Sad story

Paul Fredricks_3

This is truely sad. Our thoughts go out to your great niece.

The link you gave did not work. Is this the right one?
http://www.examiner.com/a-250435~Services_held_for_Cheyenne_soldier_killed_in_Iraq.html

Mike Riggs

Sad story

D:Documents and SettingsmikerFavorites2006-08-20 Cheyenne soldier killed in Iraq.htm

This article detalis young love, marriage and war. The widow is my great niece. I am sorry to say that I never had the chance to meet the young man. My brother made it to the funeral (I was on vacation) and an outfit call "The Patriot Guard" escorted the body from Denver Int'l Airport to Cheyenne and then gathered again for the funeral. If you google James Arellano and Cheyenne you will find several good articles as well as a forum, much like this one, where the riders kept each other informed. There is a post from my nieces husband, a veteran himself, thanking them. I get a lump in my throat every time I think about. My wife and I celebrated 25 years of marriage last month (the vacation) and these two didn't even get six months!
I thought that a lot of you would appreciate this.

Mike Riggs

Sad story

D:Documents and SettingsmikerFavorites2006-08-20 Cheyenne soldier killed in Iraq.htm

This article detalis young love, marriage and war. The widow is my great niece. I am sorry to say that I never had the chance to meet the young man. My brother made it to the funeral (I was on vacation) and an outfit call "The Patriot Guard" escorted the body from Denver Int'l Airport to Cheyenne and then gathered again for the funeral. If you google James Arellano and Cheyenne you will find several good articles as well as a forum, much like this one, where the riders kept each other informed. There is a post from my nieces husband, a veteran himself, thanking them. I get a lump in my throat every time I think about. My wife and I celebrated 25 years of marriage last month (the vacation) and these two didn't even get six months!
I thought that a lot of you would appreciate this.

Mike Riggs

Sad story

D:Documents and SettingsmikerFavorites2006-08-20 Cheyenne soldier killed in Iraq.htm

This article detalis young love, marriage and war. The widow is my great niece. I am sorry to say that I never had the chance to meet the young man. My brother made it to the funeral (I was on vacation) and an outfit call "The Patriot Guard" escorted the body from Denver Int'l Airport to Cheyenne and then gathered again for the funeral. If you google James Arellano and Cheyenne you will find several good articles as well as a forum, much like this one, where the riders kept each other informed. There is a post from my nieces husband, a veteran himself, thanking them. I get a lump in my throat every time I think about. My wife and I celebrated 25 years of marriage last month (the vacation) and these two didn't even get six months!
I thought that a lot of you would appreciate this.

Mike Riggs

Mike Riggs

Try this--should be the whole article

CHEYENNE - When Jaime Smith met James Arellano it was the perfect match of opposites.

She was a quiet, reserved brainiac with plans of studying premed in college. He was the outgoing, good-natured prankster with the big heart who graduated from Cheyenne Central High in 2005 by the skin of his teeth.

The couple married in March only after Trina Langley signed the papers that gave her daughter, who was finishing out her own high school career, permission.

Now two families are wrapped in grief. Arellano, a 19-year-old private first class in the U.S. Army, was killed Thursday morning when he was hit by an improvised explosive device while he was patrolling on foot south of Baghdad, Iraq.

Jaime Arellano has plans to take classes at Laramie County Community College in the fall. After that, she planned to join Arellano wherever they were stationed and continue her education.

Now, that's all up in the air.

On Saturday, she sat on the patio of her parents' home with them, her brother and grandparents, and talked about her husband of five months and eight days.

Tears and laughter were never very far apart.

"We were in the same weight class," she said, simply, hands tucked between her knees.

They never talked in class or during school, but one night James stopped by Safeway, where she worked.

"We talked for an hour. I got in trouble because I took such a long break."

For a while, the romance was a secret. Jaime told her friends that James was her cousin, explaining away their relationship.

The romance didn't stay under wraps for long.

"Suddenly she was coming home at 3 a.m.," Trina Langley said. "We didn't even have a curfew for her. She wasn't interested in boys. We thought she'd never date."

The couple was at home wherever they went - her parents' home, his sister's apartment, with his aunt and uncle. They liked to watch movies and hang out.

James was the only boy Jaime ever dated. The pair was inseparable. They'd get up at 3 a.m. to ride their bikes to school so they could lift weights before classes started for the day. Because she lived in south Cheyenne, and he lived in the west end of the Avenues with his aunt and uncle, they'd meet at the Laramie County Library and ride the rest of the way together.

And they adopted an organic lifestyle; that was Jaime's influence. "He went along with it. He liked the idea of being healthy for boxing," she said. Any pizza they ate - that was his influence.

"We loved him from the start," Trina said.

Earlier in the day, James' family members continued to gather at the Cheyenne home of his sister, Vickie. Diana Arellano, his mother, had traveled up from Denver. His father, Jim, came in from California. Scott and Rita Sheppard, the aunt and uncle with whom James lived for a year, were also there, as were one of James' brothers and his sisters.

Even as they cried, they laughed as they told stories about the pranks he pulled - like the time he stamped "paid" on Rita's forehead in red ink.

