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Widow
says her Marine husband was 'fearless'
Source:
NCTimes.com, November 18, 2004
(http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2004/11/19/military/14_19_4211_18_04.txt)
By:
Teri Figueroa
Captain. Patrick Rapicault was born a French citizen. He
died an American. The 34-year-old Marine Corps officer,
a Carlsbad resident, was among Camp Pendleton-based
Marines killed in enemy fighting in Iraq this week.
Military officials said Rapicault, the commanding
officer of his unit, died Monday in Ramadi, which is in
the Al-Anbar province.
On
Thursday, Rapicault's widow, Vera Rapicault, tried to
remain strong in the face of his death—"he's in heaven,
telling me to," she said. She said the Marine Corps told
her he died in a suicide bombing attack. Two other
Marines died with him, she said.
The
widow last spoke to her husband when his phone call woke
her at 12:04 a.m. on Monday. "He said, 'I was thinking
about you and I love you with all my heart,' " she said.
The
Marines, she said, told her that her husband died at
about 6:45 am
Pacific Standard Time—just hours after the couple's last
conversation. "He said, 'I would love to come home and
see you, but I am satisfied and happy with what I am
doing.' I am at peace with that,' " Vera Rapicault said
of their last exchange, a hurried phone call.
Patrick Rapicault was born in France, and came as a
foreign exchange student to the United States—to
Mississippi, to be exact, and his use of the
colloquialism "y'all" always came with his thick French
accent. The young immigrant later attended college
there, earning a degree in business.
But
his heart was with the military, his wife said, and he
joined the Marines. At about 25, Patrick Rapicault
became an American citizen, and was thus able to pursue
his dream of becoming an officer.
Vera
Rapicault, a 1984 Vista High School graduate, met her
"gorgeous" husband-to-be at a barbecue six years ago.
After an engagement capped by their wedding at St.
Anne's Episcopal Church in Oceanside—in his dress blues
that day, "he was more pretty than me," Vera Rapicault
said—the couple was sent to the East Coast. They
eventually worked their way back to North County and
bought a Carlsbad condo earlier this year.
Patrick Rapicault was "gung-ho" about the military, and
about his deployment to Iraq, she said. "He ate, drank
and slept the military," she said. "He was the kind of
man who wanted to be in the military, the kind of man
you would want to be out there (in Iraq)." She said her
husband had been in Iraq once before, and was injured
with second degree burns in a bombing.
Vera
Rapicault said Thursday that when he died, her husband
was the commanding officer of his unit's weapons company
in the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment.
In a
story written a few weeks ago, a military publication on
the Marine Corps Web site referred to Rapicault as the
commanding officer of his unit's Weapons Company.
However, information provided by Camp Pendleton this
week stated that Rapicault was the assistant operations
officer. Pendleton officials said it was possible that
Rapicault had become the commanding officer.
Vera
Rapicault is planning her husband's memorial, which she
said she hopes will be next week at the same Oceanside
church in which they married. He will be buried on Nov.
30 in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
Patrick Rapicault was an honest man, she said, and a
tough guy with a big heart, one who saw the Marines he
led as "his boys."
"I've never known anyone quite like him," she said, "and
I don't think I ever will again. ... I loved knowing he
loved me."
The
sting of his death is still fresh, but Vera Rapicault
holds tight to her knowledge that the man she calls her
hero died doing what he believed in.
"Even though I knew he loved me and loved life, he was
willing to put down his life for our country," she said.
"It puts him in a totally different category. ... He was
fearless."
Marine's Loyalty to
Troops Recalled
Source:
Washington Post,
December 1, 2004
By
Lila Arzua
The
photograph of Captain Patrick Marc M. Rapicault appeared
to be looking over the crowd of mourners gathered at the
Old Post Chapel at Arlington National Cemetery
yesterday. There he was with his dark hair cropped
short, medals glistening against his chest, gaze as
solid and determined as ever. Nearby, his body lay in a
flag-draped coffin.
More
than 100 family, friends and fellow service members had
gathered to mourn the 34-year-old Marine who lost his
life in Iraq. Rapicault, of St. Augustine, Fla., was
killed November 15, 2004, in Anbar province. He was the
97th service member killed in Iraq to be buried at
Arlington.
Rapicault was assistant operations officer for the 2nd
Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st
Marine Expeditionary Force. He had been quoted in
numerous news accounts and stories about the war in Iraq
and the troops' experiences.
"You
have to get over your feelings and keep on pushing, just
for the simple reason that you have another 170 Marines
to take care of and make sure they come back," he told
Time
magazine shortly before his death.
He
was interviewed for an October 25, 2004, article on the
war that recounted Rapicault's role as commander of
Whiskey Platoon, leading his men on a counterinsurgency
mission prior to the start of major fighting in Fallujah.
