Rosemead Marine dies in Iraq

Mark Keppel High grad killed in roadside blast

By Jason Kosareff
Staff Writer

ROSEMEAD - Robert Arellano said Wednesday his brother Carlos may have known he wouldn't return home from Iraq.

Carlos Arellano, a Marine corporal, had survived two previous tours of duty in Iraq, although he was wounded on the second.

But Carlos seemed different before he left his family's Rosemead home for his third tour, his brother said.

"I think Carlos knew he was going to die this time," said Robert Arellano, 27, a Marine of nine years.

Cpl. Carlos Arellano died Friday when a suicide bomber in a car set off a blast in Haqlaniyah, Iraq, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. Also killed in the blast was Lance Cpl. Brandon Dewey, 20, of San Joaquin.

They were both assigned to 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, out of Camp Pendleton. During the Iraq War, their unit was attached to 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward).

Funeral arrangements for Arellano are pending.

Carlos wasn't afraid to die, Robert Arellano said. But the young soldier was getting tired of the fighting. He worried about his mother and family back home, his brother said.

Carlos Arellano joined the Marines in 2003, a year after graduating from Mark Keppel High School in Alhambra. He was in combat during all three tours, his brother said.

During his second tour, Arellano won a merit promotion for taking out an insurgent aiming a rocket-propelled grenade launcher out of a hotel window.

On that tour, Arellano's team was caught in three days of intense fighting, cut off from food and water, Robert Arellano said. He was also wounded by shrapnel from an RPG.

Arellano would have been home from Iraq in March and was scheduled for discharge in June.

He was planning to go to college to study criminal justice.

Arellano joined the Marines to get the tactical training for a job as a SWAT officer for the Los Angeles Police Department, said another brother, Marco Arellano, 25.

The brothers, along with youngest sibling Gustavo, 18, reminisced around the kitchen table Wednesday.

They remembered Arellano as outgoing, extremely popular and athletic, fearless.

The brothers pored over photographs of Arellano, many sent from the front lines, featuring local people, Iraqi men, women and children.

"His favorite times were when children would come out to wave at him," Marco Arellano said.

Arellano, born in Mexico, grew up in Rosemead. He attended Emerson Elementary School and Garvey Intermediate School. He is survived by his brothers and his father, Robert Arellano Sr., and mother, Emelia Arellano.

jason.kosareff@sgvn.com

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Copyright © 2006 Pasadena Star-News

From the Los Angeles Times
MILITARY DEATHS
Cpl. Carlos Arellano, 22, Rosemead
By Anna Gorman
Times Staff Writer

January 29, 2006

Emilia Arellano begged her son not to return to Iraq. He had already served two tours of duty and was wounded the second time. She urged him to tell the Marine Corps that his mother was ill and needed him at home.

But Cpl. Carlos Arellano, 22, refused to lie, his mother said. He didn't want to be seen as a coward. And he didn't want a tarnished record. So in September, he again left for Iraq.

Four months later, Arellano was killed when a suicide bomber exploded a car in Haqlaniya, northwest of Baghdad. Also killed in the Jan. 20 explosion was Marine Lance Cpl. Brandon Dewey, 20, of Tracy, Calif. Both were assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton. As part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, their unit was attached to the 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward).

Arellano, who was born in Mexico and grew up in Rosemead, was scheduled to return to California in March and be discharged in June, his family said.

"He wanted to come home," said his brother Marco, 25. "But when that moment came, when he had to give his life, he did."

As a teenager, Arellano was a daredevil, frequently riding his bike off the roof, his family said. He loved sports, especially football, soccer and basketball. "Whatever he could get his hands on to kick, throw or play with, he did," Marco Arellano said. "That was him." That obsession with sports sometimes got him into trouble when he accidentally broke neighbors' windows while playing ball in the street, his brother said.

Arellano graduated from Mark Keppel High School in Alhambra in 2001, and joined the Marine Corps in 2003.

