The body of a fallen service member from Laredo will be arriving Sept. 10, and the three-day service, which will be open to the public, is scheduled to start the following day, according to a news release from U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar.
“I would like to invite the community to join me in paying our respects to Lance Corporal David Lee Espinoza and his family,” Cuellar said. “The family requested that David be flown to his hometown of Laredo where he will arrive next Friday, September 10th, avoiding the possibility of additional travel from San Antonio.”
Once the casket arrives in Laredo, the Department of Defense will provide military funeral honors and U.S. Marines will transfer and carry the body from the aircraft to a waiting vehicle that will head to a funeral home, a city news release stated.
The public will not be allowed to be present at the airport, but the family invites the public to wave American flags along the route from the airport to the funeral home, Joe Jackson Funeral Chapel, located at 1410 Jacaman Road in Laredo.
Schedule:
> Sept. 10: arrival at international airport
> Sept. 11: family viewing
> Sept. 12: public viewing from 8 a.m. to midnight
> Sept. 13: military procession and mass funeral
A second procession will be held Sept. 13. It will begin at Espinoza’s high school alma mater, Lyndon B. Johnson High School, proceed to St. Patrick’s Church and end with a burial at the city cemetery. The public will be invited to line the route to pay their final respects.
“David gave the ultimate sacrifice to defend our rights of life and liberty — we must honor that sacrifice today and each day moving forward by putting community first, just like David would have done in our shoes,” Cuellar said.
