JOURNALIST KILLED IN VIETNAM WAR COMES HOME
By Tania Chatila Staff Writer
Whittier Daily News, CA
Nov 11 2007
After 40 years, Raul Guerra is finally home.
He was on assignment as a naval reporter during the Vietnam War on
Oct. 8, 1967, when the plane he was in crashed into a steep mountain
in Da Nang province.
It took four decades and more than 15 recovery missions to find and
return the Montebello man’s remains, and the remains of the four
servicemen he was with that day, according to government documents.
"I just want everyone to know he is back on his home soil," said
Mary Barrow Somerlott, an old friend of Guerra’s. "I don’t want him
to be forgotten."
Somerlott, who lives in Duarte, remembers fondly the days before Guerra
left for the war. The two had been engaged briefly and were part of
a close-knit group of friends who attended East Los Angeles College.
They were aspiring reporters and active members of the school’s
journalism program. Guerra was the editor of a school magazine at
the time and also worked for a now-defunct chain of newspapers.
San Dimas resident John Crowe was a few years younger than Guerra when
they met at college. Both would spend their evenings in the school’s
main journalism classroom, and Crowe looked up to Guerra.
"He always had time to chat with a kid a couple years younger than
him trying to follow in his steps," Crowe said.
Guerra, who was born in Mexico to an Armenian mother and a Mexican
father, is remembered most by his friends for his writing talents.
Although Spanish was his native language, it didn’t take Guerra long
to master English and become one of the best writers at the college,
friend Karen Reyes said.
Somerlott’s cousin, Alberto Juarez of Los Angeles, likened Guerra’s
blossoming career to those of widely successful Latino journalists
Frank del Olmo and Ruben Salazar.
"He was a bright star," said Juarez. "I would imagine the mission he
was on was something that a journalist like himself would have not
missed in terms of being right where the action was."
Guerra was dedicated, kind and down to earth, Somerlott said, adding
that he had a great smile, boyish good looks and "wide, happy eyes."
The two served as best man and maid of honor at Reyes’ wedding in
Las Vegas in 1966.
"It was a whirlwind romance, and Raul was there every step of the way,"
said Reyes, who now lives in Virginia.
Reyes passes the Washington Vietnam War Memorial – where Guerra’s
name is engraved – five days a week on her way to and from work.
With each passing, Reyes remembers Guerra, who was like a brother to
her husband.
"Raul was like a calming spirit," she said.
Months after their Vegas trip, and in the midst of a heavy draft
effort, Guerra decided to enlist in the Navy.
He knew he would likely be drafted anyway and wanted to choose his
service branch, Somerlott said.
Guerra enlisted on Oct. 17, 1966, at 23, and was ranked as a
journalist, third class, according to Larry Greer, spokesman for the
Pentagon’s Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office.
Before he left, Reyes said, Guerra had a daunting feeling he would
not return. Reyes’ husband teased him about it, but Guerra could not
shake the emotion.
Guerra wrote frequently to Somerlott before being shipped overseas
and sent pictures home of himself.
"He seemed to be in pretty good spirits," she said.
The news of Guerra’s death came shortly after.
"I just remember breaking down in tears when I found out," Somerlott
said. "I was crying and I could just barely even drive home that day."
Crowe said the small newspaper chain Guerra had worked for ran
front-page stories with banner headlines about Guerra’s death.
But the most difficult thing was always the fact that Guerra’s body
had not been sent back for burial, Somerlott said.
Weather conditions and terrain at the time of the crash hampered
immediate search efforts, according to Greer.
In the years that followed, investigators visited the site multiple
times trying to piece together the incident. Acidic jungle soil made
it difficult to uncover the remains, Greer said.
But in the early 1990s, the Vietnamese government recovered some
remains. And then in October, additional remains were sent over
and the five men that were on that plane – including Guerra – were
accounted for, Greer said.
They will be buried in a single grave marked by one headstone at
Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. No date has been set.
"He died with his buddies, his fellow servicemen," Juarez said.
"They’ve been together all this time. It’s only appropriate that they
would continue on together."
For Reyes, her old friend’s homecoming brings a sense of peace. She
had given up hope of Guerra’s body being found – envisioning it in
some cold, dark corner of the Vietnamese jungle.
"I just keep thinking to myself now, ‘Raul they’ve found you,’"
she said. "You’re home."