Wilgene Lieto and Derence Jack

“The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example.”
—Benjamin Disraeli

SSG Wilgene T. Lieto and CPL Derence W. Jack didn’t seek to be heroes. Like the good soldiers that they were, going to Iraq had nothing to do with heroism and everything to do with following orders. Yet for the rest of us who choose to stay in the cocoon of safety, the act of placing one’s life on the line so that others may live free IS at the very heart and essence of heroism. When one chooses to act rather than just watch, that is being heroic. When one seeks to meet danger in a far off place to ensure the safety of one’s beloved family back home, that is being heroic. When one makes the ultimate sacrifice of giving up one’s life for a bigger cause—such as democracy and freedom—that is being heroic.

And that is how the Saipan Tribune chooses to honor the memories of Wilgene and Derence—not some quaint footnote to American history, but as heroes who gave no thought to sacrificing their lives so that others may breath free, who bravely entered the U.S. military just so they could give a better life to their families, knowing full well that they will be sent to dangerous posts abroad. Wilgene and Derence are giants in a time when most men prefer to play at being little boys. And it is because of these reasons that they are the Saipan Tribune’s Persons of the Year.

GRIM NEWS

The war in Iraq hit closer to home in November when the CNMI received grim news that two of its native sons—SSG Wilgene T. Lieto and CPL Derence W. Jack—were killed when an improvised explosive device went off under the Humvee they were on last Oct. 31.

More than 6,000 members of the CNMI community went to the airport and lined the streets leading to the Francisco C. Ada-Saipan International Airport to pay their respects to Lieto and Jack.

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Insular Affairs David Cohen said the death of Lieto and Jack underscored the great sacrifice the islands in the Pacific have made to maintain freedom and democracy in Iraq.

He said the rate of casualties from the region is many times the rate compared with the entire United States.

Cohen also said the deaths of the two Army Reservists from Echo Company also brought flashbacks on the death of Eddie Lang Chen, the first CNMI soldier who lost his life in Iraq.

Jack and Lieto’s deaths also united a Commonwealth divided by the general election in 2005. The entire CNMI mourned as one, sans the political and bipartisan bickering when it came to honoring the two soldiers.

Jack, 31, and Lieto, 28, were both due to come home in less than three months before their deaths. Jack was supposed to celebrate his 32nd birthday last Nov. 17.

Both soldiers were called to active duty in August 2004. After months of training, they left for a one-year tour of duty in Iraq in January 2005.

Jack was a Gualo Rai resident and worked as cash department manager at Bank of Guam. He was married to Melissa Jack. They had a 4-year-old daughter. Lieto was a police officer from Tanapag. He was married to Tiara Lieto, with whom he had a 4-year-old son and a 3-year-old daughter.

Lieto and Jack’s deaths have been hardest for their widows, as they recall the happy memories they had with their husbands.

A tearful Melissa Jack said she last heard from her husband the afternoon of Oct. 31 when he called to greet her a happy anniversary. They were wed exactly five years ago on Oct. 30.

Tiara Lieto earlier said her husband loved military work and because he believed that serving in Iraq was something he had to do. She added that her husband was a very funny person. He liked to make people laugh. Lieto was last home in April 2005, when he visited Saipan for a two-week vacation.

Their husbands were given full military honors in November during the Veterans Day memorial ceremony at American Memorial Park. It was the saddest commemoration and recognition event for war veterans in the Commonwealth.

The Saipan Tribune believes that the CNMI will always be indebted to all soldiers who fight for liberty, peace, and freedom—the three key elements in the “American way of life.” These key elements will always take the country to greater heights of prosperity, power, strength and peace of mind but, as the cliché goes, such feat is never achieved without a price, that such realization will never reach the shores of the islands without something in return.

There will always be groups of people who want to take liberty, peace, and freedom away from the nation and it will always be our soldiers to whom we could turn to, to defend and keep the nation secure.

Jack and Lieto will remain the best examples to the entire CNMI community in the endless fight for peace and liberty. They will also be the greatest reminders to the islands that despite incongruity in principles and beliefs, the nation will still be undivided in terms of valuing peace and life no matter what happens, that in the CNMI, one may be green, yellow or blue, but in time of grief and calls for peace, the Commonwealth will always be united.

The entire CNMI is still calling for prayers from the community for the safety of CNMI soldiers who are still on active duty and who are currently deployed in the war zones in the Middle East and Afghanistan.

For Jack and Lieto, the CNMI will always remember you.

“True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.”
—Arthur Ashe