Valley welcomes home Sgt. De La Rosa

FUNERAL SERVICES

>> The public viewing will be 3-9 p.m. today, with a rosary at 7 p.m., at Memorial Funeral Home, 311 W. Expressway 83, San Juan.

>>The funeral will be 2 p.m. Monday at Resurrection Catholic Church, 834 E. Citrus Ave., Alamo. Burial with full military honors will follow at the Rio Grande Valley State Veterans Cemetery, 2520 S. Inspiration Road, Mission.

SAN JUAN — Mourners from throughout the Rio Grande Valley welcomed home another fallen U.S. serviceman Saturday morning in an emotional day for family, friends and veterans.

The body of U.S. Army Sgt. Fernando De La Rosa arrived at McAllen-Miller International Airport about 11 a.m. Saturday and was taken to Memorial Funeral Home in San Juan amid a procession of vehicles. Onlookers lined the streets along the motorcade’s route and waved U.S. flags.

De La Rosa, 24, of Alamo, was killed by a roadside bomb Oct. 27 in Afghanistan. He was on his third tour of duty in the Middle East.

"It was beautiful — a beautiful service," the soldier’s mother, Rosa De La Rosa, said of the welcome her son received Saturday. "I just want to thank everybody for their support — the cards, the letters and the words of comfort."

Alamo Mayor Rudy Villarreal, a veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars, said he hopes the support from the Alamo community and people across the Valley is helping the De La Rosa family get through a difficult time.

Veterans Day isn’t until Wednesday, but several businesses in Alamo have already put up U.S. flags in honor of Sgt. De La Rosa.

"They know that we’re all behind them," Villarreal said of the outpouring of support extended to the soldier’s family.

Relatives of the fallen soldier gathered following the procession to share stories about him and summon up memories of their "Ferna," his mother said.

They talked about "just the crazy things he used to do or the last visit when he came down in June," Rosa De La Rosa said.

One of his four brothers, Alfredo, 21, is also in the Army, and arrived for the funeral from Korea, where he is stationed.

Sgt. De La Rosa’s wife, Karen, and two sons were unable to attend his arrival Saturday, because they had difficulties with Peru customs officers while trying to leave the country, Rosa De La Rosa said. Karen De La Rosa lives in Washington state but was visiting Peru, where she is from.

Prior to his death, Sgt. De La Rosa was to return home this month for a two-week vacation with his wife and sons, his mother said. He was also on the verge of a promotion to staff sergeant.

Fellow veterans expressed sadness and disbelief following Saturday’s procession, the second such homecoming in as many weeks.

Army Staff Sgt. Bradley Espinoza, 26, of Alton, was killed by an improvised bomb in Iraq on Oct. 19. He was interred last week at the Rio Grande Valley State Veterans Cemetery in Mission.

Sgt. De La Rosa is the third Valley service member to be killed in Afghanistan and the 29th to be killed in the ongoing wars there and in Iraq.

"It’s been really tough for the community as a whole," said Vietnam veteran Felix Rodriguez, veterans service officer for the Hidalgo County Veterans Service Office. "You go into a restaurant wearing a veteran’s hat or cap and people will inevitably bring up the conversation that it’s sad we’re losing young men in wars and places we’ve never heard of."