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Family, community celebrates homecoming By Alfredo Delgado “Please celebrate me home. Play me one more song, that I’ll always remember, I can recall, whenever I find myself too all alone, I can make believe I’ve never gone. Please, celebrate me home!” The words above from Kenny Loggins’ 1976 song ring true in the gripping emotion of being away from home for a long time. But it also gently caresses the rush of joy in coming home for the holidays and sooths all those moments spent alone in a far away place. It is appropriate to feel the seasonal warm glow as many of our loved ones return to the comfort of home and family. In two days’ time we greet family and friends to give thanks for all our blessings. We observe Thanksgiving with prayer and love with those gathered around our table. However, we will not forget those loved ones near us in spirit only, who remain far away and unable to come home for the holidays. With longing and emptiness we also remember those who may never come home at all. For 58 years the family of Cpl. Librado Luna also felt that emptiness when celebrating Thanksgiving and other holidays. They knew that somewhere in Korea their son, brother and uncle remained lost to the world. He was always missed and an empty chair was forever present at family celebrations. That chair awaited Cpl. Luna’s return home. The seasons changed and the years passed by. He missed the innovations that time brought this country such as television, computers, fancy automobiles and many presidential administrations. He was absent as the family grew in numbers and when they gathered to mourn those who passed on. Or was he? My guess is, even though unaccounted for, he was keeping a watchful eye on them throughout the years. Official military reports surrounding his disappearance state his company of Rangers had captured Hill No. 205 while receiving heavy fire complicated by 20 below zero temperature. The hill was to be an artillery outpost. Around 2:30 a.m. Nov. 26, 1950, their position was targeted by a vastly superior force of Chinese communists. Luna’s unit took heavy casualties and the surviving 22 men were forced to retreat. Luna and three other rangers were ordered to provide a rear guard for the company as they made their way down the hill. The next morning patrols were sent back up the hill to look for the four soldiers left behind. The bodies of three were found. Luna’s body was never recovered. That cold night encounter with the on-rushing enemy occurred on his 18th birthday. Since then no official word about him. The questions asked throughout the five decades were did he get killed? Was he taken prisoner? Did he die as a result of the harsh, bone-chilling cold? What happened to his body? Most puzzling, could he still be alive? Details of his death will never be known. The family felt those gnawing questions throughout the years. Evidently, the family and the U.S. Army never lost hope that somewhere, somehow they would find him, for better or for worse. Throughout the span of several generations the Luna family persevered, maintaining a prayerful hope that someday they would learn about his last night on earth. His remains were recently recovered and traced, through DNA forensic tests, to match family members’ DNA. The evidence was conclusive. Cpl. Luna was coming home. Imagine the probabilities of finding a loved one lost for over half a century. How Luna was recovered brings an intriguing message. His remains were unearthed by a young Korean girl as she prepared to plant a small tree. In digging into the earth and finding Luna’s remains, she brought to light the death of a very young man many years ago. It is symbolic, I believe, for the tree represents many things in different cultures. In the Jewish and Christian traditions the tree represents life and death and heaven and earth. In the ancient Mayan culture, the tree was the embodiment of death signified during the winter by the tree losing its leaves. On the other hand, the tree characterizes the Resurrection, or new life, when in spring the leaves blossom once again. Amidst a mixture of joy, sadness and relief, spring came for the Luna family just before Thanksgiving Day. In finding Cpl. Luna, he essentially comes back to life and is no longer lost. He is found and, although brought home for burial, the family is delighted to reconnect with him once again. Presumably, the little girl planted her tree. Imagine how mighty and strong that tree will be someday. This is a very complex and heart-wrenching human experience for Luna’s family. However, they should be consoled in knowing that even in death, Cpl. Luna will help bring forth life in the form of the tree the little girl planted. Today, a proud community and a grateful nation bid him farewell with the full military honors he so well deserves. Cpl. Luna, welcome home, happy 76th birthday and thank you. His soul, meanwhile, soars above in the heavens singing joyously, “Please, celebrate me home!” Consider it done.
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