Hawaii Tribune-Herald: Ambush in Iraq leaves Paauilo family mourning

Sunday, Apr 4, 2004

Ambush in Iraq leaves Paauilo family mourning

By CHRIS LOOS
June Batalona had just finished turning down beds Thursday evening at the Hapuna Prince Hotel when she saw her mother, her pastor and another man walking toward her.

She realized they were about to deliver bad news.

"I told him he didn't have to tell me. I knew," she said Friday at her Paauilo home.

The man was Mike Rush, deputy director of operations for Blackwater Security Consulting, headquartered in North Carolina. He was in Hawaii to tell the hotel housekeeper that her husband, 48-year-old Wesley John Kealoha Batalona, was the final victim identified in Wednesday's attack that killed four U.S. civilians in Iraq.

Rush escorted June Batalona to her home along the Hamakua Coast. "I told him I didn't want to talk about it tonight but he could come back in the morning," she said. "I didn't want to deal with it."

She hadn't closely followed the news about the four American civilian contractors killed in Fallujah, Iraq, and then dragged and mutilated by an angry mob.

"I just saw bits of it on TV but I didn't see a whole lot of it," she said Friday. "I heard them mention civilians but I didn't put anything together."

By the time she met Rush again Friday morning, however, she'd made the connection between the TV news and her husband's death. "I kind of knew in my heart," she said. "But I didn't want to say anything until it was confirmed."

Though well aware that her husband did dangerous work, June Batalona was still in shock. He'd survived hazardous assignments for years while serving in the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment of the U.S. Army, specializing in attack missions.

The Rangers are considered the U.S. Army's premier light-infantry unit, ready to respond anywhere in the world with 11 hours notice. They train for arctic, jungle, desert, mountain and amphibious operations.

Wesley Batalona, sometimes called "Bata," retired as a sergeant in August 1994 after 20 years in the Army. He was last stationed in Savannah, Ga.

He returned to the Big Island in 2000 and went to work as a security consultant at the Hilton Waikoloa Village. Apparently that was too tame for him.

"He likes traveling and doing dangerous things," said his brother-in-law, Edmund Baquiring, who lives up the street from the Batalona home.

Wesley Batalona decided to go to Iraq last year. His wife thinks it was in October but doesn't recall the name of the company that sent him there. He stayed about a month.

Before leaving, Batalona told Baquiring and his wife he was going to help rebuild Iraq. Darla Baquiring said when Batalona returned, he told her not to believe everything she reads in the newspapers about Iraq. "He said they're really hard-working people over there," she said.

Before Batalona returned, his wife tried to ship him some boxes filled with treats and a Bible he wanted. He never got them. He returned to Hawaii before the boxes reached their destination.

By the end of February, he had the new job with Blackwater and was back in Iraq.

"It's in his blood," June Batalona said. "He retired and he went to Iraq to serve his country. That's what he wanted to do and nobody was going to stop him."

She said she and her husband didn't discuss his work. "He didn't tell; I didn't ask," she said. "All I know is he was doing security."

Blackwater provides security and support for military operations. (See story Page A1).

BIG ISLAND ROOTS

Wesley Batalona was born Feb. 20, 1956, in Kukuihaele. He and the woman he would marry were classmates at Honokaa High School, where Batalona was student body president. They graduated with the class of 1974.

Batalona joined the Army right out of high school but returned to Hawaii on leave in 1975 and married June in Honokaa five days before Christmas. The Christmas season has always been extra special for the Batalonas because of the double celebration.

Batalona went back to the mainland for his Army duties but his wife soon followed and stayed there throughout his military career. Along the way, they had a daughter, Krystal, who turned 22 on Friday.

June Batalona has a scrapbook filled with certificates of four commendation medals, two achievement medals and one good conduct medal her husband earned.

One recognizes him for his "exceptional dedication, valor and bravery" during "Operation Just Cause," the 1989-1990 invasion of Panama aimed at capturing Manuel Noriega and establishing a democratic government.

The 3rd Ranger Battalion's airborne combat assault on Rio Hato airfield was the "spearhead" of the operation, according to the certificate. It says Batalona demonstrated he had "the critical components of battle effectiveness that win in combat: physical and mental toughness, tactical and technical proficiency and a warrior's attitude and spirit."

His wife also has possession of the Bible she tried to send to her husband last year. While he was in Iraq this most recent time, her packages came back. The Bible is now a cherished treasure.

She said her husband also sent her a couple of e-mail messages during his most recent mission. She still has them.

"What we wrote each other was how we were and how the family was back home and how everything was with him and with me and how Krystal was," she said. The messages didn't mention Iraq at all.

Early this year, Batalona posted a communication on a message board on ArmyRangers.com.

"Great Website when you have nothing to do while on vacation!!!" said the Jan. 24 posting from Batalona, who identified his hometown as "Western HI."

"A REAL GREAT GUY"

Krystal Batalona, who is attending college in Georgia as a pre-law major, is heading back to Hawaii for funeral services, which are pending. June Batalona said both she and her daughter are very proud of their husband and father.

"My daughter told me, 'Mom, I just talked to a lady and she said, "Crystal, how do you feel about your dad knowing that he died with high honor?'" and she said, 'Mom, that made me feel like a celebrity,'" June Batalona said. "She's so proud of her dad."

Batalona's wife was not alone in touting him.

"He was a good man," said Darla Baquiring. "He was an Army man - fully. He loved his family."

Batalona's cousin, Harry Batalona of Hilo, said Friday he was still shocked. "He was in the military all his life, but then this happened to him as a civilian," he said.

Harry Batalona said his cousin saw the military as a great career opportunity. "He was always a go-getter, a disciplined kind of guy," he said.

People who know Batalona say his death will create a loss in the communities where he lived and grew up.

"Him and I go way back," said Presley Hart, a former classmate and lifelong friend. "It's devastating. Wes was a good guy, a real great guy."

Hart said Batalona played football and basketball in high school and worked on a taro farm in Waipio Valley. He thinks the hard work farming taro might be what motivated Batalona to join the Army.

Hart, head baseball coach at Honokaa High, said when Batalona came back to Hawaii, he helped whenever he could. "He was just there for the community. He was trying to make things easier for people," Hart said. "He would do anything for anybody, especially kids."

Hart said the two worked together at the Hilton before Batalona left for Iraq.

"He just went for that one tour and came back and said he had to go back," Hart said. "He believed in what he was doing. That's why he went back after 20 years of serving his country."

H-TH reporter Dave Smith and Associated Press contributed.

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