Jesse Castro laid to rest

Just two days before Christmas and barely a week shy of his 23rd birthday, Army Sgt. Jesse Castro was laid to rest yesterday at the Guam Veterans Cemetery.

Castro was one of five soldiers killed on Dec. 6 when their Humvee was torn apart by a roadside bomb in Hawija, about 30 miles southwest of Kirkuk.

He was assigned to 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, in Hawaii.

Castro leaves behind a widow, Theresa Castro, and a two-week-old son, Jesse Castro Jr.

Both shoulder lanes along Route 4 in Chalan Pago were lined with cars, buses and motorcycles, as mourners headed to Our Lady of Peace and Safe Journey Catholic Church to pay tribute to the fallen soldier. At the Castro family home, directly across from the Chalan Pago church, both the American and Guam flags were flown at half-staff in his honor.

In the church tightly packed with family and friends, images of Christmas were apparent. Several lit and decorated trees adorned the church. The colors of green and red were draped along the walls that surrounded the black worn by the many mourners.

A special time

Castro's mother, Doring Jesus, said her son always had a strong link to the Christmas season. She has said her son was cast to play the baby Jesus in his church nativity play but couldn't because he was born late.
Last week, Castro's son, known as Baby J, a name he was also called, starred in the role his father was cast in 20-plus years ago.

After friends and family recounted their memories of the soldier, his widow stood to read a letter he had written to his mother while on his first tour of duty to Iraq.

Jesse Castro wrote of an evening full of mortar attacks, where he helped move six children to safety.

With tears in her eyes and a quiver in her voice, Theresa Castro read her husband's words describing picking up a sleeping 2-year-old girl.

"She woke up, looked at me, hugged me and went right back to sleep," Theresa Castro read. "At that point I realize there's a reason for me being here. My heart crumbled for those little ones that I can't do anything for."

As the many mourners wiped tears from their eyes, Jesus stood up to tell the story of her son who was found with a rosary in hand upon his tragic death.

Jesus had given Jesse Castro a rosary before his first deployment in Iraq. The soldier told his mother that it had saved him the first time around, although he had misplaced it. He had called her to send him another rosary, which he then carried with him through his second tour.

"The first rosary saved his life," Jesus said. "The second rosary saved his soul."

A giving soul

Jesus described her son as a compassionate man, wanting to provide for his family and all others in need.
He had even given up the house he inherited from his grandfather to his sister Lisa, Jesus said, to ensure she had a home for her family.

"I was so honored to be the mother of this child," Jesus told the crowd.

"He took good care of us on earth, could you imagine what he can do for us in heaven?"

From the Pacific Daily News

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