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Soldier is saluted
| Friday, Mar 31 2006 9:45 PM
Last Updated: Friday, Mar 31 2006 9:49 PM
He was the kind of friend who'd catch you off guard and call you up for a night on the town.
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"'You better be ready, I'll be there in 10 minutes -- I'm going out,'" said Army Sgt. Charles Redd, recalling the words of his extroverted comrade, Staff Sgt. Ricardo Barraza.
Redd gave a eulogy Friday before Barraza's flag-draped casket and pews overflowing with mourners at St. Therese Catholic Church in Shafter.
Locals and members of the military packed the church for Barraza's funeral. Many others stood outside the church's front and side doors.
Barraza, a squad leader assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, died during a combat mission in western Iraq March 18, according to the Special Operations Command Public Affairs Office.
The Shafter native was shot and killed as he helped evacuate a building, his family has said.
Barraza, 24, was awarded the Purple Heart after his death.
Public officials, including Democratic state Sen. Dean Florez of Shafter, Democratic Congressman Jim Costa of Fresno and District Attorney Ed Jagels, attended the funeral Mass celebrated in English and Spanish.
Redd, who was in Barraza's company, said the soldier "possessed a charisma that demanded respect."
Average, he added, was a word that should never be used to describe him.
"(For him) the glass was always half full," he said. "He lived a life that many could only dream of."
Redd's voice broke as he addressed Barraza's fiancee, Meghan Harrington, and her daughter.
"You and Kayla were and still are Rick's heart and soul," he said. "We are all here to support you."
After the Mass, family friend Donna Smith held his emotional mother, Nina Barraza, as they left.
California Highway Patrol cars escorted the hearse and a line of vehicles from the church to Hillcrest Memorial Park in Bakersfield for the burial.
The Patriot Guard Riders rode their motorcycles bearing American flags that flapped in the wind.
The Riders lined a sidewalk with their flags as the Rangers carried Barraza's casket up the cemetery's Hill of Valor as "Amazing Grace" was played on a bagpipe.
Brig. Gen. Mark V. Phelan of the Special Operations Command presented Barraza's mother with the American flag.
At the end of the ceremony, the Rangers fired seven rifles three times in his honor. A bugler played taps.
"I hope that all the soldiers get to have the same thing," said Barraza's uncle, Valentin Gonzalez, after the ceremony.
Back in Shafter, volunteers helped prepare for the reception at the Shafter Veterans Memorial Hall.
Cathy Morgan, president of the American Legion Auxiliary in Shafter, helped other Legion ladies place slices of cake on a rolling cart.
She said the support of the community was overwhelming.
"I've worked in town in charities and I've never seen anything like this," she said.
Paul Charon, owner of Apple Market, helped coordinate the event. Nina Barraza is one of his employees, he said.
About 400 to 600 people were expected to attend the reception, he said.