Afghanistan offensive claims first Diné life

Small clouds lined the western sky as the family of Lance Cpl. Alejandro Yazzie made arrangements at the chapter house for the first family meeting since the death of the 23-year-old Marine.

Yazzie died Feb. 16 in Marjah, Afghanistan, where he was a combat engineer assigned to the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force.

"This is a shock to the community, especially to the teachers that taught him when he was attending school," said Raymond Jones, commander of the Rock Point Veterans Command Post and a member of the Rock Point School Board.

Family members declined to speak with reporters and asked Jones to handle press inquiries.

Yazzie was a 2004 graduate of Rock Point High School and was in his second year of enlistment in the Marines.

He is the first in his battalion to be killed in action in the Marjah Offensive. Yazzie was stationed at Camp Pendleton, Calif., but had been deployed to Afghanistan in January as part of President Barack Obama's push to increase troop levels and reduce Taliban influence in the country.

He is the 11th Navajo killed in the Middle East since Sept. 11, 2001, according to a press release issued Feb. 18 by President Joe Shirley Jr.

"All of the Navajo Nation is saddened and deeply grieved to learn of the death of another of our young Marines in Operation Enduring Freedom," Shirley said. "Alejandro gave his life protecting us all and defending freedom, doing what he fervently believed in, and living a life of honor. Our hearts and our deepest condolences go out to his family and the community of Rock Point."

On Wednesday Shirley ordered flags on the Navajo Nation to be flown at half-staff from sunrise Feb. 25 until sundown Feb. 28. He also announced that funeral services for Yazzie are scheduled Friday, Feb. 26, starting at 9 a.m. at the Farmington Civic Center.

Meanwhile in California, where Yazzie's home base is, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered flags at the state capitol in Sacramento to be flown at half-staff on Feb. 19 in his honor.

"Lance Corporal Alejandro Yazzie was a valiant member of our nation's armed forces and Maria and I were saddened to learn of his death," Schwarzenegger said in a release. "We will be forever grateful for Alejandro's selfless service to our country and send our thoughts and prayers to his family, friends and fellow Marines during this difficult time."

Yazzie is survived by his wife Kalandra Rae Roanhorse Yazzie, his parents Eva and Johnson Yazzie, three younger brothers; Ferlando Lorin Bitsui, Rodello Holyan and Chance Holyan, and his younger sister Rayona Holyan.

His grandparents are Minnie Yazzie and the late Harry Yazzie, also of Rock Point.

Yazzie was Hashk'aa Hadzohó (Yucca Fruit Strung in a Line Clan). His other clans hadn't been released as of press time.

He is remembered for being president of his high school rodeo club.

"A lot of students and people that knew him were at the family meetings," Jones said. "We've heard things like this happening in other places like Shiprock. It's hard to believe that it would happen to us here.

"From what I understand he was killed in action," Jones said. "How do you handle such a thing like that? I just feel for the family."

Yazzie's family, who reside in a remote area 10 miles east of the Rock Point Chapter House, are known within the community as self-sufficient people who ranch for a living, he said.

"They are not the kind of people who say much," Jones said.

Some of Yazzie's last words were recounted in an audio recording by a reporter on assignment with Yazzie's regiment.

On Feb. 19, National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" aired the segment in which reporter Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson talked about the moments surrounding his death, and her conversations with him earlier.

She had gotten to know Yazzie while staying the same quarters, and had loaned him her phone to call his wife on Valentine's Day. He was unable to get the call through and was planning to try again later but a sniper killed him before that could happen.

According to Nelson, Yazzie was shot in the head and died almost instantly. Her live-action recording describes the U.S. soldiers coming to the end of a long day and preparing to pitch camp near an abandoned mosque. Suddenly gunfire erupts from Taliban fighters hidden nearby.

As the Marines and the Afghans exchange gunfire, one Marine suddenly calls for a medic, "Corpsman up! Corpsman up!"

"He's dead," says another Marine.

"We got a KIA," says Capt. Jordan Condo, and then several voices are heard identifying the casualty as Yazzie.

Soon after Yazzie was shot, three Cobra helicopters arrive and pour heavy fire into a trench where the Afghans are believed to be.

Nelson, who was with the battalion for a couple of days leading up to the attack, recalled getting to know Yazzie in quarters.

"(He was) a sweet young man (and) very much in love with his wife," Nelson said in an interview that followed the airing of her story.

Burial will take place at the Emanuel Mission Cemetery in Sweetwater, Ariz., where Yazzie's paternal grandfather is buried, Jones said.

Back to top ^