| LEAD STORY |
Times Staff Report by David Adlerstein At St. Patrick’s Catholic Church Monday morning, on the holiday set aside by a grateful nation to honor its soldiers fallen in war, family and friends of Lt. Col. Dominic “Rocky” Baragona recalled the “son, brother and countryman” killed last week in Iraq. The highest-ranking U.S. soldier to die in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Baragona, 42, was killed the afternoon of May 19 when a tractor-trailer driven by an Iraqi citizen jackknifed and struck the Humvee in which he was riding as part of a military convoy along Highway 8 near Safwan, Iraq. The unnamed Iraqi driver also was killed. Two American soldiers sustained non-life-threatening injuries in the accident and were evacuated to a field hospital for treatment. A spokesman for the Department of Defense said the incident remains under investigation, but there is no evidence to believe that it was terrorism-related. As of May 27, a total of 164 U.S. servicemen and women have died in Operation Iraqi Freedom, including 118 in hostile action and 46 in non-hostile situations. Baragona’s parents, Dominic and Vilma Baragona, of St. George Island, his two sisters and three brothers, and their spouses left Tuesday afternoon for Fort Sill, OK to attend a memorial service scheduled for Wednesday, May 28 at 3 p.m. at the Frontier Chapel. Baragona will be buried with full military honors on June 18, four days after what would have been his 43rd birthday, at Arlington National Cemetery outside of Washington D.C. As commander of the 19th Maintenance Battalion at Fort Sill, Baragona oversaw nearly 1,000 soldiers in four companies whose mission is to provide direct support maintenance to III Corps Artillery. On March 16, three days before the outbreak of hostilities, he was deployed along with about 100 other soldiers from the battalion, and attached to regular Army and Reserve units in the Middle East. “Rocky will truly be missed by all who knew him here,” said Lt. Col. Peter Baker, chief of staff of III Corps Artillery, which is comprised of 12 battalions. “Any loss is terrible, no doubt, but with the loss of Rocky is the loss of a visionary officer who was on the verge of making changes in this organization. Rocky was one of the smartest and most informed officers I’ve known. “He was very visionary and very well-known through logistical channels and through very senior officers. Whenever he was asked a question, he always had the time to talk. He never lost sight of what the mission was and always took the time to teach all of us about how maintenance could be better and how to improve his organization and efficiency,” Baker said. His mother, Vilma Baragona, said that along with numerous media inquiries and visits from family friends, the couple received telephone calls from Sgt. Maj. Richard Nuijens, a close friend of her son’s who was present at the accident, and from III Corps Artillery’s commanding general, Brigadier General Richard Formica, who was in Europe at the time. “We lost a terrific battalion commander; a tactical and technical expert logistician; a superb officer; and for many of us, a true friend,” wrote Formica, in a statement. “Rocky died way too early in life, but he was proud to serve our Army and to command soldiers. We are proud of and thankful for Rocky’s selfless service to our nation in peace and in war.” A large gathering of members of the community gathered at the Catholic church for Baragona’s memorial service Monday morning. An easel displaying a photograph of Baragona was placed before the altar, with the caption “a son, a brother, a countryman” underneath and a red, white and blue ribbon above. A spokesman for Fort Sill said Wednesday’s service will also display a photo of Baragona, together with the traditional display of a pair of Army boots, helmet and M-16 rifle. Accompanied by Royce Rolstad III on the new church organ, dedicated the day before in an afternoon ceremony, the service opened with the choir singing “Let There Be Peace On Earth,” followed by Scriptural readings from Corinthians and Luke by Eucharistic minister Bob Davis. With her head resting on his shoulder, Dominic Baragona held his wife close to his side as they stood for the singing that opened the service. A retired lab technician from Niles, OH, he and his wife moved to the island in 1985, together with their youngest daughter Susan, who was 15 at the time. Susan Baragona later graduated from Apalachicola High School, married Ollie Gunn Jr. and began a family together. For 10 years, Vilma Baragona, who had gone back to college at age 38, taught fourth and fifth graders at Brown Elementary School while her husband ran the oyster bar at Harry A’s for a time. The couple both became active in church, school and community activities, including the Chili Cookoff. Rocky Baragona’s younger brother, David, who now lives in Arizona, was the first of two sons to address the memorial service. His older brother, Tony, a musician who performed as a piano player off and on at Harry A’s from 1988 to 1998 and who now livesin Pensacola, also addressed the gathering. The eldest brother, John, who lives in Arizona, was on hand together with his wife, as was the eldest sister, Pam, who runs a Montessori school outside Columbus, OH. From 1978 through 1984, the Baragonas put two of their sons through the U.S. Military Academy. Rocky Baragona graduated in 1982 with a degree in aerospace engineering, followed by brother David in 1984. “Rocky Baragona was my big brother,” began David Baragona in his remarks. “He is the first person I played with. As my big brother he’s also the person who tied me to a tree. He’s also the person who taught me astronomy, who showed me the rings of Saturn through a telescope for the first time. “He’s always been a guiding force for me. While growing up, when I followed him at West Point, and throughout my life,” he said. “Rocky Baragona was also the heart of this family. He more than anyone else in this family kept the family together. He always kept in touch with everyone, no matter where he was sent in the world by the United States Army. Whenever there were conflicts in the family, he was always there to help resolve