Grant Him Eternal Rest, O Lord
And may Your perpetual light shine upon him

Please remember Sgt Jesse Castro, US Army, in your prayers. He was killed in action in Iraq recently. He was the husband of my 1st cousin, Theresa.

From the Guam Pacific Daily News:

Just two days before Christmas and barely a week shy of his 23rd birthday, Army Sgt. Jesse Castro was laid to rest yesterday at the Guam Veterans Cemetery.

Castro leaves behind a widow, Theresa Castro, and a two-week-old son, Jesse Castro Jr.

Both shoulder lanes along Route 4 in Chalan Pago were lined with cars, buses and motorcycles, as mourners headed to Our Lady of Peace and Safe Journey Catholic Church to pay tribute to the fallen soldier. At the Castro family home, directly across from the Chalan Pago church, both the American and Guam flags were flown at half-staff in his honor.

[In a letter home] Jesse Castro wrote of an evening full of mortar attacks, where he helped move six children to safety. With tears in her eyes and a quiver in her voice, Theresa Castro read her husband's words describing picking up a sleeping 2-year-old girl.

"She woke up, looked at me, hugged me and went right back to sleep," Theresa Castro read. "At that point I realize there's a reason for me being here. My heart crumbled for those little ones that I can't do anything for."

As the many mourners wiped tears from their eyes, Jesus Doring [his mother] stood up to tell the story of her son who was found with a rosary in hand upon his tragic death.

Jesus had given Jesse Castro a rosary before his first deployment in Iraq. The soldier told his mother that it had saved him the first time around, although he had misplaced it. He had called her to send him another rosary, which he then carried with him through his second tour.

"The first rosary saved his life," Jesus said. "The second rosary saved his soul."

"I was so honored to be the mother of this child," Jesus told the crowd. "He took good care of us on earth, could you imagine what he can do for us in heaven?"