By Rhina Guidos The Salt Lake Tribune
OGDEN -- Juan Carlos Cabral was killed and buried far from the place he was born. And though the soldier will remain away from his birthplace of Jerez, Mexico, his body will stay in the country for which he died, the country which, in the end, adopted him.
During Wednesday's burial services for Cabral, a Mexican national who died a week and a half ago in Iraq, a U.S. Army official announced in Ogden that Cabral was awarded U.S. citizenship retroactive to Jan. 31 -- the day he was killed with two other soldiers in an explosion near Kirkuk.
The announcement was of no comfort to his grieving mother, Angela Cabral, who sobbed and said "No! No!" as she watched her son's coffin during the graveside service, led by the U.S. military and bolstered by a 21-gun salute.
At his burial place in Washington Heights Memorial Park, officials gave the soldier's family two medals: a Purple Heart -- his second -- for his injuries and a Bronze Star for meritorious service. They also gave them his U.S. citizenship certificate, which the family accepted as they cried and clutched rosaries and crucifixes.
"It doesn't signify anything," Angela Cabral later said about the certificate. "He should have received it when he was alive. Now, what for? He should have received all these honors, not us."
Soldier Cabral should be remembered for the things he did in life, not the way he died, his mother said.
He was shy, but always tried to do the right thing for his family and for others. He joined the Army to pay for college and to support his wife and children.
Dan Hassett, spokesman for Fort Hood in Texas where Cabral was stationed, said Cabral was a legal U.S.-resident when he enlisted.
"Citizenship, that was not the reason he joined," said his father Angel Cabral.
The Army gave him an education in mechanics, which he enjoyed, Angel Cabral said.
"He planned to stay [in the Army] until he retired," Angel Cabral said. "He said he really liked it and he was grateful."
Cabral also had been scheduled to be promoted to sergeant before he died; that promotion also was awarded posthumously.
But he also spoke of returning to Ogden one day, to set up an auto shop with family members.
The importance of family for Cabral was evident by the number of cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews who crowded into St. Joseph's Catholic Church. Almost 300 people attended the burial Mass and stood by his graveside to bid farewell. They came from places such as Kansas, California and Nevada. Angela Cabral was given a temporary leave from Weber County Jail to attend her son's funeral. She is awaiting sentencing on two minor charges.
Some relatives from Cabral's native Mexico wanted to come but were denied visas, Angel Cabral said.
Most of his friends from Ogden showed up, still troubled by the loss, they said.
Enrique Gonzales placed a red rose atop the silver-colored coffin. The two met as boys in the mid-'80s when Juan Cabral "was shy with the girls," Gonzales said.
They last spoke in the fall when Juan Cabral visited his wife and children in Texas. At that time, Cabral tried to visit Utah, which he considered home. But he ran out of time. "He said he was doing good and he was going to be home soon," Gonzales recalled.
It was hard to talk about Cabral -- who was more like a family member than a friend from the neighborhood, he said.
Quiet, but friendly, he once brought two soldiers -- who didn't have a place to call home -- with him to Utah. He wanted to make them feel they were part of his family, his mother said.
In the Army, they called him "Juanito," and "El Jefe Medio," or the middle boss. At home, they called him "Carlitos." Some relatives wore T-shirts bearing a photograph of Juan Cabral holding his first Purple Heart medal, which he received last year when he was injured by a grenade that exploded in a building where he was placing a call to home.
At St. Joseph's, where the soldier once served as an altar boy, the Rev. Hernando Diaz reminded others to think about the good deeds that came from Juan Cabral, his accomplishments and the religious faith that accompanied him during war.
Diaz comforted Cabral's loved ones, his widow Anita holding their 1-year-old son Manuel, son Fabian, 7, his parents and his brothers and sisters.
As during his graveside service, the tears wouldn't stop.
