Published: May 30, 2007 10:26 am      

War hitting close to home

As Guard prepares to ship out, two local families deal with feelings of loss, hope

San Marcos — The War in Iraq has seemed very close to home this past week.

Over the course of the last seven days, a 22-year-old San Marcos soldier has been killed in Baghdad; another San Marcos High School graduate killed there a year ago has been remembered locally and in a TV network documentary; and local National Guardsmen are preparing to say good-bye to friends and family prior to a year-long deployment to the war-torn country.

Then, in the San Antonio Express-News on Tuesday, was the story that the mother and stepfather of Army Pvt. Byron Fouty, who is one of two soldiers missing since a May 12 ambush in Baghdad, are San Marcos residents.

Fouty, along with Pfc. Joseph Anzach Jr. and Spc. Alex Jimenez, were apparently captured after their convoy was attacked; Anzach’s body was found in the Euphrates River days ago. Four other soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter died in the ambush.

In news accounts of the ambush and search, Fouty’s hometown is listed as Waterford, Mich., and that’s where the 19-year-old grew up. Hillary Meunier and her husband Charles moved to San Marcos five months ago, after her son entered the service in September 2006 — partly to escape the harsh winters and partly for better employment opportunities.

Meunier said economic opportunity was part of her son’s reason for joining the Army but not the only one.

“He wanted to get the ‘bad guys,’” she said. “He was against terrorism, very much so. It was something that he wanted to do.”

“We don’t really know a lot of people here,” she said, but are “grateful for people giving prayers,” while they wait for word of their son.

The news no one wants to hear came a week ago for the family of Corporal Michael Davis, who was killed May 21 by a roadside bomb in Baghdad.

Davis, 22, was a 2002 graduate of San Marcos High School who had married his high school sweetheart, Taryn, shortly after he joined the Army. He was one of three U.S. soldiers killed in the attack.

Friday at 6:30 p.m., a public memorial service will be held for Davis at the Hays County Veterans Memorial, corner of Riverside Drive and East Hopkins. Details and logistics are still in the planning.

Friday morning in New Braunfels, San Marcos officials will be part of send-off ceremonies for local residents, plus others from the New Braunfels and Seguin areas, who are part of the Texas Army National Guard Unit 4th Battalion, 133 Field Artillery Unit.

The 200 to 300 guardsmen — members of the “Alpha Battery T-Patchers” are leaving that day for training prior to their year-long deployment to Iraq.

The send-off will be held at 10 a.m. at the New Braunfels Civic Center, 390 S. Seguin Avenue. Speakers include State Reps. Nathan Macias and Patrick Rose, Comal County Judge Danny Schell, New Braunfels Mayor Bruce Boyer, San Marcos Mayor Susan Narvaiz and representatives from the guard.

“This has definitely been a time that you wish you didn’t have to go through, but obviously San Marcos is a wonderful community,” Narvaiz said, something that was evidenced by the San Marcos Police Department and the Hays County Sheriff’s Office assisting in the transport of Davis’ body home on Sunday.

The courtesy was something the family appreciated, she said. “They really felt the outpouring of friends and family in the community,” she said.

“It’s something the community certainly steps up to do. People understand the importance of honoring a fallen son or soldier of San Marcos; the things that need to be done by our community to embrace them at this time.”

Narvaiz said she hopes the community will also be able to offer support to the Meuniers.

“I do jump when the phone rings,” Hillary Meunier said. Even despite the fact that the Army has stationed a sergeant and a captain here to answer all her questions.

“They’ve been wonderful,” she said. “They give us any information they get through the Army.”

In fact, Meunier said she called one of the liaisons Tuesday. “We didn’t hear anything on the news and didn’t know if they’d stepped down the search, if they’d detained anybody. He said the search is still continuing at the same rate and they’re still detaining people for questioning. Just because we don’t hear it on the news doesn’t mean they’ve stopped their search. They would let us know if anything has changed and nothing has changed.”

Also this week, the Texas State University ROTC honored their former member Captain James A. “Alex” Funkhouser, who was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq on May 29, 2006, by placing a bronze marker on the ROTC building.

Funkhouser died while escorting a CBS news crew, and he was remembered by the network’s reporter Kimberly Dozier, who was critically injured, in an hour-long special Tuesday night.

Narvaiz encouraged San Marcos residents, businesses and governmental agencies to fly their flaggs at half-mast on Friday in honor of Davis.



amiller@sanmarcosrecord.com