Fallen Utah Marine Laid to Rest

March 6th, 2010

UTAH COUNTY -- A young Utah Marine killed in Afghanistan this week received full military honors Saturday.
Lance Cpl. Carlos Aragon of Orem was laid to rest in Veterans Memorial Park in Bluffdale Saturday afternoon. He was killed Monday -- the first of two young Utah Marines to die this week.

Aragon was on foot patrol Monday when he stepped on an IED in Helmand Province. He was just 19 years old.

Flags lined the street in front of the Chapel Valley 3rd Ward meetinghouse in Lehi as mourners gathered in Aragon's honor and later watched the casket carried out by Marines.

Friends and family remembered Aragon as an adventurous young man who liked doing things his own way.
"He didn't like going up the trail at Bridal Veil Falls" in Provo Canyon, said Brad Halliday. "He went straight up the mountain the hard way. That's the way he liked things."

Aragon was also remembered as a thoughtful and humble son who arranged to have flowers sent to his mother on Mother's Day, even while he was away on duty.

"He helped me to be a better man, a better husband, a better father and a better friend," Halliday said. "And he did it by example."

At the cemetery, Aragon was given full military honors, including a 21-gun salute and taps.

According to his obituary, Aragon loved to listen to music from the 1970s. He also loved to look at old cars.

Robert Gardner, who was Aragon's bishop in his ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said Aragon didn't seek the spotlight.
"He didn't need any fame. He didn't need any glory. He didn't like to speak in front of people," Gardner said.

Gardner remembered when Aragon helped a friend duct-tape his car after a fender-bender so it could be driven to a mechanic.

"But he did more than that. He made sure the car looked as good as it could, then with the duct tape he put a big smiley face on the front of the car," Gardner said. "What a wonderful way to turn a negative experience into something his friend would remember for the rest of his life."

Aragon enlisted straight out of high school in 2008. Earlier this week, Mountain View High School's assistant principal reflected on Aragon's life.

"He was very quiet, very respectful and he kind of had an exterior that might seem to intimidate some people," said Peter Glahn. "He really was a gentle guy."

Aragon is one of two Marines killed this week in Afghanistan. On Thursday, Lance Cpl. Nigel Olsen was killed, also in Helmand Province.

The two were in the same Marine company and both attended Mountain View High School, graduating just one year apart. The flag at the school has been lowered to half staff.

Funeral services for Olsen are scheduled for late next week. A viewing will take place Friday, while the funeral is set for Saturday.

The exact times and locations have not been announced.

Administrators will meet Monday to determine a proper tribute for both former students.

Story compiled with contributions from Sarah Dallof and The Associated Press.

Thinking of You Andy - Okinawa

OOOOH RAH! I love the sounds of my son's voice on the phone calling me from Okinawa, Japan. That sound tells me that he is doing well and even though he is so far away, just for a moment, he sounds like he is not so far away.

I am reminded of the pictures I took of him the day he graduated from basic and I remember how proud we all were of him. It always brings back the tears and I am amazed by him every day and proud.



Camp Schwab is a United States Marine Corps camp located in northeastern Okinawa, Japan, that is currently home to the 4th Marine Regiment and other elements of the 28,000 American servicemen based on the island in fulfilment of the 1952 commitment of the United States to defend Japan. The Camp was dedicated in 1959, in honor of Medal of Honor recipient Albert E. Schwab, who was killed in action during the Battle of Okinawa.









Tuesday, May. 04, 2010

Japan PM: Moving US base off Okinawa 'impossible'

By MALCOLM FOSTER - Associated Press Writer

TOKYO -- Japan's prime minister said for the first time Tuesday that at least part of a key U.S. military base will remain on the southern island of Okinawa, a move that could reduce tension with Washington but dent his sinking popularity and raise the ire of island residents.

A dispute over the relocation of Futenma Marine Corps airfield has become the focal point of U.S.-Japan ties since Yukio Hatoyama took office last September promising to move the base off Okinawa - contrary to a 2006 agreement with Washington that called for it to be moved to a less crowded, northern part of the island.
But on his first visit to Okinawa as prime minister, Hatoyama conceded it would be difficult if not impossible to move Futenma's facilities off the island, which hosts more than half the 47,000 American troops stationed in Japan under a security pact.


