Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Last rites for Cole victim

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Saturday, October 28, 2000

Last rites for Cole victim
Navy commander presents Purple Heart to his parents
By Rosemary Barnes
Caller-Times

Michelle Christenson/Caller-Times

Rogelio (left) and Simeona Santiago, the parents of Ronchester Santiago, stand behind his coffin Friday at St. Gertrude’s Catholic Church in Kingsville.

KINGSVILLE - About 400 residents gathered at St. Gertrude's Catholic Church Friday morning to say goodbye to Ronchester Santiago, a 22-year-old man whom many of them had never met, but felt that they had known all of his life.
   For seven days, the community tied yellow ribbons around trees throughout the city to show their support.
   They prayed along with Santiago's family that he was not among the 17 sailors dead or presumed dead in a suicide terrorist bomb attack on the USS Cole in a Yemeni harbor Oct. 12.
   But on Oct. 19, the U.S. Navy confirmed that Santiago and the other 16 sailors had not survived the blast. Another South Texas resident, 26-year-old Gary S. Swenchonis Jr. of Rockport, also was killed in the bombing.
   Funeral services for Swenchonis were held Thursday in Rockport. He was buried Friday at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio.

Associated Press

Family members pay their final respects to Navy Fireman Gary G. Swenchonis at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio. Swenchonis, of Rockport, was one of 17 killed in the attack on the USS Cole Oct. 12. Also killed was 22-year-old Ronchester Santiago of Kingsville.

   Muffled cries could be heard throughout Santiago's funeral Mass and his burial at Santa Gertrudis Cemetery.
   Many of the residents who attended the Mass wore buttons with Santiago's photograph and the words "We love you.''
   "My son went to high school with Ron," Maria Rios said after the Mass. "This was a devastating loss for his family.
   "And I can't help but think that it could have been my son. It's been a very sad time for Kingsville.''
   Tony Martinez said he attended the Mass because he felt a special kinship with Santiago's father, Rogelio, who is a 21-year Navy veteran.
   Martinez served in the Navy in World War II.
   "There are a lot of Navy veterans in Kingsville and we all have a brotherhood of sorts," Martinez said.
   "I can't imagine the pain Rogelio is going through. I came today to let him know that I care, that I'm here."
   Rear Adm. Jose Betancourt, commander of the Navy's Mine Warfare Command, presented a Purple Heart to Santiago's parents.
   "Courage and commitment are words that the Navy lives by. Everyone saw these values in Ronnie,'' Betancourt told the Santiagos.
   "His spirit lives on in the sailors who served with him. He is what America is all about. He was willing to put himself in harm's way and he did it with extreme pride and dedication.
   "This Purple Heart is a gift for you from a grateful nation."
   Santiago, a petty officer 3rd class, had been in the Navy since graduating in 1996 from Keys Academy in Kingsville.
   He was scheduled to leave the service in December and planned to study electrical engineering at the University of Texas.
   To celebrate, he was going to journey to the Philippines, his father's homeland.
   The trip was one of the many dreams Rogelio Santiago and his son had shared over the years.
   His first assignment after boot camp was the USS Constitution, the historic, post-Revolutionary War ship anchored in Boston.
   But Santiago grew restless on the Constitution.
   In search of more adventure, he put in for a transfer and earlier this year was assigned to the USS Cole.
   Many of his shipmates on the USS Constitution and USS Cole attended the funeral Mass to pay their respects to Santiago's family and to bring a special gift for his parents - a United States flag that once flew on the USS Constitution.



Staff writer Rosemary Barnes can be reached at 886-3716 or by email at barnesr@caller.com

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