Corporal Rachael Hugo Laid to Rest
Thursday, October 18th, 2007
Honor Guards from the 79th Military Police Company, carry the casket of Spc. Rachael L. Hugo, Wednesday, Oct. 17, in Monona, Wis. in preparation for her entombent ceremony at Roselawn Memorial Park.
(Leah L. Jones — State Journal)
On a beautiful autumn afternoon, as hawks soared overhead and dozens of American flags waved in the wind, Rachael Hugo, 24, was laid to rest Wednesday at Roselawn Memorial Park in Monona.
“A hero is the way I’ll always see you,” said Scott Hugo, 19, from a poem he’d written to commemorate his adored big sister.
Rachael Hugo, a 2001 Madison East High School graduate, died Oct. 5. Corporal Hugo, a combat medic with the Army Reserve, was killed by a homemade bomb and small arms fire during combat operations in Bayji, Iraq.
Hugo, assigned to the 303rd Military Police Company based in Jackson, Mich., was deployed to Iraq in September 2006 where her company was conducting convoy security operations.
She was the 79th armed service member from Wisconsin killed in Iraq since the war began in 2003.
As a hushed crowd paid tribute, Hugo’s grieving but stoic parents, Kermit and Ruth Hugo of Madison sat with their son Scott beneath a blue canopy before their daughter’s flag-draped casket.
Command Sgt. Major John Vacho, of the 88th Regional Readiness Command at Fort Snelling, Minn., which oversaw Hugo’s company, performed the somber last roll call before “America the Beautiful,” played by a solitary bag piper, filled the air.
An Army honor guard fired three volleys in salute as a lone soldier played taps.
An honor guard from the 79th Military Police Company from Rochester, Minn., where Hugo served as an Army reserve soldier until her deployment, folded the flag into a neat triangle. Brigadier General Robert Hipwell, commander of the 303rd Military Police Brigade, then presented it Rachael’s mother, who clasped the flag to her lap and gently stroked it.
On bended knee, Hipwell also presented the family with Rachael’s posthumously awarded medals—a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart and a meritorious service medal. Scott was also presented with a flag.
The entombment ceremony followed a memorial service at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Monona, attended by several hundred people, including Gov. Jim Doyle, Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, Hipwell and Army Reserve Wisconsin Ambassador Max Oleson.
The young woman, who had dreamed of one day becoming a nurse, was remembered for her abiding passion for life and service as well as her infectious smile.
“Rachael calls us to live a deep and wide life,” said Army Chaplain Melinda Riley. “She will continue to serve as a reminder and inspiration.”
Sergeant First Class Michael Nelson recounted how Hugo’s quick thinking and skills had not long ago saved the life of a fellow soldier. When a vehicle before her in a convoy hit an improvised explosive device and burst into flames, Hugo immediately left the safety of her own vehicle to assist the burning soldier.
“She was never the type of person to take the easy way out,” Brig. General Hipwell added. “She was more concerned about the safety of her fellow soldiers than her own.”
Hugo’s rank was posthumously changed from specialist to corporal to acknowledge her role in combat.
As the crypt plate bearing Hugo’s name was affixed to the mausoleum wall at Roselawn and her family, friends, colleagues and others said their last good-byes, a dozen white doves were released and circled overhead before flying off into the clouds.
Hugo’s final resting spot is at the Veterans Wall of Honor.