"We grieve and it's normal," Diaz said. "Tears and grief are an expression of love." ∼Army Sgt Cabral-Banuelos was assigned to Company A, 4th Forward Support Battalion, 4th Infantry Division (Mech), Fort Hood, Texas. Banuelos was killed when his vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device in Kirkuk. Juan was born in Jerez, Zacatecas, Mexico and moved to Ogden with his family a year later. He attended Ogden High School before moving to Emporia, Kansas with his mother during his junior year after his parents divorced. He was a popular student who dreamed of enlisting in the Army after graduation. He graduated from high school in Emporia and soon after joined the Army to improve his life and himself. Juan always encouraged his family to do more in their lives and said if they really wanted to do something, if they put their head into it, they could do it because he did it. One thing he loved doing was to tinker, especially on his 1963 Chevrolet Impala Super Sport. That love of cars helped make him a light truck mechanic in the military. During a visit with his family last fall, he talked about his pride in serving his country. He told them, "Don't worry, I'll be OK. You guys always have to remember that I'm doing something I wanted to do. I'm serving my country, and I'm proud of it." He had been in Iraq since April 4 and there were important things coming in Juan's life. He was due to return home in about a month and he was also set to become a U.S. citizen in April. Instead, he will be posthumously awarded a Bronze Star, a second Purple Heart and a promotion to sergeant at his burial ceremony. He leaves behind a wife, Anita, and two young sons, ages 7 and 18 months old. Juan was a fun loving, outgoing man. He was a very happy person – always smiling, making funny faces, sticking out his tongue and doing something to make everyone laugh. Where he was, everybody was happy.
OGDEN -- Juan Carlos Cabral was killed and buried far from the place he was born. And though the soldier will remain away from his birthplace of Jerez, Mexico, his body will stay in the country for which he died, the country which, in the end, adopted him.
During Wednesday's burial services for Cabral, a Mexican national who died a week and a half ago in Iraq, a U.S. Army official announced in Ogden that Cabral was awarded U.S. citizenship retroactive to Jan. 31 -- the day he was killed with two other soldiers in an explosion near Kirkuk.
The announcement was of no comfort to his grieving mother, Angela Cabral, who sobbed and said "No! No!" as she watched her son's coffin during the graveside service, led by the U.S. military and bolstered by a 21-gun salute.
At his burial place in Washington Heights Memorial Park, officials gave the soldier's family two medals: a Purple Heart -- his second -- for his injuries and a Bronze Star for meritorious service. They also gave them his U.S. citizenship certificate, which the family accepted as they cried and clutched rosaries and crucifixes.
"It doesn't signify anything," Angela Cabral later said about the certificate. "He should have received it when he was alive. Now, what for? He should have received all these honors, not us."
Soldier Cabral should be remembered for the things he did in life, not the way he died, his mother said.
He was shy, but always tried to do the right thing for his family and for others. He joined the Army to pay for college and to support his wife and children.
Dan Hassett, spokesman for Fort Hood in Texas where Cabral was stationed, said Cabral was a legal U.S.-resident when he enlisted.
"Citizenship, that was not the reason he joined," said his father Angel Cabral.
The Army gave him an education in mechanics, which he enjoyed, Angel Cabral said.
"He planned to stay [in the Army] until he retired," Angel Cabral said. "He said he really liked it and he was grateful."
Cabral also had been scheduled to be promoted to sergeant before he died; that promotion also was awarded posthumously.
But he also spoke of returning to Ogden one day, to set up an auto shop with family members.
The importance of family for Cabral was evident by the number of cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews who crowded into St. Joseph's Catholic Church. Almost 300 people attended the burial Mass and stood by his graveside to bid farewell. They came from places such as Kansas, California and Nevada. Angela Cabral was given a temporary leave from Weber County Jail to attend her son's funeral. She is awaiting sentencing on two minor charges.
Some relatives from Cabral's native Mexico wanted to come but were denied visas, Angel Cabral said.
Most of his friends from Ogden showed up, still troubled by the loss, they said.
Enrique Gonzales placed a red rose atop the silver-colored coffin. The two met as boys in the mid-'80s when Juan Cabral "was shy with the girls," Gonzales said.
They last spoke in the fall when Juan Cabral visited his wife and children in Texas. At that time, Cabral tried to visit Utah, which he considered home. But he ran out of time. "He said he was doing good and he was going to be home soon," Gonzales recalled.
It was hard to talk about Cabral -- who was more like a family member than a friend from the neighborhood, he said.
Quiet, but friendly, he once brought two soldiers -- who didn't have a place to call home -- with him to Utah. He wanted to make them feel they were part of his family, his mother said.
In the Army, they called him "Juanito," and "El Jefe Medio," or the middle boss. At home, they called him "Carlitos." Some relatives wore T-shirts bearing a photograph of Juan Cabral holding his first Purple Heart medal, which he received last year when he was injured by a grenade that exploded in a building where he was placing a call to home.
