This Memorial Day celebration featured traditional salute with mariachi, folklórico dance
When Frank Jaramillo returned from a tour of duty with the 75th Airborne Rangers, his welcome home was far from friendly.
“I was yelled at, cussed at, had things thrown at me,” said the 73-year-old Madera resident after he was honored during the city’s Memorial Day celebration at Courthouse Park.
The reception was nicer this time around.
Jaramillo – a “tunnel rat” tasked with crawling into tunnels and looking for the Viet Cong – was honored with a Bronze Star for his bravery. Monday, he received proclamations from Congressman John Duarte, Madera County, and the City of Madera.
“It makes up for what I didn’t get almost 50 years ago,” said Jaramillo, a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1981 honor guard.
Madera Mayor Santos García, who had a family member die during the Korean War, said it was important to remember and celebrate “our loved ones.”
“We recognize the price of freedom and liberty is high, and that price has been paid in the sacrifice of men and women who have laid down their lives in defense of our great nation,” said García.
“Let us join with the hearts as grateful as a grateful nation as we embrace this day of remembrance and honoring the generations of America who have fought and died to secure our blessings of liberty.”
Jaramillo, who was born in Fresno and raised in Madera, enlisted in the military after graduating from Madera High School.
He moved to Redondo Beach where he worked for turboprop engine firm Garrett AiResearch for seven years before returning to Madera and joining the U.S. Army Reserves.
“In 1988, I was hired by the Madera Unified School District as a safety officer,” he said. “I was one of the first security officers for the school district.”
Jaramillo medically retired. He developed cancer from exposure to Agent Orange, he said.
Fellow VFW colleague Hank González was also honored during the ceremony organized by VFW Post 1981, American Legion Post 11 and local Boy Scout troops.
The Memorial Day ceremony, which included a taps and a gun salute to fallen service members, also had an extra touch: Mexican music and dance.
México en el Corazón, a touring musical and folkloric dance troupe from Guadalajara, Jalisco, México, entertained the crowd for the second consecutive year.
Jaramillo, who is of Mexican and Filipino descent, said he “has always loved Hispanic music.”
Madera County Supervisor Leticia González said blending Memorial Day with mariachi, banda and marimba music and dance was perfect for Madera.
“It’s just a beautiful way to bring the community together,” said González, who helped place a wreath in honor of fallen heroes at the park.
“It’s a great way to pay tribute to the people who made the ultimate sacrifice.”
Having mariachi music and folkloric dancing “shows who we are as a community, who we are as a people, and brings it all together.”
