"Jose" A play by Larry Heimgartner
Stefanie Sessina
Posted in: Entertainment on 4/27/09 at 3:10 PM PST
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Jose was the first serviceman to die in combat in Southern Iraq on March 21, 2003, in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Six years later, to the date, a powerful play by instructor Larry W. Heimgartner was held in Jose's honor at Harbor College. The theater was full; and the tears were genuine. The play begins with a funeral procession and the actors singing, "One man, One dream," A line from a poem Jose wrote, "His sacrifice will never be forgotten," says an actor, "thank you, your bravery goes beyond words."
An orphan by age 6 in Guatemala, Jose dreamed of a better life for himself and his big sister. Jose was considered a street child, what Latinos call "el polvo de la tierra; the dust of the earth." In 1987 Jose decided to escape the poverty in Guatemala to follow his dream of becoming an American. On foot he made the long journey through Belize and Mexico. When he reached the border he was caught by immigration officers. He told them he was only 16, since at that time they did not send minors back. Jose made it 3000 miles from the orphanage named Covenant House in Guatemala to a foster home in the United States. He was one of 20 children that had been taken in by the Mosquera family in Torrance. They considered Jose their son, they loved him. Jose's foster mom recalls him saying, "God has me in this world and there is something He wants me to do."
Jose was a student and soccer player at Harbor College. He put his plans to become an architect on hold to enlist in the Marines on March 3, 2002. Jose's foster sister remembers him saying of the children in Iraq, " I'll give my life if I have to, to defend those children." Jose was not yet an American citizen when he joined the Marines. In the Marines he had the option to apply for citizenship in 3 years instead of 5. "A high price to pay for a title," said a 60 minute correspondent, "Many of the first men killed in Iraq were Hispanic." According to an article in Newsweek dated April 29, 2003, "Without citizenship, though, immigrants can't gain security clearance, which makes them ineligible for some leadership positions in the military and more likely to serve on the front lines in a conflict. About one in every 10 US soldiers killed in the Iraqi war was not American-born." Jose was one of the first to be granted American citizenship posthumously. Jose is buried at National Cemetery. The US government also purchased a plot for Jose at a ritzy Guatemalan cemetery.
The city of Lomita added his name to their Fallen Soldiers wall. 82 names are listed there of residents from Lomita. In honor of Lance Corporal Jose Gutierrez, Hon. Jan Harman of California in the House of Representatives on March 27, 2003, said, "Corporal Gutierrez was a symbol of America's promise. Corporal Gutierrez's ultimate sacrifice underscores for us how fragile and how precious are the freedoms we enjoy. He died to keep us free."
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