Alberto Martinez, the soldier who murdered my late husband, Army Captain Phillip Esposito and Army 1st Lieutenant Louis Allen, is dead. At least per this page [subsequnetly removed] posted by the Bevis Funeral Home of Crawfordville, Florida.
Alberto Martinez’s essence was twofold. There was his murderous rage. And there was his stunning ability to get away with it.
From the evidence presented at trial, Martinez murdered my husband because Phillip was perhaps the only leader to ever hold Martinez to the standard of a soldier. For this, Martinez felt set upon and picked upon, so he destroyed my husband’s life with a claymore mine. Lou Allen was simply Martinez’s replacement. That alone merited Lou's death in Martinez’s eyes.
Nevermind myself, or Lou’s wife, Barbara. Nevermind my daughter, Madeline, or Lou’s sons, Trevor, Colin, Sean, and Jeremy. Nevermind Phillip and Lou's parents and siblings. Our hearts were mere collateral. They probably didn’t even figure.
Suffice it to say that the court-martial that acquitted Martinez did so without cause—at least without any cause that the panel members who voted to acquit have been honorable enough to share publicly. Thus Martinez was the man who murdered and got away with it.
Should the Army also get away with it? Should it not be judged for its errors and be made to reform itself accordingly? Whether it does, or not, remains to be seen.
But it should be seen. And it will be seen when those associated with this tragedy honestly answer the following question: just what was it about Alberto Martinez that allowed him to get past you?
11 comments:
I know the pain you have suffered and the courageous battle you have waged to hold this killer responsible. I hope you will find peace now, you have earned. RIP Capt. Esposito,
Our entire family will now have some peace in our lives. The void and pain is still there however, this just lightens our burden. Thank you Siobhan and Madeline for being so courageous.Joan and Tommy Esposito
Many of us have left our thoughts on Martinez's obituary so, I think they took it down. We let them know what we thought of him. Justice finally comes but way too late in my opinion. RIP CPT Esposito & LT Allen.
I am happy to hear he is no longer a threat to other human beings. You are always in my thoughts.
I know you won't find peace without Phillip here but I hope you sleep better knowing that this murderer no longer walks the streets.
He would have sat on death row filing appeals and asking Obama to be released......life's death sentence got him instead.
I also commented on his page,which is now defunct.I will say the same thing here I wrote on his page,"The God I serve makes no mistakes."
We hope you and Madeline can be happier now, Pauline D
I'm not sorry he's gone...I was fearful of him and what he could do. I am sorry for your families who lost honorable men at that monster's hands.
Siobhan,
While I was not part of your husbands unit, I was part of a signal unit that supported them. I worked directly across the small street from his ground floor office. He was one of our 'customers' to whom we provided telephone support. I had the pleasure of meeting him several times because his phone was out (not an uncommon occurrence) and each time we spoke, he was polite, genuine and a pleasure to speak to. His death has had a lasting affect on me and I think about that day often. I just would like you to know that your husband had a lasting positive effect on me and I will always remember him as that compassionate man/father/husband that I had the privledge of knowing.
Hi, I don’t know you and you certainly don’t know me, but i sit here with tears in my heart, my soul, and my eyes right now. I served with your husband. We were both with 1-101st. We had limited contact because he was a CPT and I was a 1LT, but his death still makes my soul cry. I just NEED you to know that when I last him I was headed home on leave and he was coming in country, somewhere between Thanksgiving and Christmas of 2004. We crossed paths in Kuwait on his way to Iraq and I was leaving Iraq for a bit. I just need you to know that his smile lit up the room. He was proud of his family and his mission. We wished each other luck and he had love in his heart and soul. I struggle everyday with his loss and the thirteen others that I and our country have lost, but please know that his smile lives in my heart every freaking day of my life. At the time, I never knew why his smile was so big, but now that I have a family of my own...I GET IT! I love you and your family and wish God’s blessing upon you!
Hi, I don’t know you and you certainly don’t know me, but i sit here with tears in my heart, my soul, and my eyes right now. I served with your husband. We were both with 1-101st. We had limited contact because he was a CPT and I was a 1LT, but his death still makes my soul cry. I just NEED you to know that when I last him I was headed home on leave and he was coming in country, somewhere between Thanksgiving and Christmas of 2004. We crossed paths in Kuwait on his way to Iraq and I was leaving Iraq for a bit. I just need you to know that his smile lit up the room. He was proud of his family and his mission. We wished each other luck and he had love in his heart and soul. I struggle everyday with his loss and the thirteen others that I and our country have lost, but please know that his smile lives in my heart every freaking day of my life. At the time, I never knew why his smile was so big, but now that I have a family of my own...I GET IT! I love you and your family and wish God’s blessing upon you!
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