At St. Joseph's, where the soldier once served as an altar boy, the Rev. Hernando Diaz reminded others to think about the good deeds that came from Juan Cabral, his accomplishments and the religious faith that accompanied him during war.
Diaz comforted Cabral's loved ones, his widow Anita holding their 1-year-old son Manuel, son Fabian, 7, his parents and his brothers and sisters.
As during his graveside service, the tears wouldn't stop.
"We grieve and it's normal," Diaz said. "Tears and grief are an expression of love." ∼Army Sgt Cabral-Banuelos was assigned to Company A, 4th Forward Support Battalion, 4th Infantry Division (Mech), Fort Hood, Texas. Banuelos was killed when his vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device in Kirkuk. Juan was born in Jerez, Zacatecas, Mexico and moved to Ogden with his family a year later. He attended Ogden High School before moving to Emporia, Kansas with his mother during his junior year after his parents divorced. He was a popular student who dreamed of enlisting in the Army after graduation. He graduated from high school in Emporia and soon after joined the Army to improve his life and himself. Juan always encouraged his family to do more in their lives and said if they really wanted to do something, if they put their head into it, they could do it because he did it. One thing he loved doing was to tinker, especially on his 1963 Chevrolet Impala Super Sport. That love of cars helped make him a light truck mechanic in the military. During a visit with his family last fall, he talked about his pride in serving his country. He told them, "Don't worry, I'll be OK. You guys always have to remember that I'm doing something I wanted to do. I'm serving my country, and I'm proud of it." He had been in Iraq since April 4 and there were important things coming in Juan's life. He was due to return home in about a month and he was also set to become a U.S. citizen in April. Instead, he will be posthumously awarded a Bronze Star, a second Purple Heart and a promotion to sergeant at his burial ceremony. He leaves behind a wife, Anita, and two young sons, ages 7 and 18 months old. Juan was a fun loving, outgoing man. He was a very happy person – always smiling, making funny faces, sticking out his tongue and doing something to make everyone laugh. Where he was, everybody was happy.
By Rhina Guidos The Salt Lake Tribune
OGDEN -- Juan Carlos Cabral was killed and buried far from the place he was born. And though the soldier will remain away from his birthplace of Jerez, Mexico, his body will stay in the country for which he died, the country which, in the end, adopted him.
During Wednesday's burial services for Cabral, a Mexican national who died a week and a half ago in Iraq, a U.S. Army official announced in Ogden that Cabral was awarded U.S. citizenship retroactive to Jan. 31 -- the day he was killed with two other soldiers in an explosion near Kirkuk.
The announcement was of no comfort to his grieving mother, Angela Cabral, who sobbed and said "No! No!" as she watched her son's coffin during the graveside service, led by the U.S. military and bolstered by a 21-gun salute.
At his burial place in Washington Heights Memorial Park, officials gave the soldier's family two medals: a Purple Heart -- his second -- for his injuries and a Bronze Star for meritorious service. They also gave them his U.S. citizenship certificate, which the family accepted as they cried and clutched rosaries and crucifixes.
"It doesn't signify anything," Angela Cabral later said about the certificate. "He should have received it when he was alive. Now, what for? He should have received all these honors, not us."
Soldier Cabral should be remembered for the things he did in life, not the way he died, his mother said.
He was shy, but always tried to do the right thing for his family and for others. He joined the Army to pay for college and to support his wife and children.
Dan Hassett, spokesman for Fort Hood in Texas where Cabral was stationed, said Cabral was a legal U.S.-resident when he enlisted.
"Citizenship, that was not the reason he joined," said his father Angel Cabral.
The Army gave him an education in mechanics, which he enjoyed, Angel Cabral said.
"He planned to stay [in the Army] until he retired," Angel Cabral said. "He said he really liked it and he was grateful."
Cabral also had been scheduled to be promoted to sergeant before he died; that promotion also was awarded posthumously.
But he also spoke of returning to Ogden one day, to set up an auto shop with family members.
The importance of family for Cabral was evident by the number of cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews who crowded into St. Joseph's Catholic Church. Almost 300 people attended the burial Mass and stood by his graveside to bid farewell. They came from places such as Kansas, California and Nevada. Angela Cabral was given a temporary leave from Weber County Jail to attend her son's funeral. She is awaiting sentencing on two minor charges.
