything in detail about what was going on over there."

More than 300 paid their respects Wednesday night at a rosary and memorial Mass at St. Peter Claver Catholic Church in Wapato.

Born to migrant workers from Mexico, Yadir ? who graduated from Wapato High School in 1997 ? wanted to pursue a career other than farm work, and began looking into the military while in his senior year. He joined the Marines after graduation.

"He felt that he wanted to become someone, and that's when he decided to join the Marines," said his father, who came to the United States in 1982 from Ixtlan del Rio, Nayarit, Mexico. "He said, 'Hey, old man, is it OK if I join the Marines?'"

Patty recalled the time when she and Yadir, both then 5 and 6 years old respectively, helped their parents harvest hops.

"Let me tell you, it was hard," she said.

"I wanted them see if that was the kind of life they wanted," Jose explained.

Gloria, tears streaming from her eyes, said Yadir realized he'd become someone after completing boot camp. While home on a visit, he stood in front of a mirror wearing his uniform in the back room of the house, telling his mother how he had become a man and would now be respected the way he always wanted to be.

"I've been waiting for you to feel that way," she recalled telling him.

However, after pulling bodies from a bombed ship some three years ago, Yadir began having second thoughts about the military.

"He was traumatized," Jose said. "He said he never wanted to pass in that way."

This was going to be his last year in the Marines, Patty said, noting that Yadir wanted to spend more time with his family.

"That's all he wanted to focus on, was his family and son," Patty said.

Yadir was born in Stockton, Calif. He was the oldest of four siblings ? Patty of Yakima; Jasmin, 19, of Wapato; and Jose Jr., 23, of San Bernardino, Calif. Yadir had five children: Yadir Jr., and Christian and Shante Tahkel, all of Wapato, and two children in Tijuana.

Stationed at Camp Pendleton where he was trained in the use of mortars, Yadir often visited his grandmother in Tijuana, Mexico, where he'd always bring other Marines for dinner.

"They'd be eating in this little shack, but they'd always want to come back," Patty recalled.

Patty and Yadir, just a year apart in age, shared a close relationship.

"I wasn't a Barbie (doll) kind of girl," she said. "It was me and my brother playing with Tonka trucks."

And that close relationship continued throughout the years, she explained.

"When he had girl trouble, guess who he called?"

Still struggling with the realities of war, Patty said, "My brother died with full honor. ... It goes deeper than that. It's part of our roots. He's a hero among Mexicans."

Though Jose has mixed feeling about the conflict in Iraq, he voiced the importance of supporting his son's decision to be a Marine.

"If that's the career he wanted, he had all my support," he said. "That was his destiny and we can't go against that."

Juan Orozco, second from left, holds a cell phone on speaker phone so Yadir Reynoso family members,can hear comments from Mexican Consul Jorge Madrazo-Cu?llar in Seattl. From left are father Jose, Orozco, mother Gloria, brother Jose Jr. and sister Patty.

[darrels joy]

Saying Goodbye
By PHILIP FEROLITO
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

GORDON KING/Yakima Herald-Republic
Jose Reynoso kneels next to the casket of his son, Marine Sgt. Yadir Reynoso, during the community visitation in the Wapato High School gym before his funeral service Friday.

WAPATO ? Lisa Reynoso tearfully promised Yadir Reynoso she'd raise their 4-year-old child, named after his father, to be the best son imaginable.

"Through him, you will live," she said, reading from a goodbye letter to her ex-husband and fallen Marine during a celebration of his life Friday at the Wapato High School gymnasium.

Yadir Reynoso, a 27-year-old Marine sergeant who graduated from Wapato in 1997, died of a gunshot wound Aug. 5 while fighting in Najaf, Iraq.

Family, friends and community members poured into the gym where military officials and community church leaders conducted services.

Manual Arambul, who coached Reynoso in wrestling during his junior and senior year, regarded him as a tough kid who never complained about working hard.

"We cannot forget the price he paid ? he paid the ultimate price," Arambul said as he addressed the gathering. "I coached state champions; however, Yadir is a champion of all champions in my heart."

Wearing T-shirts bearing a portrait of Reynoso in uniform and the words "In Loving Memory," family and close friends kept near Reynoso's American flag-draped open casket, where he was laid to rest with a crucifix at his left and an eagle feather in his hand. Jose and Gloria Reynoso, his parents, quietly sat while visitors paid their respects.

Behind, flower-wrapped portraits of him in uniform served as a backdrop.

A mariachi band played somber melodies at times during the services, and a slide show depicting times throughout Reynoso's life was shared.

Wapato City Councilman Juan Orozco, after offering the condolences of both U.S. Sen. Patty Murray and Consul Jorge Madrazo-Cu?llar, of the Mexican Consulate in Seattle, announced he would propose a proclamation at the next council meeting to designate Aug. 5 in Wapato as Yadir Reynoso Day.

Earlier, Yvonne Benson, who didn't know Reynoso, paid her respects to the fallen Marine whom she called an angel.

Standing over his open casket, the Yakama tribal member raised her right hand and sang a memorial song in his honor before turning to friends and family seated up front ? tears filling her eyes ? and said, "He's a hero."

The Reynoso death hits close to home for Benson, who lost her brother, Stephen Ellenwood Jr., in Vietnam 36 years ago.

"I just had to do this because it's been bothering me since I found out about it," she said, explaining that her son, Nathaniel B. Pinkham, is also serving in Iraq. "This kind of makes me think back about when we got the news and what we went through and how it felt."

Gazing across the gym at his older brother's casket, 23-year-old Jose Reynoso Jr. recalled driving a nervous Yadir to base the day he left for Iraq.

