Military honors for a Vietnam vet

Vietnam veteran Richard Charles Klase was finally accorded a full military honors funeral yesterday morning—nearly two months after he died on Oct. 30. The service was held amid the scorching heat of the sun and was well attended by several officials, veterans, and U.S. military representatives.

His body was picked up from the Commonwealth Health Center’s morgue at 10:30am and was brought directly to the Capitol Hill Public Cemetery for interment.

Rev. Isaak Ayuyu led the interment ceremony. Others present were Andre Kozij and Jack Hudak, Klase’s close friends, Chris Regis from the Veterans Affairs Office on Guam, Ret. Major Benjamin Guerrero, Ruth Coleman of the Veterans Affairs Office on Saipan, and several others. House Vice Speaker Timothy Villagomez and his staff also paid their respects to the veteran.

Soldiers from the Saipan Marine Corps presided over the funeral, carrying Klase’s flag-draped coffin to the cemetery lot. As the bugler played taps, the soldiers began the rite of folding the flag. It was then presented to Martin Manglona and his wife, who arranged for Klase’s burial.

After the ceremony, Manglona took a moment to thank everyone in the service for their time to give honor to the veteran. Manglona, a veteran himself, briefly talked about Klase’s background.

Manglona, rueful about his family’s absence at the service due to old age, mentioned that he promised Klase’s family that he would collect all the pictures taken during the service and put them in an album and send it to their home in Oregon. He then acknowledged the assistance of Klase’s dear friends, Kozij and Hudak. It was Kozij (not Kozqowitz as reported earlier) who had found Klase lifeless in his apartment.

Manglona called on Kozij for a brief speech. Kozij was emotional. He deeply thanked Manglona for the kindness and unconditional help given to Klase’s family. He said he was certain that wherever his friend is, he would surely appreciate what Manglona had done for him.

Klase and Kozij met for the first time in Vietnam. Klase was a soldier and Kozij was a consultant. Klase was hired by the Sultan of Brunei as an aircraft mechanic. Their paths crossed again in Brunei.

Klase then went to the Philippines where he got married but the marriage did not work. He found his niche in the Mariana Islands and moved to Saipan in 1997 and enjoyed the simplicity of living here.

Hudak also expressed gratitude to all who “stepped in and made all this possible and is glad that tremendous assistance was given to honor such great man who had fought and served for his motherland.”