Some relatives from Cabral's native Mexico wanted to come but were denied visas, Angel Cabral said.
Most of his friends from Ogden showed up, still troubled by the loss, they said.
Enrique Gonzales placed a red rose atop the silver-colored coffin. The two met as boys in the mid-'80s when Juan Cabral "was shy with the girls," Gonzales said.
They last spoke in the fall when Juan Cabral visited his wife and children in Texas. At that time, Cabral tried to visit Utah, which he considered home. But he ran out of time. "He said he was doing good and he was going to be home soon," Gonzales recalled.
It was hard to talk about Cabral -- who was more like a family member than a friend from the neighborhood, he said.
Quiet, but friendly, he once brought two soldiers -- who didn't have a place to call home -- with him to Utah. He wanted to make them feel they were part of his family, his mother said.
In the Army, they called him "Juanito," and "El Jefe Medio," or the middle boss. At home, they called him "Carlitos." Some relatives wore T-shirts bearing a photograph of Juan Cabral holding his first Purple Heart medal, which he received last year when he was injured by a grenade that exploded in a building where he was placing a call to home.
At St. Joseph's, where the soldier once served as an altar boy, the Rev. Hernando Diaz reminded others to think about the good deeds that came from Juan Cabral, his accomplishments and the religious faith that accompanied him during war.
Diaz comforted Cabral's loved ones, his widow Anita holding their 1-year-old son Manuel, son Fabian, 7, his parents and his brothers and sisters.
As during his graveside service, the tears wouldn't stop.
"We grieve and it's normal," Diaz said. "Tears and grief are an expression of love." ∼Army Sgt Cabral-Banuelos was assigned to Company A, 4th Forward Support Battalion, 4th Infantry Division (Mech), Fort Hood, Texas. Banuelos was killed when his vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device in Kirkuk. Juan was born in Jerez, Zacatecas, Mexico and moved to Ogden with his family a year later. He attended Ogden High School before moving to Emporia, Kansas with his mother during his junior year after his parents divorced. He was a popular student who dreamed of enlisting in the Army after graduation. He graduated from high school in Emporia and soon after joined the Army to improve his life and himself. Juan always encouraged his family to do more in their lives and said if they really wanted to do something, if they put their head into it, they could do it because he did it. One thing he loved doing was to tinker, especially on his 1963 Chevrolet Impala Super Sport. That love of cars helped make him a light truck mechanic in the military. During a visit with his family last fall, he talked about his pride in serving his country. He told them, "Don't worry, I'll be OK. You guys always have to remember that I'm doing something I wanted to do. I'm serving my country, and I'm proud of it." He had been in Iraq since April 4 and there were important things coming in Juan's life. He was due to return home in about a month and he was also set to become a U.S. citizen in April. Instead, he will be posthumously awarded a Bronze Star, a second Purple Heart and a promotion to sergeant at his burial ceremony. He leaves behind a wife, Anita, and two young sons, ages 7 and 18 months old. Juan was a fun loving, outgoing man. He was a very happy person – always smiling, making funny faces, sticking out his tongue and doing something to make everyone laugh. Where he was, everybody was happy.
OGDEN -- Juan Carlos Cabral was killed and buried far from the place he was born. And though the soldier will remain away from his birthplace of Jerez, Mexico, his body will stay in the country for which he died, the country which, in the end, adopted him.
During Wednesday's burial services for Cabral, a Mexican national who died a week and a half ago in Iraq, a U.S. Army official announced in Ogden that Cabral was awarded U.S. citizenship retroactive to Jan. 31 -- the day he was killed with two other soldiers in an explosion near Kirkuk.
The announcement was of no comfort to his grieving mother, Angela Cabral, who sobbed and said "No! No!" as she watched her son's coffin during the graveside service, led by the U.S. military and bolstered by a 21-gun salute.
At his burial place in Washington Heights Memorial Park, officials gave the soldier's family two medals: a Purple Heart -- his second -- for his injuries and a Bronze Star for meritorious service. They also gave them his U.S. citizenship certificate, which the family accepted as they cried and clutched rosaries and crucifixes.
"It doesn't signify anything," Angela Cabral later said about the certificate. "He should have received it when he was alive. Now, what for? He should have received all these honors, not us."
Soldier Cabral should be remembered for the things he did in life, not the way he died, his mother said.
He was shy, but always tried to do the right thing for his family and for others. He joined the Army to pay for college and to support his wife and children.