People shout a slogan against the U.S. military presence in Okinawa in front of the Okinawa prefectural government building in Naha, Okinawa Tuesday, May 4, 2010. Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama visited Okinawa Tuesday as he works to meet an end-of-May deadline to resolve a dispute over the relocation of an unwelcomed U.S. Marine base on the southern island.

Hatoyama essentially acknowledged that his government has been unable to come up with any other viable alternatives to Nago, the proposed relocation site in the north, and is shifting back toward the 2006 plan.

"Realistically speaking, it is impossible," he said, wearing a traditional Okinawan short-sleeved shirt. "We have reached a conclusion that it is difficult to relocate all of Futenma's functions outside the country or the island because of a need to maintain deterrence under the Japan-U.S. alliance."

Hatoyama's backtracking will likely drag down his public approval ratings, which have fallen to about 20 percent amid a political funding scandal and perceived lack of leadership, and could even hurt his party's prospects in July upper house elections.

The prime minister, who had set an end-of-May deadline for a final decision on Futenma, asked for residents' understanding in keeping some of the base's functions on Okinawa, while possibly moving other functions outside the island - a division that Washington would likely find unacceptable.

"We must ask the people of Okinawa to share the burden," he said, adding that he "felt sorry" about the message he brought.

In Washington, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the U.S. and Japan would continue an intensive evaluation of the best way to maintain American operations and to keep the alliance strong. He wouldn't comment on specific options for the base.

"We value our alliance with Japan. We understand that this alliance both provides benefit to the American people and to the Japanese people. It also levies a burden on the American people and the Japanese people. We do recognize this," Crowley told reporters.

Okinawan residents have long complained about base-related noise, pollution and crime. Late last month, about 90,000 people gathered to demand that Futenma be moved off the island entirely.

Tensions on Okinawa over the huge U.S. military presence go back decades, but a furor erupted over a 1995 rape of a 12-year-old girl in which three American servicemen were convicted. Adding to the discontent was a 2004 crash of a U.S. helicopter that burst into flames on a university campus, although it caused no injuries on the ground.

While Futenma's fate remains uncertain, Hatoyama's apparent move back toward the 2006 agreement could bring a measure of relief from Washington, which has insisted that Japan keep its side of the deal, forged with the previous conservative Tokyo government, and proceed with the move to Nago.

American officials say that keeping the base in Okinawa is important for maintaining regional stability given the island's geographical location - near Taiwan and China and not far from the Korean peninsula.

The airfield, set in the middle of an urban area, is home to about 2,000 Marines and is one of the corps' largest facilities in the Pacific.

U.S. defense officials have also said that by delaying action on Futenma, Washington cannot move ahead on a broader 2006 military reorganization agreement that also involves sending 8,000 of the 18,000 Marines on Okinawa to the U.S. territory of Guam, largely to alleviate the burden on Okinawans.

Hatoyama acknowledged that he lacked awareness when he entered office about the logistical reasons for keeping the Futenma Marine facility on the island.
"As I learned more about the situation, I've come to realize that they are all linked up (with the other troops) as a package to maintain deterrence," he said.
According to Japanese media reports and vague comments from Cabinet members, Tokyo's latest plan roughly follows the existing agreement and will move Futenma to a location off the coast of Camp Schwab, a U.S. base near Nago.

Instead of building the base on reclaimed land, as outlined in the original plan - which environmentalists say would damage marine life - Tokyo is floating a plan to construct a runway on a jetty that sits on pilings that go into the sea floor. It also proposes moving part of Futenma's helicopter unit to Tokunoshima, an island 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Okinawa. But residents there fiercely oppose such an idea.

Analysts said Hatoyama's reversal will likely make him appear wishy-washy and depress his approval ratings. That could bode poorly for the ruling Democratic Party of Japan's prospects in July elections, although the opposition Liberal Democratic Party is in disarray.

"Hatoyama has already lost the trust and support of the general population," said Tsuneo Watanabe, a senior fellow at the Tokyo Foundation, a think tank. "Hatoyama may be replaced before the upper house elections."

"The U.S. side will welcome the (Tokyo) government realizing the original plan as necessary," he said. "But for the people who expected new things from Hatoyama, this is a big disappointment."

Associated Press writers Mari Yamaguchi and Jay Alabaster in Tokyo and Foster Klug in Washington contributed to this report.