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Thursday, October 19, 2000

Honoring lost shipmates
Pain, pride at Ingleside ceremony
By Deborah Martínez
Caller-Times

Paul Iverson/Caller-Times

Family, friends and Navy personnel weep during a memorial service at Naval Station Ingleside on Wednesday to remember the 17 men and women killed during last week’s apparent terrorist attack on the USS Cole in Aden, Yemen.

The loss of the USS Cole's 17 sailors, including Kingsville's Ronchester Santiago and Rockport's Gary G. Swenchonis Jr., stunned sailors everywhere to the point of numbness, Rear Adm. Jose L. Betancourt said Wednesday at a local memorial service.
   "For those of us in uniform, I am sure we all remember where we were when we heard the news," Betancourt told the hundreds who gathered for the service at Naval Station Ingleside.
   "These sailors' families are feeling sorrow, pain and probably rage," said Betancourt, commander of Mine Warfare Command. "We hope the depth of our feelings and our sorrow somehow help console them."
   Santiago and Swenchonis remained missing in action late Wednesday as their families attended a national memorial service in Norfolk, Va., the Cole's homeport, where President Clinton was among those who honored the sailors.

Paul Iverson/Caller-Times

Memorial service attendees bow their heads in prayer for the Cole victims. ‘For those of us in uniform, I am sure we all remember where we were when we heard the news,’ Rear Adm. Jose L. Betancourt said.

   Friends of the two families say it was difficult for the men's parents to decide to attend the Norfolk service while still holding out hope.
   "They said either way they wanted to honor their son and the rest of the sailors," said Tracy Revell, a friend of the Swenchonis family. "If Gary Jr. is passed away, they think he would want them there. If he's not passed away, they can honor the others."
   Swenchonis, 26, joined the Navy about two years ago after a four-year stint in the Army. Family said he was intent on making it a career, and enjoyed the travel.
   Those who knew the 1994 Rockport-Fulton High School graduate described him as polite, quiet and personable.
   Santiago, 22, who finished high school early at Keys Academy in Kingsville so he could go to boot camp in early 1997, was getting ready to finish his four-year term with the Navy in December.
   To celebrate, he was going to travel to the Philippines, his father's homeland. His plan was to attend the University of Texas and study engineering or computers when his Navy stint ended.
   At Naval Station Ingleside, area sailors and residents gathered at Fleet Park for scriptures, prayers, eulogies and patriotic songs.
   "We prayed that the case of the USS Cole was different, that the news was wildly overstated and that the reporters were wrong," Betancourt said. "That was not to be. We were numbed by our own acceptance."
   Petty Officer 2nd Class Ronald Stauffer, fought back tears after the service.
   "It could happen to anyone at any time," the 33-year-old Navy veteran of 14 years said. "It could be one of my own relatives. They are my relatives. Some of my family has died."
   Betancourt, who visited with the Swenchonis and Santiago families before their trip to Norfolk, told the crowd in Ingleside that last week's terrorist attack reminds service members of the risks they take, the severity of their fight for freedom and the power U.S. forces must continue to fight with.
   For Seaman Apprentice Jaretta Bell, a Whitesboro native who joined the Navy five months ago and is set for an assignment to Guam next month, the USS Cole reinforces her decision to enlist.
   "I am very honored to serve with my shipmates here and to have served with my shipmates that have fallen," the 20-year-old said. "This has given me more purpose and more of a reason to stand up and help our country fight."



Staff writer Deborah Martínez can be reached at 886-3618 or by e-mail at martinezd@caller.com

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