They talked about the copy of the photo he sent home from Iraq - he's mugging for the camera in his Army gear, with two bullets stuffed in his nose and two more coming out of his mouth, looking for all the world like a boar in desert camouflage.

And they talked about his insistence on eating organic food, preferring ground buffalo meat over ground beef.

"He was supposed to be home for Thanksgiving," Scott Sheppard said. "He likes the way we cook Thanksgiving dinner. I think a lot of that organic stuff came from him going into the military, and I think his wife was into it. Organic or not, he could really put down some food at Thanksgiving."

"We have to be happy James lived his life and had his goals and he strived to meet every one of them," Diana Arellano said. "He wanted to box, and he boxed. He wanted to join the military, and he got into the Army. He wanted to be married, and he married the love of his life on March 11."

Arellano followed the same path as his father Jim, who was a boxer and who was a soldier in the U.S. Army. "He wanted to be just like me. The only sad part," Jim Arellano said, "is that he left behind a wife."

That breaks the hearts of the Arellano family.

"I would give my life so he could come home for Jaime," Vickie said. "It wasn't supposed to be this way. He was supposed to come home to have the fairy tale."

When he was in boot camp at Fort Benning in Georgia, James started sleepwalking. He attributed it to the stress of being away from Jaime. His family hoped that would be enough to have him sent home, but he was prescribed medication to help him rest.

Scott Sheppard said the last time he heard from James was about a month ago; James reached them by cell phone when Scott and Rita were vacationing in Maryland.

"He was in a situation not too long ago where he had to shoot an Iraqi," Sheppard said. "He wasn't happy about that. He's a good Catholic boy; he went to St. Mary's. He couldn't grasp the concept. He didn't understand why he had to do it."

Sheppard said a couple of months ago, three soldiers Arellano has been patrolling with were killed when their Humvee struck an improvised explosive device. Arellano, he said, had stepped out of the vehicle before the explosion and was unhurt.

"Don't be sorry for my brother," Andrew Arellano said, trying hard to put his thoughts into words. "He wasn't a sorry person. He lived his life for all of us. He died for all of us - you, me, your kids and my kids to come."

James was a hero both to Andrew and younger sister Darlene, to whom he was teaching boxing.

He in turn named his uncle Scott as his hero when he was interviewed by the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle in 2000 when he was 13. "He's everything I want to be."

Even then and probably before, his mother said, he wanted to be a soldier. They talked about what being sent to a war zone might mean, and what might happen. "Every mother," Diana said, "that may be one of her greatest fears."

After boot camp, James was sent to Fort Hood in Texas. That's where James and Jaime were married when Trina finally relented and signed the papers they needed.

"I felt like they had all the time in the world. Then one day, I woke up and decided that if they wanted, I would sign the papers."

In a matter of days, Jaime was on a plane to Killeen. They were married by a tree outside their hotel with the hotel staff standing in as witnesses, holding cell phones so their families could hear.

For their wedding dinner at the International House of Pancakes, James had chocolate chip pancakes - with the chips in the batter - and Jaime had biscuits and gravy.

"I told him I had been craving them. He called three places to figure out where we could get them."

He spent about $500 on taxis getting them around Killeen during the week they had together, she said.

After he was sent to Iraq, they talked just about every other day, thanks to cell phones. James would also send e-mails.

And he sent home photos, including the one with the bullets, which Jaime has put in a red, white and blue frame that bears the words, "My Hero."

"He didn't like it there, but he dealt with it," Jaime said. He'd made a commitment, and he would see it through. She doubted that he would have made the military a career.

Even so, he was making the best of it, she said, joking around with his friends and adopting a stray puppy.

If she has any regrets, Jaime said, clamping down hard on her grief, it's that she didn't tell him not to go.

"He asked me what I thought. He wouldn't have gone if I had asked him not to."

Mike Riggs

Try this--should be the whole article

CHEYENNE - When Jaime Smith met James Arellano it was the perfect match of opposites.

She was a quiet, reserved brainiac with plans of studying premed in college. He was the outgoing, good-natured prankster with the big heart who graduated from Cheyenne Central High in 2005 by the skin of his teeth.

The couple married in March only after Trina Langley signed the papers that gave her daughter, who was finishing out her own high school career, permission.

Now two families are wrapped in grief. Arellano, a 19-year-old private first class in the U.S. Army, was killed Thursday morning when he was hit by an improvised explosive device while he was patrolling on foot south of Baghdad, Iraq.

Jaime Arellano has plans to take classes at Laramie County Community College in the fall. After that, she planned to join Arellano wherever they were stationed and continue her education.

Now, that's all up in the air.

On Saturday, she sat on the patio of her parents' home with them, her brother and grandparents, and talked about her husband of five months and eight days.

Tears and laughter were never very far apart.

"We were in the same weight class," she said, simply, hands tucked between her knees.

They never talked in class or during school, but one night James stopped by Safeway, where she worked.

"We talked for an hour. I got in trouble because I took such a long break."

For a while, the romance was a secret. Jaime told her friends that James was her cousin, explaining away their relationship.

The romance didn't stay under wraps for long.

