Staff Sgt. Julian S. Melo
June 4th, 2010
Born on Oct. 7, 1957 in Panama
Died on Dec. 21, 2004 in Mosul, Iraq
Julian was a captain in his native Panama’s army and resigned his commission from it a little while before the American invasion of that country in late 1989. His father was an aide to Manuel Noriega and Julian’s departure from the military also led to a severing of ties between son and father. Julian fled the dictatorship of Noriega and came to The United States. He moved in with his sister who lived in Brooklyn, New York, and his love affair with America began. He made frequent trips to the Statue of Liberty, because of what she stood for. Only a few years after his arrival in America, he enlisted in the United States Army, as a private. It was only natural, he loved the military lifestyle and protecting his newly adopted country seemed just right. Stationed in Germany, he met Norma and they married in 1992. Based at Fort Lewis, Washington from 1994, Julian served several times in Korea. Julian was full of joy and love and believed himself to be quite handsome. He looked forward to each and every day because, like a fine wine, he said age just made him better. He was charming, brilliant and all he needed to do was flash his smile to make those around him feel loved. Music and dancing were also a large part of who Julian was. He was frequently seen dancing around and taught others to dance to every sound of music they’d hear. He wanted people to smile at everything and not take the world so seriously, to live a happy life no matter what tired to stop it. Deployed to Iraq with the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) from Fort Lewis, Julian was ticked pink when he found a Christmas tree for his living quarters. On December 21, he was one of 13 soldiers who were killed when the dining facility they were in was attacked. In tribute to Julian’s love for music, children and education, his wife set up a fund to raise money to purchase musical instruments and sheet music to be donated to schools in Mosul, Iraq. Besides his wife Norma, their son Jorshua and several siblings survived him.
Julian was buried in Fir Lane Memorial Park in Spanaway, Washington.
The Staff Sgt. Julian S. Melo by Freedom Remembered, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.
