David Nunez
August 28, 2008 on 12:44 pm | In Fallen Heroes, Obituaries | No Comments
DAVID NUNEZ
June 16, 1980 to May 29, 2008
Flawed like the rest of us
EDITOR’S NOTE: The following message, posted originally in Spanish by a woman named Gloria, was in reaction to a Los Angeles Times obituary devoted to Sgt. 1st Class David Nunez, 27, of Los Angeles, a member of the U.S. Army’s elite Green Berets, who died as a result of small arms fire on May 29, 2008 in Shewan, Afghanistan. More than anything else, the poignancy of the response rests in the first sentence, which stands as one of the most memorable (if not the most memorable) tributes to a young man who, while flawed like the rest of us, so loved his country that he made the ultimate sacrifice.
A womanizer, liar, and drinker
“You were a womanizer, liar, and drinker. But this does not take away your good qualities. You were human, and like all humans you made errors. Nobody knows about me or about our love, and they never will know in reality what happened with us. It made me sad to see you buried and your death in this way. But my comfort is my memories of you and the time we lived together. We were very happy in that time. What I do know is that your only and true love was your work. You died doing what you wanted most in life. In reality I never understood what it was that you did but just hearing you talk about it was enough to know that you enjoyed it. Now you can rest, you did your part in this battle. You will always live in my heart. Gloria”
Into his third deployment
Elizabeth Campbell
August 25, 2008 on 8:05 am | In Obituaries | 8 Comments
ELIZABETH AILEEN CAMPBELL
October 1, 1960 to July 20, 2008
An indomitable, spirit
Elizabeth A. Campbell, Director of Women’s Programs for Pacific Hills Treatment Centers in Dana Point - an indomitable spirit who breathed life, love and hope into those who had none - succumbed to lung cancer Sunday, July 20th. She was 47.
Her legend grew quickly at Pacific Hills, the scary click of her spike heels as she marched down the hall to a meeting, those in attendance often quivering in fear at the sound. Only 5′2″ and 120 lbs. “soaking wet,” according to her husband of 24 years, Greg Campbell, Elizabeth was a powerhouse presence, especially when something didn’t measure up to her rigorous standards. Whether at Pacific Hills, or at home in Aliso Viejo, said Greg, Director of Sales at Irvine BMW, she was like a drill sergeant. “Hey, Campbell,” she would call to her husband. “You made a mess. It’s unacceptable! It is not okay!”
The lucky person who gets those eyes
Faoa L. Apineru
August 15, 2008 on 1:32 pm | In Fallen Heroes, Obituaries | No Comments
FAOA L. APINERU
1976 to 2007 to
August 3, 2008
Semper Fi
Considerably after the fact
It’s strange how one Marine’s death can affect so many - especially when it is acknowledged considerably after the fact. Such is the case with Faoa L. Apineru, 31, of Yorba Linda, a staff sergeant in the Marine Corps Reserve, who died on July 2, 2007, two years after suffering massive brain injuries due to a roadside bomb attack in Anbar province, west of Baghdad. Yet, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) did not officially recognize his death as resulting from the Iraq war until August 3, 2008.
Just how did the DOD explain the cause of death of the strapping Samoan, formerly a black belt in karate and marathon runner, who was confined for over two years in the Veteran’s Affairs Hospital in Palo Alto, his brain so traumatized with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) he had to relearn how to walk, talk and drive? Perhaps the DOD viewed Apineru’s loss of memory, his inability to distinguish nightmares from reality, his tendency to attack anyone who resembled a “jihadist” (his term for the enemy, said his brother, Selemaea Apineru of Colorado) as some sort of a chemical imbalance. The Department of Defense isn’t saying.
Reliving the attack in recurring nightmares