Misael Martinez laid to rest

CHAPEL HILL — A Chapel Hill family bid farewell Wednesday to one son lost in Iraq while worrying about another who is scheduled to be deployed there in January.

Army Staff Sgt. Misael Martínez, 24, was a six-year Army veteran on his third tour in Iraq when he was killed, along with two other soldiers, Nov. 11 in Ramadi by a bomb that exploded near his vehicle.

Martínez was a combat engineer assigned to the 1st Battalion, 16th Engineer Battalion, 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division based in Giessen, Germany. He joined the Army shortly after graduating from Orange High School in 2000.

Israel Martínez, 22, joined the Army last year. In January, he’s scheduled for his first tour of duty in Iraq. He’d heard that his unit would be headed to Ramadi, and the brothers had hoped for a reunion there.

Instead, Rosalía and Juan Antonio Martínez buried Misael in a Mebane cemetery Wednesday, and worried about what lay ahead for another.

“I wish I could change places,” said Juan Antonio Martínez as he looked toward his son, Israel. “I have to respect his decision.”

“They don’t want me to go,” Israel said. “But a part of me does want to go. ... I’m in limbo right now. I really want to do it, because I haven’t done my job yet.”

His brother has been posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star.

From the News Observer

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