them. Whenever one of us needed money or assistance, he was always there to lend us, never expecting anything in return. He taught me a valuable lesson, of family. Whenever someone was in need, there was no question of him being there. That’s family.” After being commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Ordnance branch in 1982, Rocky Baragona rose through the ranks of the Army through service with the 4th Air Defense Artillery at Fort Lewis, WA; the 56th Field Artillery Command in Germany; the Second Infantry Division in Korea; the XVIII Airborne Corps; the 82nd Airborne Division; the U.S. Army Special Forces Command at Fort Bragg, NC; and the Antiterrorism Force Protection Division in Korea. Both his parents were on hand at Fort Sill when he assumed command of his battalion on June 27, 2002. Vilma Baragona said she still has the yellow roses he gave to her on that occasion, flowers that quickly dried in the hot Oklahoma sun. “Rocky was a soldier for two reasons,” said his brother at the church service. “One, he was very good at it. Being a soldier seemed to come natural to him, even while I was at West Point. He made it look easy at times. I can personally appreciate this, having followed in his footsteps. He seemed to never study and carry a 3.5 grade point average and be on the dean’s list. “When I tried to follow that, I ended up on the dean’s other list,” he said, drawing laughter. “He was a solider for a second reason,” David Baragona said. “That’s because he liked it. Rocky decided to stay (beyond possible retirement after 20 years). And when I asked him why, he simply said ‘Because I love it.’ “Rocky believed in what he does. He called me just prior to being shipped out to Iraq and the one question I asked him was whether he thought that we should be there and he said ‘Yes, we need to do this.’ So I would like to take comfort in the fact that he believed in what he was doing,” said his younger brother. “So on this Memorial Day I would like everyone to remember Rocky Baragona as a soldier, the heart of this family and my big brother.” Rocky Baragona’s older brother Tony offered some lighthearted reminiscences about spending time with his brother on St. George Island, where the soldier was a member of the St. George Island Yacht Club. The family said in addition to his love of Star Wars and for woodworking, Rocky Baragona liked to visit and relax with his family, going scalloping, fishing and boating with his parents “We all knew he was doing important things for our country but he never really bragged about it,” said Tony Baragona. “When he was home he wanted to sail, fish, to do all the things kids do when they come home. We were looking forward to hearing it all, all the tales of the war in Iraq, all the good stories that I am sure he had. He could tell some tales. “We’ve learned like countless others before us that war doesn’t always have good stories, even when this war was supposed to be an easy one,” he said. “This tragedy has taught us that for every member for CNN that gets up there, there are families and friends who go with it. This brings home the ultimate sacrifice that men pay when they choose a career defending our country.” Tony Baragona spoke of his brother’s humility as well as his ambition and self-confidence. “You wanted Rock to like you. If Rocky liked you, you were all right. Even when he was a kid, he always knew where he was headed. He was always sure of himself,” he said. “Even when we were playing ball in the street when we were kids, and he was four years younger than me, and when you’re a little kid, that’s a lot. You could throw him the ball, he wasn’t scared of it, and you’d know he’d catch it and he’d score a touchdown. He pretty much scored a touchdown with everything he did in his life. \"I love this man as a brother. As far as I’m concerned he’s still here. I’m not going to talk about him in the past tense, because he’s still around us. I love you, brother,” said Tony Baragona. The service continued with the choir reciting the Prayer of St. Francis, the playing of \"On Eagles Wings\" and the reading of The Cadet’s Prayer by St. George Island resident Harry Buzzett, himself a retired Army colonel. Father Roger Latosynski concluded the service with remarks largely directed to Mr. and Mrs. Baragona, recalling how the couple had lost a fifth son to leukemia when he was only eight. He also spoke of how Dominic had stayed close by his wife’s side when she was hospitalized in Tallahassee a few years ago with a brain aneurysm. He offered words of solace to the entire family, and concluded with a presentation of money that has been raised by their church family to help defray expenses to Oklahoma and Washington D.C., over the next three weeks. The service closed with Rolstad playing “America the Beautiful” as the congregants sang along while the family prepared to greet them outside. Following a lunch in the church’s fellowship hall, friends visited the family at their St. George Island home. The family spoke of how their brother had stayed in close contact with each of them over the past two months, sending e-mails and talking with them by telephone, especially his father with whom he spoke daily. His older sister Pam told of how her brother had agreed to be part of an “Adopt-A-Soldier” program with her Montessori students, sharing with the children his wartime experiences. “We were talking on a more intimate level. He was giving us the lighter side of it,” she said. “He gave the war a softer viewpoint because the kids were terrified and that’s all they wanted to talk about every day. He was able to lighten the load of these children, and they were able to not be afraid.” On this afternoon, however, Dominic Baragona could not find the words to express his feelings, saying only that he no longer felt able to enjoy the political discussions that had long provided zest to the family circle. “The hard part is waking up in the morning and remembering that this is not a dream,” said Vilma Baragona , who noted that her husband had remarked to her earlier that morning why it was she had taken off the yellow ribbon she had been wearing throughout the war. “What’s the point?” she said. “He’s not coming home.” |