At Long Last, Luna Laid To Rest

Taylor Daily Press, Taylor, TX, USA

At long last, Luna laid to rest

By Jason Schaefer

It was a somber and dignified occasion for a man whose Spanish name means “freed,” who tried three times to enlist in the armed forces before he was accepted and who was embraced as a hero at his funeral.

A crowd of the friends and family of Cpl. Librado Luna, a member of the Army Rangers who was declared killed in action in Korea 58 years ago, gathered for a memorial service Tuesday afternoon, on the 76th anniversary of his birth.
Escorting him to St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Taylor and to the Our Lady of Guadalupe Cemetery were the Patriot Guard Riders, a group of veterans and motorcycle enthusiasts. The U.S. Army Honor Guard served as pallbearers.

Father Ken Carlson, a military chaplain originally from Chicago who is stationed at Fort Hood, served as pastor for the ceremony.

“I was honored to hear that I would be holding this service,” Carlson said. “When I heard he was an active duty member, I asked whether he died in Iraq or Afghanistan, and they said neither. He died in Korea.”

Carlson listened to the story with intrigue, he said — how Luna was running a mission in Korea, was declared missing and later killed, and how Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command used DNA evidence to identify a fragment of Luna’s hip, his only remains.

“This is one service that sticks out to me to be very special,” Carlson said. “There were only 22 men who survived this battle. And (this service) shows us the amazing feat of these men living and dying next to each other.”

Carlson explained how it was strange to see the photograph of Luna for the first time. He looks like a boy, but he is now a man, he said.

“This celebration of his life is to say thank you for the life you shared with us, even before some of us were born,” Carlson said. “I think it’s very Christ-like to lay down your life for your brothers, and we give thanks today that he was found.”

Susie Mokry, Luna’s niece, delivered the eulogy, in which she expressed that though she had never met the man, she had felt close to him all her life.

“My family always kept his memory alive,” Mokry said with tears in her eyes. “My grandma didn’t want to have a funeral until he came home, and Librado, you’re job is done now.”

Following Mokry’s words, District 52 representative-elect Diana Maldonado read a resolution signed by herself and state representative Mike Krusee to offer Luna’s family their condolences and thanks for Luna’s service to America.

“As representative-elect, this will be one of the moments I will remember forever,” Maldonado said.