Julian Arechaga laid to rest

A Long Island Marine killed on his second tour in Iraq was remembered Saturday as a role model and a hero.

Mourners paid their last respects to Sgt. Julian Arechaga, a 23-year-old Baldwin native, at Our Holy Redeemer Roman Catholic Church in Freeport.

Arechaga was voluntarily on his third tour in battle when he was among three Marines killed Oct. 9 when an improvised explosive device struck his Humvee.

"He didn't feel his unit was whole without him," said Marine Cpl. Justin Slep, of Three Springs, Pa., who served with Arechaga on combat deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq. "He wanted to bring them home safely. This is something he felt he had to do."

Slep, 22, who was honorably discharged Sept. 2 after fulfilling his obligation, said Arechaga was "a father figure" to his unit of 10 Marines and one Navy corpsman.

"He strived to be the best and always put people in front of him," said Slep, who described the funeral to Newsday.

Arechaga was the second Baldwin resident to die in the war. Army Spc. Wilfredo Urbina, 29, a firefighter, died Nov. 29, 2004, when a car bomb exploded near his Humvee in Baghdad.

Arechaga's flag-draped silver coffin was carried out of the Hungerford & Clark funeral home in Freeport Saturday by four Marines and two civilians. His wife of only a few months, Felecia, followed closely behind, supported by other mourners.

At least 30 men wearing black leather jackets festooned with Marine Corps patches held American flags as the hearse proceeded toward the church. About a dozen Marines stood at attention on the other side of the street.

Arechaga was a former Oceanside High School wrestler who specialized in infantry as a member of the 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Charlie Company, based in Camp Lejeune, N.C.

His sister, Sheyla Randazzo, said in a previous interview that as soon as he graduated from Oceanside in 2002, he went to the U.S. Marine Corps recruiting office on Hempstead Turnpike in Hempstead.

He was off to boot camp that September.

His four-year career took him to Iraq twice, and to Afghanistan.

Slep said during their time serving together that he and Arechaga became "closer than family."

Arechaga's latest commitment was to be over in August, but he re-enlisted when his friends started getting called up, his sister said. Then he was going to apply to local colleges and try to fulfill the dream of becoming a Suffolk County police officer.

Arechaga was buried Saturday in Greenfield Cemetery in Uniondale.

From Newsday

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