Salute to a fallen hero
6/11/05
By NORA K. WALLACE
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Cabrillo High grad remembered for his service in Iraq Air Force Capt. Derek Argel was remembered Friday as a humble giant of a man with unwavering dedication to his troops, as a gifted and determined athlete and as a family man who devoted himself fully to those he loved.
The 28-year-old with the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron died Memorial Day in a plane crash northwest of Baghdad when he and four others were on patrol surveying remote landing sites.
On Friday, more
than 400 friends, family and military members gathered at the Lompoc Evergreen
Cemetery to recall the life of the Cabrillo High School and 2001 Air Force
Academy graduate. On a grassy expanse under blue skies, stoic men and women in
Air Force uniforms stood erect throughout the service, while former water polo
teammates formed a ring around their coach as he spoke of his fallen student.
"He was first and foremost a remarkable human being who had a supreme
capacity for affection," said Bob Lawrence, Cabrillo's athletic director.
"He loved people . . . He had a heart beyond measure and a will to
match."
"It hurts a lot," said Maj. Michael Flatten, commander of the Special
Tactics Squadron at Hurlburt Field in Florida. "He's going to be sorely
missed. . . . I'm not sure how we're going to replace him. I don't know that we
can."
Capt. Argel's friends spoke of his towering physique -- he was 6 feet, 6 inches
tall -- but remembered how he'd bend virtually in half to gather those he loved
into massive hugs. They spoke of a man who could run and weight-lift beyond the
endurance of most, and who was not to be trifled with while taking a nap. They
painted a picture of an officer with outstanding discipline, but who could
devour 50 hot wings in one sitting. And they countered the image of a steely
commando at war with the vision of a loving father cradling his baby son.
Capt. Argel -- who was promoted the morning of his death -- was remembered with
military tradition, Vandenberg Air Force Base's honor guard and a 21-gun salute.
His wife Wendy and 10-month-old son Logan, as well as his mother Debbie Bastian,
were presented with his posthumous Bronze Star with Valor. Throughout his
hometown Friday, flags flew at half-staff.
In front of framed photographs of Capt. Argel as a water polo player and
military officer, a pair of shiny combat boots and a Special Tactics red beret
were placed near an automatic rifle affixed upright on a small box. Draped atop
the rifle was a combat helmet and Capt. Argel's dogtags.
"He was a great man with a big heart and a love for life," said Capt.
Wade Grabow, an Air Force Academy water polo teammate, flanked by other members
of the team.
Ms. Bastian recalled that her son had wanted to be in the military since fifth
grade, and as a youngster would go up to people in uniform and express thanks
for their service. He'd wrap a towel around his neck and pretend to be Superman,
and once wrote of saving the world.
"Derek would not want us to be doing this much," she said, her voice
breaking. "He was so humble. He put everyone in front of himself."
He "lived 250 years in 28."
As a teen, Capt. Argel had a tattoo placed on his back -- something that
initially surprised his mother. Then she saw the triangle symbol with her
initials, and those of Derek and his brother, John. Beneath were the words
"Never Forget."
"Today I'd like to ask all of you to never forget," she said.
Classmates and friends laughingly recalled Capt. Argel's penchant for giving
himself nicknames, part of his often "goofy" behavior, they said. He
was first a self-proclaimed "Human Specimen," and later was called
"Hugs," for his propensity of smothering people in his arms, recalled
fellow Cabrillo graduate Jeff Heidmous, now an Air Force Academy assistant
athletic director. One day, the young man declared that he wanted to be called
"D-licious."
"For his countless nicknames that Derek had, he had even more
friends," Mr. Heidmous said. "It's said that even the most gifted
athlete only becomes great once they learn how to help others to become better
players. If this is true, in the game of life, Derek is a world champion. For we
will forever be better 'specimens' and the world a more 'd-licious' place for
having been blessed that Derek touched our lives."
Capt. Kelii Chock, an academy classmate, said none of the many memories of their
eight-year friendship could "do justice to the man he was."
"He was extremely humble for how extraordinary he was," he said.
Proof of that, his commanding officer said, came in the attention he received
from the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilizad, who asked for Capt.
Argel whenever he needed a special tactics officer to help dedicate buildings,
open roads or attend meetings. And when first lady Laura Bush recently visited
the Middle East, Capt. Argel was among her protectors.
Mrs. Bush called his mother after his death to express her condolences.
Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Michael Ramos presented the posthumous Bronze Star.
The medal was given for the captain's service in Afghanistan and Iraq between
Feb. 18 and May 30.
"Capt. Derek M. Argel distinguished himself by heroism as a special tactics
officer," the citation reads.
The award came for several reasons, Chief Master Sgt. Ramos said. Capt. Argel
served in multiple roles, including assessing remote landing zones, acting as
the primary special tactics controller for the first lady's visit and for other
distinguished visitors, and assisting on aerial resupply missions.
"By his heroic actions and unselfish dedication to duty in the service of
his country, Capt. Argel has reflected great credit upon himself and the United
States Air Force," the citation reads.
At the end of the service, a "missing man" jet formation thundered
over the cemetery, with Air Force Academy graduates as the pilots. They carried
with them American flags and a water polo ball signed for baby Logan.
e-mail: nwallace@newspress.com
Website Maintained by David Riley