Jose Jr. was living in Tijuana then, just a half-hour drive from Yadir's base in Camp Pendleton, Calif., and the two spent a lot of time together. The day Yadir was scheduled for deployment in May, Jose misunderstood the guard at the gate and entered the base, hoping to take Yadir as close as he could to the ship.

However, he was escorted off base by police and Yadir had to walk from the entrance gate to the ship, Jose said.

"He told me, 'All right ? I'll see you when I get back,'" Jose remembered. "He was just smiling and everything. That was the last time I saw him."

Reynoso, who attained the rank of sergeant after training hundreds of Marines in the use of mortars, was decorated with a handful of medals, including the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal and the Purple Heart.

He was born in Stockton, Calif., and was the oldest of four siblings ? Patty, 26, of Yakima; Jasmin, 19, of Wapato; and Jose Jr. of San Bernardino, Calif. Yadir had five children: Yadir Jr., Christian Tahkeal, 6, and Chante Tahkeal, 8, all of Wapato, and two children in Tijuana.

Today, there will be a 1 p.m. Mass at St. Peter Claver Catholic Church in Wapato, with burial to follow at Tahoma Cemetery in Yakima. A 4 p.m. reception will be held in Wapato High School's cafeteria.

GORDON KING/Yakima Herald-Republic
Wearing white T-shirts honoring their slain son, Gloria and Jose Reynoso watch as a Marine color guard carries the casket from the Wapato High School gymnasium Friday night.

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11th MEU 'jokester' missed by all

Even though he was only with his platoon for three months, he left a lasting memory. To his fellow mortarmen, Sgt. Yadir Reynoso, a native of Yakima, Wash., was a prankster and a professional, a joker and an expert in Marine affairs.

Reynoso, squad leader, 81mm Mortar Platoon, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), only spent three months with the platoon before he died fighting in the Wadi Al Salam cemetery during combat operations in An Najaf, Iraq, on Aug. 6.

His fellow Marines affectionately called him "tattoo" for the abundance of permanent artwork that completely covered his arms. But aside from just his nickname, his unique personality is remembered in two different shades, one of fun and the other of intense exertion.

"He liked messing with the Marines," said Sgt. Nelson A. Martinez, squad leader, 81mm Plt. "He liked to make people laugh."

The occasions were so numerous that Martinez had trouble remembering specific stories.

"He was a jokester and a prankster in his free time, but when it came time to work he was very professional. He never really showed any of that around the gunny or me," said 1st Lt. Lamar D. Breshears, platoon commander, 81mm Plt. "When it came to his job, he was very aggressive."

The funny to serious shift is well remembered by a couple Marines in 81mm Plt. who actually had Reynoso as an instructor in the School of Infantry on Camp Pendleton, Calif., before he came to BLT 1/4.

"He'd joke around with us a lot and everybody would be laughing, but then we'd go and do something stupid and it would all change," said Lance Cpl. Paul T. Ricotta, mortarman, 81mm Plt., implying Reynoso would then change from joking around to strictly correcting them.

However, the fun never got in the way of accomplishing the mission.

"He loved playing games but made sure the Marines knew their stuff," said Lance Cpl. George A. Snyder, forward observer, 81mm Plt. "He was real smart in infantry and mortars."

He readily shared his knowledge with the less experienced Marines.

"We could always go up to him and ask him a question at any time," said Lance Cpl. Kevin J. Knight, mortarman, 81mm Plt.

Ricotta, Snyder and Knight were in Reynoso's 81mm squad even after he instructed them at SOI.

Reynoso's expertise impressed his superiors as well. They recall him fitting right into the platoon when he arrived. While on ship, right after he arrived to the unit, he jumped right in to help teach the Marines small arms manipulation and mortar gun drills.

"He had a vast knowledge of the capabilities of each weapon," Breshears said. "He wasn't a squad leader then, but he assumed the responsibilities immediately."

Martinez didn't notice a single glitch when Reynoso arrived.

"When I first met him I didn't know who he was, but right away I could tell he would fit right in," Martinez said.

Martinez suspects Reynoso's outgoing personality may have caused this. He fit perfectly into the platoon so much that was if he had always been there.

"The whole way driving up here I would have thought I had known him my whole life, instead of two weeks," Martinez said.

Reynoso's comical side never tainted Breshears' image of him.

"It was nothing bad or anything," Breshears chuckled. "He was just messing around with other sergeants."

Some thought that even with his serious side, he could never totally hide his love of life.

"He was always happy and always outgoing," said Sgt. Joel D. Reilly, squad leader, 81mm Plt. "I can't remember when he was in a bad mood."

Martinez recalled one time, when he brought a smile to everyone's face while they were at Forward Operating Base Echo.

"He wore this body spray that smelled disgusting," Martinez said. "He always put it on, and I asked him why he used it."

Reynoso smiled and said he "had to smell good." Martinez laughed and asked whom he "wanted to smell good for, since we are in the middle of Iraq.

"He said 'for you guys,' just joking around," Martinez said.

Reilly and Martinez laughed.

"Everybody liked him and we never had any problems, he fit right in," Reilly said.

Martinez recalled how Reynoso also had a knack for making the Marines feel at home.

"Once he made a mural in front of our squad bay out here out of rocks," he said. "It said USMC in old English letters and he painted it black and gold. He liked to express himself in many ways."

Even though he was only with the platoon for three months, they all miss him.

"If there is ever a missing piece of the puzzle, he is that piece," said Gunnery Sgt. Corey S. Bennin, platoon sergeant, 81mm Plt.

This is the fifth in a series of seven articles paying homage to the Marines of the 11th MEU who bravely fought and lost their lives during fighting in An Najaf, Iraq, this August.


Note: Submitted by: 11th MEU Story by Cpl. Matthew S. Richards CAMP FORWARD OPERATING BASE DUKE, Iraq