He thought military service would help him reach his ultimate goal: becoming a SWAT officer with the Los Angeles Police Department, his family said. He also hoped to attend college and study criminal justice. "He figured the Marines would be something that would open a lot of doors," Marco Arellano said.

His brother Robert, 27, who has been in the Marines for nine years, said he discouraged Carlos from following him into the military. He told him the job was demanding and required a lot of time away from home. "That was something he wanted to do," Robert Arellano said. "Once he set his mind to something, there was nothing in the world that could change his mind."

On his second tour of duty, Carlos Arellano, an infantryman, was awarded a Purple Heart after being injured by a rocketpropelled grenade during a firefight near the Syrian border, Robert Arellano said. He was promoted following that firefight, his brother said.

On his last tour, Arellano taught classes to Iraqi soldiers, Robert Arellano said.

Emilia Arellano said Carlos, whom the family affectionately called "Carlitos," was the most timid of her four sons. She believes he was scared but didn't share his fears with her. "He knew I would be sad, and he didn't want me to worry," she said.

He frequently sent photographs home, often of him surrounded by Iraqi children. He told his family that his greatest reward was when children would come out and wave at him.

In a letter a few months before his death, Arellano wrote to his mother in Spanish, "Mom, you know how things are here and even though nothing is easy, I keep fighting and I am doing everything possible to return home. Thanks for all your support and prayers, which is the only thing that helps me."

A funeral Mass was said Saturday at St. Stephen Catholic Church in Monterey Park. Burial was at Oakdale Memorial Park in Glendora.

In addition to his mother and brothers Robert and Marco, Arellano is survived by his father, Robert; and another brother, Gustavo, 18.

Copyright 2006 Los Angeles Times

Mourners recall Rosemead Marine
Arellano remembered as fun-loving family man

By Sang Lee Correspondent

MONTEREY PARK - Carlos Arellano was the kind of person who liked to give and help others, friends and relatives said.

On Saturday, nearly 300 people came to St. Stephen Martyr Catholic Church in Monterey Park to remember the 22-year-old Marine corporal who gave his life for his country.

The Rosemead resident died Jan. 20 in a suicide bomb attack in Haqlaniyah, Iraq.

"He was very unselfish, he was always giving, always putting aside and always giving before being asked," his brother, Robert Arellano, 27, said after the Mass.

"We spent so much time together. We played around and went out all the time. There was not a time we didn't want to be with each other," Robert, who is also a Marine, said.

Having spent most of his weekends away from his military base to be with his family, those who knew Arellano best described him as a fun and caring brother and son.

"He lived every day to the fullest. That was Carlos. He always had a smile on his face," Robert said.

His widest grins during the war came when Iraqi children would come out and see him said his brother, Marco Arellano.

"He took many pictures of those kids and he used to show," Marco said.

"He was always trying to make everyone happy."

Born in a village in Jalisco, Mexico, Arellano came to Rosemead as an adolescent and got his U.S. citizenship in 2005.

He graduated from Mark Keppel High in Alhambra, having played soccer and football.

Ezequiel Gutierrez, 45, of La Habra, a cousin who spent time with Arellano, described him as being outgoing and competitive.

"He loved going out to dance and sing. His favorite song was `La Diferencia.' It was a song his mom used to sing to him."

For a man whose family meant so much, Arellano's outreach of affection touched even those who were not a part of it.

Having served basic training and the first two tours in Iraq with Carlos, Cpl. Joseph Casillas remembers his friend as being funny and always himself.

"He loved what he did and he loved his family. When I was with him he always wanted to party and have fun. If you meet Carlos, he's the type of person you don't forget," Casillas said.

Initially scheduled to complete his duty in March, Arellano aspired to study criminal justice and become a police officer.

He leaves behind father Robert E. Arellano Sr., mother Emelia Arellano and brothers Robert, Marco and Gustavo.

Burial was at Oakdale Memorial Park in Glendora and included a 21-gun salute. The U.S. flag draped over the coffin was given to Arellano's parents.

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