Dan Hassett, spokesman for Fort Hood in Texas where Cabral was stationed, said Cabral was a legal U.S.-resident when he enlisted.
"Citizenship, that was not the reason he joined," said his father Angel Cabral.
The Army gave him an education in mechanics, which he enjoyed, Angel Cabral said.
"He planned to stay [in the Army] until he retired," Angel Cabral said. "He said he really liked it and he was grateful."
Cabral also had been scheduled to be promoted to sergeant before he died; that promotion also was awarded posthumously.
But he also spoke of returning to Ogden one day, to set up an auto shop with family members.
The importance of family for Cabral was evident by the number of cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews who crowded into St. Joseph's Catholic Church. Almost 300 people attended the burial Mass and stood by his graveside to bid farewell. They came from places such as Kansas, California and Nevada. Angela Cabral was given a temporary leave from Weber County Jail to attend her son's funeral. She is awaiting sentencing on two minor charges.
Some relatives from Cabral's native Mexico wanted to come but were denied visas, Angel Cabral said.
Most of his friends from Ogden showed up, still troubled by the loss, they said.
Enrique Gonzales placed a red rose atop the silver-colored coffin. The two met as boys in the mid-'80s when Juan Cabral "was shy with the girls," Gonzales said.
They last spoke in the fall when Juan Cabral visited his wife and children in Texas. At that time, Cabral tried to visit Utah, which he considered home. But he ran out of time. "He said he was doing good and he was going to be home soon," Gonzales recalled.
It was hard to talk about Cabral -- who was more like a family member than a friend from the neighborhood, he said.
Quiet, but friendly, he once brought two soldiers -- who didn't have a place to call home -- with him to Utah. He wanted to make them feel they were part of his family, his mother said.
In the Army, they called him "Juanito," and "El Jefe Medio," or the middle boss. At home, they called him "Carlitos." Some relatives wore T-shirts bearing a photograph of Juan Cabral holding his first Purple Heart medal, which he received last year when he was injured by a grenade that exploded in a building where he was placing a call to home.
At St. Joseph's, where the soldier once served as an altar boy, the Rev. Hernando Diaz reminded others to think about the good deeds that came from Juan Cabral, his accomplishments and the religious faith that accompanied him during war.
Diaz comforted Cabral's loved ones, his widow Anita holding their 1-year-old son Manuel, son Fabian, 7, his parents and his brothers and sisters.
As during his graveside service, the tears wouldn't stop.
"We grieve and it's normal," Diaz said. "Tears and grief are an expression of love." ∼Army Sgt Cabral-Banuelos was assigned to Company A, 4th Forward Support Battalion, 4th Infantry Division (Mech), Fort Hood, Texas. Banuelos was killed when his vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device in Kirkuk. Juan was born in Jerez, Zacatecas, Mexico and moved to Ogden with his family a year later. He attended Ogden High School before moving to Emporia, Kansas with his mother during his junior year after his parents divorced. He was a popular student who dreamed of enlisting in the Army after graduation. He graduated from high school in Emporia and soon after joined the Army to improve his life and himself. Juan always encouraged his family to do more in their lives and said if they really wanted to do something, if they put their head into it, they could do it because he did it. One thing he loved doing was to tinker, especially on his 1963 Chevrolet Impala Super Sport. That love of cars helped make him a light truck mechanic in the military. During a visit with his family last fall, he talked about his pride in serving his country. He told them, "Don't worry, I'll be OK. You guys always have to remember that I'm doing something I wanted to do. I'm serving my country, and I'm proud of it." He had been in Iraq since April 4 and there were important things coming in Juan's life. He was due to return home in about a month and he was also set to become a U.S. citizen in April. Instead, he will be posthumously awarded a Bronze Star, a second Purple Heart and a promotion to sergeant at his burial ceremony. He leaves behind a wife, Anita, and two young sons, ages 7 and 18 months old. Juan was a fun loving, outgoing man. He was a very happy person – always smiling, making funny faces, sticking out his tongue and doing something to make everyone laugh. Where he was, everybody was happy.
Inscription
JUAN CARLOS CABRAL
SGT US ARMY
SEPTEMBER 11, 1978 - JANUARY 31, 2004
BRONZE STAR MEDAL
PURPLE HEART & OLC
OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Records on Ancestry
Advertisement
