Misael Martinez remembered

CHAPEL HILL - Today, Juan Antonio and Rosalia Martinez are preparing to bury their son, who was killed in Iraq.
In two months, another son will leave for his first tour of duty there.

Army Staff Sgt. Misael Martinez, 24, was on his third tour Saturday when a bomb exploded near his vehicle in Ramadi and killed him.

He last called his parents Oct. 31.

"He said he probably wouldn't be able to call for a couple days, or maybe more," Rosalia Martinez said.

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

"He said he needed someone to discipline him. He said he wanted to do something for people," Rosalia Martinez said. "I think he did it because he's a hero."

But Juan Antonio Martinez, weary after sleepless nights, said Wednesday that the Army should not have demanded so much of his son.

"[He] went there already, twice," he said.

Misael Martinez, the second of four children, was born in Dallas. His family moved to Orange County 19 years ago.

He grew up fishing in University Lake and playing pickup basketball games with friends. His father said he was always a "big joker" but also humble and respectful. Rosalia Martinez said her son had hoped to attend college with help from the Army and had planned out a timeline for starting work on his degree.

"You know the rest," she said.

From the News Oberserver

Related Link:
Misael Martinez killed by I.E.D.