Bobby Mejia laid to rest

He was a "Hooligan," and Friday his friends, family and fellow soldiers buried him.

Army Spc. Bobby Mejia II, 20, was one of four mid-Michigan soldiers killed in Iraq the last week of December. Services were at First Baptist Church, 2400 King in Bridgeport Township, with burial at Forest Lawn Cemetery, 3210 S. Washington in Saginaw.

"Our nickname is 'The Hooligans,' " said Staff Sgt. Jack K. Vliet, who led Mejia's squad, part of the 1st Battalion, 125th Infantry from Big Rapids.

"Nobody fit that name better than Bobby."

Mejia died during combat operations in Salman Pak, two days before Christmas, when an improvised explosive device exploded under the vehicle in which he was riding. Mejia manned a .50-caliber gun, Vliet said.

"He knew that once you pull that trigger you couldn't pull that bullet back," he said.

Vliet said he first met the 2004 Saginaw High School graduate last March.

"I used to tease him," Vliet said. "If we could enlist the whole city of Saginaw, this war would be over."

Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm ordered U.S. flags throughout the state to fly at half-staff Friday in honor of Mejia.

"Man is born into trouble as the sparks fly upward," said the Rev. R. B. Ouellette of First Baptist. "It seems so senseless, he was 20 years old. But there's a very large sense in which Bobby did not give his life for himself but for us."

Outside the church, dozens of Patriot Guard Riders motorcycle group members held American flags.

Surviving Mejia are his father, Bobby Mejia I, 46; his mother, Loueva Hernandez, 48, of Saginaw; sisters Chrystal Nicole Hernandez, 13; Sparkle Smith, 27; and 9-year-old brother, Christopher Ishmael Hernandez.

Mejia's uncle, Manuel Mejia, 39, of Saginaw said the service served as a fitting farewell, even though it would not substitute for his nephew's smile.

"He was a joker," Mejia said. "He got yelled at but always gave that big smile afterward."

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