His name will not be forgotten

Three years ago, Marine Corp. Sgt. Julian Arechaga was killed on an Iraqi street. This month, the Baldwin block he grew up on was named in his honor.
Surrounded by fellow residents, members of the Baldwin American Legion Post 246, the Baldwin Fire Department and other local clubs, the Arechaga family ceremoniously renamed St. Luke's Place — where the family lived for 16 years — as "Sgt. Julian Arechaga Place" on Nov. 14.

Arechaga's sister, Sheyla Randazzo, said the Nov. 14 ceremony was very emotional because it reinforces the reality that her brother isn't coming home.
"It's been hard, but seeing everybody there at the ceremony ... that helps us a lot," she said. "It was just a nice, beautiful ceremony. Just to know that they all came to support my brother, it was great."

'He could have come home'

Arechaga didn't have to return to Iraq in 2006. He had completed two tours of duty — one in Afghanistan in 2004 and the other in Iraq in 2005 — had just married his wife, Felecia, and was training Marines in sunny California. But Arechaga refused to let his men ship out without him, and in 2006, he followed them to the Ramadi province in Iraq.

"He felt he needed to be there with them," Randazzo said. "He didn't have to do that. He could have come home and started a new life."

But Arechaga did not return home. On Oct. 9, 2006, Arechaga was traveling in the lead humvee in a four-vehicle convoy when it struck a roadside bomb. He was killed instantly.

Randazzo recalls being on the phone with Arechaga's wife when a van pulled up in front of her house and Marines stepped out. She said she knew immediately why they were there and thinks she might have even dropped the phone.

The family was in shock, but Randazzo said her brother's friends in the Marines, who stayed at her house to attend the funeral, helped them cope by telling tales of Arechaga's bravery.

"That would really take us out of that horrible place," she said, describing the sadness the family felt. "The stories they shared really made me realize how heroic he was. He saved so many lives. He was a hero."

A life-changing decision

Arechaga struggled when he first entered Baldwin High School — often finding himself in trouble and getting into fights. In tenth grade, he transferred to Oceanside High School, and from that point on, Arechaga's life began to change for the better.
He made the honor roll and joined the wrestling team. But it was later, when Marine recruiters visited the school, that Arechaga found his calling.

He signed up for the Marines after graduating Oceanside H.S. in 2002. He went to Marine boot camp that August, and by February 2003, he had joined the First Battalion, Sixth Marines Infantry. One year later, he shipped out to Afghanistan for his first tour of duty. He would serve again in 2005 from March to October in Iraq.

Honoring Julian

For his sacrifice, Arechaga was awarded the Purple Heart and the Navy and Marine Corp. Commendation Medal. And the newest member of the Randazzo family, Julian Joseph, or "J.J.," is named after Arechaga.

But for Randazzo, seeing her brother's name just below the street sign where their family grew up is perhaps the greatest tribute to his memory. She drives by "Sgt. Julian Arechaga Place" at least twice a day — even if she's not going in that direction.

"We will never forget what he did and what an amazing person he was," she said. "When you drive by St. Luke's Place and you see his name ... just to remember him and the support we got from the fire department, [Supervisor] Kate Murray, the police, the American Legion ... they were all so supportive of us. It was amazing.”