According to the
Time article, Rapicault's Humvee was struck by
mortar fire and disabled during the patrol. It was the
sixth time he had been hit, the article said. None of
his men were killed in that attack, but Rapicault was
prepared to give his life for his country. "It is a
daily hit and run," Rapicault later told Agence France-Presse.
Yesterday, a letter from a CBS correspondent who had
covered him was read aloud to the mourners. A friend and
fellow serviceman recalled his "bone-crushing handshake"
and his loyalty to those he loved.
Rapicault had been awarded the Purple Heart, the Navy
and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, the Navy and Marine
Corps Achievement Medal, Marine Corps Good Conduct
Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon and National
Defense Service Medal.
He
was born on the island of Martinique and moved to the
French Riviera at age 5. He immigrated to the United
States as a teenager. It was during his high school
years in Mississippi that he developed his distinctive
accent—part French and part southern, according to one
of the speakers at the service. But "Frenchy," as he was
known to many, was proud of his mastery of English as a
second language, and especially of a writing award he
won.
Rapicault attended Delta State University in Mississippi
and joined the Marine Corps Reserve. Upon graduating
with a bachelor of science degree in business
management, he converted to active duty. In 1997, he
completed Officer Candidate School and reported to Camp
Pendleton in California. The following year, he
graduated first in his class from Army Ranger School.
At
his grave yesterday, a Marine band played the hymn
"Eternal Father Strong to Save." Captain Daniel Hench
presented a U.S. flag to Rapicault's wife, Vera, and
Staff Sergeant Charles Dorsey presented another to his
mother, Nicole Rapicault.
In
addition to his wife and mother, Rapicault is survived
by his father, Gabriel Rapicault, and a sister,
Christine Cappillino.
Marine officer
posthumously receives Silver Star
Source: Marine
Corps News,
Dec. 2, 2005
(http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/7C18C21FE5B72E27852570CC0005EFC5?opendocument)
By
Lance Cpl. Ray Lewis, MCB Camp Pendleton
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (Dec. 2, 2005)
-- “ He led from the front,” said 2nd Battalion, 5th
Marine Regiment Bn. commander Lt. Col. Craig S.
Kaczynski during Capt. Patrick M. Rapicault’s Silver
Star ceremony Dec. 2.
Rapicault assumed command of Weapons Company, 2nd Bn.
5th Marines during his deployment to Iraq while they
were in contact with the enemy on 24 September 2004. As
company commander, Rapicault led his Marines through 50
firefights and 27 improvised explosive device ambushes
between the time he took command of the unit and until
he was killed Nov. 15, 2004.
For his gallantry, Rapicault was posthumously awarded
the Silver Star, the nation’s third highest award for
combat valor. His wife, Vera Rapicault, accepted the
award on his behalf during the ceremony at 5th Marines
memorial park located in Camp San Mateo.
According to the citation, he directed the fire and
maneuver of his company with complete disregard to his
own personal safety. Despite being the first Marine
wounded in his Battalion and his company suffering the
heaviest casualties during the street fighting, Captain
Rapicault always displayed an infectious enthusiasm that
motivated every Marine to fight hard and recover quickly
from battle.
On
every mission, Captain Rapicault’s intuitive and calm
combat leadership ensured success on the battlefield,
which limited damage to vehicles and friendly
casualties.
Also according to the citation, He gallantly gave his
life in the cause of freedom.
“I was 200 meters away when he passed. It was hard
because he was ‘that man’,” remembered 1st Lt. Shawn M.
Maurer, an infantry officer who served with Rapicault in
Iraq. “My fondest memory of him was his courage, you
could see it in his eyes. I could look in his eyes and
everything was going to be okay because he was the best
Marine Corps officer I’ve ever served with,” Maurer
said.
Rapicault’s heroics not only affected his Marines but
also reached Marines throughout the 1st Marine Division.
First Marine Division commanding general Maj. Gen.
Richard F. Natonski said “We were blessed not only as a
country and Marine Corps, but also as 1st Marine
Division to have a leader like Capt. Rapicault” during
the humble ceremony.
Natonski said Rapicault would never be forgotten. “He is
as alive today as the day he died,” said Lt. Col.
Randall P. Newman, former commanding officer of 2nd Bn.,
5th Marines. “He is truly the backbone of what the corps
is today. His memory goes on forever.”
Marine captain — killed
in Iraq — featured in ‘60 Minutes’ report
Rapicault was featured in a report
about U.S. Marines fighting in Ramdi, Iraq, that aired
on the "60 Minutes" news show on CBS on Jan. 16, 2005.
Read a transcript of the report at:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/01/16/60minutes/main667271.shtml
Other Links:
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/pmmrapicault.htm
http://www.militarycity.com/valor/508991.html
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2004/11/19/military/14_19_4211_18_04.txt
http://gov.ca.gov/index.php?/press-release/2665/
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/7C18C21FE5B72E27852570CC0005EFC5?opendocument
http://www.navynews.co.uk/articles/2002/0211/0002110702.asp |
