By John Kekis, Associated Press, 4/20/2004 15:36
SIDNEY N.Y. (AP) Gil Nieves smiled at the thought of how his big brother might have reacted.
''Isaac would have been crying if he were here seeing all these people,'' Gil said Tuesday.
Instead, tears flowed from the eyes of many of the more than 300 people who attended a memorial mass for Spc. Isaac Michael Nieves. He was killed April 8 while on combat patrol in Bani Saad, Iraq.
''He was my brother and role model,'' said Gil, a 19-year-old plebe at West Point. ''Those memories will never fade away.''
Nieves, of Unadilla, was assigned to the 82nd Engineer Battalion, 1st Infantry Division, in Bamberg, Germany. He was supposed to be rotated back to Fort Hood, Texas in December and wanted to come home. Instead, the Army invoked a stop-loss program aimed at keeping the number of U.S. forces overseas steady.
Nieves, 20, was sent to Iraq in February. He was patrolling about 25 miles northeast of Baghdad when his detachment came under fire from small arms and a homemade bomb.
''At West Point, we live by three words duty, honor, country. Until recently, those words were without much meaning,'' Gil said. ''Isaac lived by my motto and gave the ultimate sacrifice. I can only hope to be half the leader.''
Nieves was awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, National Defense Service Medal and the Go To War On Terrorism Medal posthumously.
''These are our heroes,'' Rev. Gordon Polenz said in his homily. ''Isaac brings it close to us. I'm sure he'd do it again.''
Nieves, one of Gilbert and Maria Nieves' 10 children, dreamed of being an architectural engineer. But his family has a strong history of military service, so he enlisted after graduating from Sidney High School in 2001, where he played football, ran track, and captained the wrestling team.
''He was an altar boy in this church with his brother, and they weren't the most pious altar boys. There were times I had to speak to them,'' Polenz said with a smile. ''There is no age that is old enough to die, but we have to be prepared for it. We hope Isaac kept a twinkle in his eye. Now his spirit is free.''
''I never thought I'd live to see the day I would be giving this speech,'' Nieves' sister, Maria, said. ''But as long as that flag stands strong, his memory will live on forever. I love you little man.''
Gil was one of six pallbearers who slowly pushed the flag-draped casket carrying his brother the short distance from the funeral home to the church. Family members followed in a solemn procession.
''I'm a military man myself,'' said Isaac's father, who served five months in Vietnam. ''I guess I'm not mourning him no more. I'm just celebrating his legacy.''
''I'm doing OK,'' said Isaac's 10-year-old brother, Kevin. ''I'm stronger than before. I'm proud of him now.''
American flags decorated several porches and freshly tied yellow ribbons hugged every tree trunk along Main Street in Sidney, a poignant reminder of what happens in war.
''It's a trying time for the whole community,'' said 59-year-old James Barnhart, owner of the funeral home that handled the arrangements for Nieves. ''We had seven die in Vietnam, and this brings a lot of that memory back.''
Nieves is survived by his wife, Amy. He will be buried Wednesday at Saratoga National Cemetery in Schuylerville, N.Y.
SIDNEY N.Y. (AP) Gil Nieves smiled at the thought of how his big brother might have reacted.
''Isaac would have been crying if he were here seeing all these people,'' Gil said Tuesday.
Instead, tears flowed from the eyes of many of the more than 300 people who attended a memorial mass for Spc. Isaac Michael Nieves. He was killed April 8 while on combat patrol in Bani Saad, Iraq.
''He was my brother and role model,'' said Gil, a 19-year-old plebe at West Point. ''Those memories will never fade away.''
Nieves, of Unadilla, was assigned to the 82nd Engineer Battalion, 1st Infantry Division, in Bamberg, Germany. He was supposed to be rotated back to Fort Hood, Texas in December and wanted to come home. Instead, the Army invoked a stop-loss program aimed at keeping the number of U.S. forces overseas steady.
Nieves, 20, was sent to Iraq in February. He was patrolling about 25 miles northeast of Baghdad when his detachment came under fire from small arms and a homemade bomb.
''At West Point, we live by three words duty, honor, country. Until recently, those words were without much meaning,'' Gil said. ''Isaac lived by my motto and gave the ultimate sacrifice. I can only hope to be half the leader.''
Nieves was awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, National Defense Service Medal and the Go To War On Terrorism Medal posthumously.
''These are our heroes,'' Rev. Gordon Polenz said in his homily. ''Isaac brings it close to us. I'm sure he'd do it again.''
Nieves, one of Gilbert and Maria Nieves' 10 children, dreamed of being an architectural engineer. But his family has a strong history of military service, so he enlisted after graduating from Sidney High School in 2001, where he played football, ran track, and captained the wrestling team.
''He was an altar boy in this church with his brother, and they weren't the most pious altar boys. There were times I had to speak to them,'' Polenz said with a smile. ''There is no age that is old enough to die, but we have to be prepared for it. We hope Isaac kept a twinkle in his eye. Now his spirit is free.''
''I never thought I'd live to see the day I would be giving this speech,'' Nieves' sister, Maria, said. ''But as long as that flag stands strong, his memory will live on forever. I love you little man.''
Gil was one of six pallbearers who slowly pushed the flag-draped casket carrying his brother the short distance from the funeral home to the church. Family members followed in a solemn procession.
''I'm a military man myself,'' said Isaac's father, who served five months in Vietnam. ''I guess I'm not mourning him no more. I'm just celebrating his legacy.''
''I'm doing OK,'' said Isaac's 10-year-old brother, Kevin. ''I'm stronger than before. I'm proud of him now.''
American flags decorated several porches and freshly tied yellow ribbons hugged every tree trunk along Main Street in Sidney, a poignant reminder of what happens in war.
''It's a trying time for the whole community,'' said 59-year-old James Barnhart, owner of the funeral home that handled the arrangements for Nieves. ''We had seven die in Vietnam, and this brings a lot of that memory back.''
Nieves is survived by his wife, Amy. He will be buried Wednesday at Saratoga National Cemetery in Schuylerville, N.Y.
