Over the past two weeks, I have been sharing information on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, and Posterous about the death of PFC Justin Casillas. I have had people tell me they can’t look at my Facebook page because it’s too sad, and that’s okay. In order for me to process what’s happened here, and in order to support my friend Chuck who has lost his only son, I am compelled to share photos, articles, and information about Justin.
This story must be told. To honor Justin. And to honor my friend Chuck, who has had to deal with some incredibly difficult issues over the past two weeks.
I met Chuck about 2 months after Mike and I started dating, back in 1996. Chuck and Mike were roommates in Woodland, and when I would come to town from Berkeley, Mike would be at work, and Chuck and I would hang out in the house and we got to be good friends. We have been through a lot with Chuck over the years, and I have an intense loyalty to him, regardless of the circumstance. Chuck has shared some of the milestones with Mike and me. Our engagement, our wedding, his engagement, his wedding (and divorce), and my 40th birthday party and more.
Of the memories I have with Chuck, many of them are of his two kids. Justin and Victoria. We have gone to baseball games with the kids since they were little, and my favorite memories are around Halloween. We always did haunted houses with Chuck and the kids and tried to scare all the neighborhood at the variety of houses we’ve all lived in. Justin and Victoria were super tight, really good to each other, and really good to their dad.
Chuck called me early in the morning on the 4th of July. My cell phone doesn’t ever ring unless it’s Mike or an emergency. So knowing Mike was sleeping right next to me, I knew I needed to answer it. Chuck was crying and told me that Justin had been killed in action 12 hours earlier on the 4th of July. What do you say to someone who has lost their only son? The details were very sketchy at the time, as Chuck hadn’t received proper military notification at this point. He heard from his daughter, who was staying with him for the holiday, ironically — spending her last week with her dad before she was to join the Navy on July 14th. The military was unable to find Chuck, who had recently moved to Petaluma, so they got to Justin’s mother first in Dunnigan. It took another 8 hours for the military to find Chuck and give him the proper notification and inform him of his options. A day later, Chuck was on a plane to Dover to receive Justin as he flew back from Afghanistan.
The drama was already starting. I’m not going to get into any of the issues between Chuck and his ex-wife out of respect for Victoria. It was rough for Chuck. The Woodland newspaper made mistake after mistake in the reporting of the story, and Chuck was not recognized as being Justin’s father. Seeing that total disrespect for the man who loved his son and who knew of Justin’s strong desire to go to war for our country added insult to injury. I made it my responsibility to share this story with my friends and followers, some from Woodland, some from across the country. I have my issues with our foreign policy and these wars we’re in, but that’s not the point. This was about Justin, a kid I knew since he was 6. A polite, respectful, loving kid.
I contacted Matt Rexroad, Yolo County Supervisor and a marine, to see what I could do to make sure that Chuck received the same recognition as a parent that Justin’s mother did. Matt helped me get the word out by sharing my posts. I contacted the Governor’s Office to make sure that Justin received the honors of a fallen hero. Honestly, I felt helpless. I called the Democrat to make sure they corrected their story. They didn’t want to take any information from me. Maybe because they got so much wrong information from the family and just printed it without doing their research. Totally irresponsible.
The events leading up to the funeral were full of conflict between the families. At a time where the focus should have been on Justin. Skipping to today.
The Bronze Star
The funeral was very emotional (duh). Justin received 5 medals, including the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, a Good Conduct Medal, and two other medals, one for the Global War on Terror, and one for the Afghanistan campaign. I can’t remember what they were called. The service was conducted by the military, including General Woods, who presented all these medals to Chuck and to Justin’s mother.
The streets of Woodland were lined with flags and the Patriot Riders provided escort for the service and the ride to the cemetery. Woodland’s police and fire departments also lined the streets as the funeral motorcade moved through the city on the way to Yolo. Not sure whether it’s disrespectful to take pictures of such events, but I wanted to document this for Chuck, and for my friends who have been following the situation. Here’s a link to my album on Facebook.
So, in short (ha), I wanted to thank my friends and followers for indulging me in sharing this information. I wanted to honor my friend Chuck and I wanted to honor the memory and service of Justin Aaron Casillas, who died defending this country - a hero in Afghanistan. Regardless of how you feel about the war (and if you are my follower, you know how I feel about it), Justin believed in this country and believed he was fighting to defend democracy. Now is the time to honor that service and sacrifice.