"Suddenly she was coming home at 3 a.m.," Trina Langley said. "We didn't even have a curfew for her. She wasn't interested in boys. We thought she'd never date."

The couple was at home wherever they went - her parents' home, his sister's apartment, with his aunt and uncle. They liked to watch movies and hang out.

James was the only boy Jaime ever dated. The pair was inseparable. They'd get up at 3 a.m. to ride their bikes to school so they could lift weights before classes started for the day. Because she lived in south Cheyenne, and he lived in the west end of the Avenues with his aunt and uncle, they'd meet at the Laramie County Library and ride the rest of the way together.

And they adopted an organic lifestyle; that was Jaime's influence. "He went along with it. He liked the idea of being healthy for boxing," she said. Any pizza they ate - that was his influence.

"We loved him from the start," Trina said.

Earlier in the day, James' family members continued to gather at the Cheyenne home of his sister, Vickie. Diana Arellano, his mother, had traveled up from Denver. His father, Jim, came in from California. Scott and Rita Sheppard, the aunt and uncle with whom James lived for a year, were also there, as were one of James' brothers and his sisters.

Even as they cried, they laughed as they told stories about the pranks he pulled - like the time he stamped "paid" on Rita's forehead in red ink.

They talked about the copy of the photo he sent home from Iraq - he's mugging for the camera in his Army gear, with two bullets stuffed in his nose and two more coming out of his mouth, looking for all the world like a boar in desert camouflage.

And they talked about his insistence on eating organic food, preferring ground buffalo meat over ground beef.

"He was supposed to be home for Thanksgiving," Scott Sheppard said. "He likes the way we cook Thanksgiving dinner. I think a lot of that organic stuff came from him going into the military, and I think his wife was into it. Organic or not, he could really put down some food at Thanksgiving."

"We have to be happy James lived his life and had his goals and he strived to meet every one of them," Diana Arellano said. "He wanted to box, and he boxed. He wanted to join the military, and he got into the Army. He wanted to be married, and he married the love of his life on March 11."

Arellano followed the same path as his father Jim, who was a boxer and who was a soldier in the U.S. Army. "He wanted to be just like me. The only sad part," Jim Arellano said, "is that he left behind a wife."

That breaks the hearts of the Arellano family.

"I would give my life so he could come home for Jaime," Vickie said. "It wasn't supposed to be this way. He was supposed to come home to have the fairy tale."

When he was in boot camp at Fort Benning in Georgia, James started sleepwalking. He attributed it to the stress of being away from Jaime. His family hoped that would be enough to have him sent home, but he was prescribed medication to help him rest.

Scott Sheppard said the last time he heard from James was about a month ago; James reached them by cell phone when Scott and Rita were vacationing in Maryland.

"He was in a situation not too long ago where he had to shoot an Iraqi," Sheppard said. "He wasn't happy about that. He's a good Catholic boy; he went to St. Mary's. He couldn't grasp the concept. He didn't understand why he had to do it."

Sheppard said a couple of months ago, three soldiers Arellano has been patrolling with were killed when their Humvee struck an improvised explosive device. Arellano, he said, had stepped out of the vehicle before the explosion and was unhurt.

"Don't be sorry for my brother," Andrew Arellano said, trying hard to put his thoughts into words. "He wasn't a sorry person. He lived his life for all of us. He died for all of us - you, me, your kids and my kids to come."

James was a hero both to Andrew and younger sister Darlene, to whom he was teaching boxing.

He in turn named his uncle Scott as his hero when he was interviewed by the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle in 2000 when he was 13. "He's everything I want to be."

Even then and probably before, his mother said, he wanted to be a soldier. They talked about what being sent to a war zone might mean, and what might happen. "Every mother," Diana said, "that may be one of her greatest fears."

After boot camp, James was sent to Fort Hood in Texas. That's where James and Jaime were married when Trina finally relented and signed the papers they needed.

"I felt like they had all the time in the world. Then one day, I woke up and decided that if they wanted, I would sign the papers."

In a matter of days, Jaime was on a plane to Killeen. They were married by a tree outside their hotel with the hotel staff standing in as witnesses, holding cell phones so their families could hear.

For their wedding dinner at the International House of Pancakes, James had chocolate chip pancakes - with the chips in the batter - and Jaime had biscuits and gravy.

"I told him I had been craving them. He called three places to figure out where we could get them."

He spent about $500 on taxis getting them around Killeen during the week they had together, she said.

After he was sent to Iraq, they talked just about every other day, thanks to cell phones. James would also send e-mails.

And he sent home photos, including the one with the bullets, which Jaime has put in a red, white and blue frame that bears the words, "My Hero."

"He didn't like it there, but he dealt with it," Jaime said. He'd made a commitment, and he would see it through. She doubted that he would have made the military a career.

Even so, he was making the best of it, she said, joking around with his friends and adopting a stray puppy.

If she has any regrets, Jaime said, clamping down hard on her grief, it's that she didn't tell him not to go.

"He asked me what I thought. He wouldn't have gone if I had asked him not to."

Mad Dog_2

May God Bless his kind soul.............................

and everyone who knew him. Sounded like a helluva kid. Mad Dog

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