The town and the Latino community are responding to the death of Army Staff Sgt. Misael Martinez, an Orange High graduate, who was killed Nov. 11 during his third tour in Iraq.
This week, he was honored by the town. The opening of Tuesday’s Board of Aldermen meeting begins with a tribute to the young man.
Watch and Hear Board Meeting (3hrs 10min; in 225kbps RealPlayer â„¢ format)
Download and Listen to Board Meeting (44.7 MB; in MP3 format)
NPR had a good piece in early December on the family and how their dealing with the fact that they have another son leaving for Iraq in January. After Martinez was killed, his father spoke out against the fact that his son was on his third rotation. His words at the ceremony on Tuesday–about 15 minutes into the meeting video–were particularly moving.
Also, this week, the Latino Community Credit Union started a scholarship in his name. There’s been a thoughtful discussion of the story and issues surrounding the war on Orange Politics as well as stories about Misael Martinez and the scholarship in his name in the DTH, N&O and Herald.
The memorial fund address is LCCU, Attn: Misael Martinez Memorial Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 25360, Durham, NC 27702.
One reply on “Remembering Misael Martinez”
I heard the nice piece on NPR