Elgin to honor fallen Marine
The city of Elgin will pay tribute to Cpl. Alex Martinez, the 21-year-old Marine killed last week in Afghanistan, during a special ceremony inside city hall.
The Larkin High School graduate, who had dreams of becoming a police officer or a firefighter, is thought to be the first Elgin native to fall in Afghanistan.
During a brief ceremony scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday inside council chambers, Elgin Mayor Dave Kaptain will read a proclamation that recognizes Martinez's service and passes the city's condolences onto his family.
After that, members of an honor guard assembled from the local Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion and Marine Corps League will escort Martinez's aunt to the front of the room to take the letter from the mayor. The assembled guard will then walk her out of the meeting.
Other veterans are expected to fill the audience to demonstrate their solidarity.
“Any time a family is hurt by the outcome of war, we stand behind them,” said Tricia Dieringer, the American Legion Post's past commander and current finance officer who is helping to organize the ceremony. “It's a bittersweet moment for Elgin because it's a time when we're honoring the military, but we're honoring the untimely death of an American.”
Martinez was killed Thursday during combat operations in the Helmand Province in Afghanistan, Defense Department officials have said. He was assigned to the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, out of Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Martinez had wanted to be a Marine since he was little boy, following in the footsteps of his father, Enrique Martinez of Huntley, a longtime Navy reservist, and an aunt who served in the Army.
He was so passionate about joining the Marines that he had to persuade his mother that it was the right thing for him to do.
After Martinez turned 18 in December 2008, he had two life-changing moments: He not only joined the Marines, but he also married Julianna, his high school sweetheart. He graduated high school in January 2009 and the couple moved to California, where they most recently lived in Oceanside.
Alex is survived by his wife, Julianna; his mother, Socorro; his father, Jim Bethke; and six siblings: Eileen Bethke, 13, and James Bethke, 16, both of Elgin, Jenny Martinez, 25, of Palatine, Brandon Martinez, 18, of Wisconsin, and Nicholas Martinez, 16, and Ilyana Martinez, 2, of Huntley.
Funeral arrangements were not known Monday, but city officials have said his body will be cremated.