Friday, March 29, 2024

Marine called Mansfield home

‘He was lost, then found, and he died a hero’ -Jackie Tupling-

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MANSFIELD – Dying rays from the setting sun wash over the west entrance to Mansfield High School and, through the windows there, illuminate the framed portrait of a handsome U.S. Marine, in full dress uniform that incorporates the red, white, and blue colors of the nation’s flag.
Students traveling to and from the gym pass this picture of Lance Corporal Caleb John Powers posed next to his retired and framed white football jersey, emblazoned with No. 44 in large red numerals.

The sense a visitor has upon first seeing this display is a moving combination of pride mixed with sorrow because the unmistakable message is that this is a memorial. The confident gaze looking out from beneath the white dress hat confirms that the honoree is very young.

Caleb Powers graduated Mansfield High as one of a class of 11 in 2001. But you might say that, in a major way, Powers was in a class all by himself.
Following graduation, Powers joined the U.S. Marines, completed boot camp at Paris Island, S.C., was stationed at Camp Pendleton, Calif., deployed to Okinawa, Japan, and finally to Iraq with Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. With only two weeks remaining in his second tour in western Iraq, Powers was killed by a sniper’s bullet while pulling guard duty in Ramadi, Al Anbar Province on August 17, 2004. He was 21 years old.

Just the facts, as a newspaper axiom says, but those who knew him want you to know that LCpl Caleb Powers is very much more than a battlefield statistic. His is a story of a youngster who overcame a tumultuous early life from a broken home and ward of the state to fulfill his dream of becoming a Marine. Along the way Powers paid back those who helped him by working with disadvantaged youth and children from broken homes.

One of those groups was Childhelp, (www.chiildhelp.org) who took Caleb in as a youngster and helped provide love and support during his pre-teen years.
Childhelp had its origins in 1959 when two young actresses, Sara O’Meara, and Yvonne Fedderson were on a goodwill tour to entertain troops in the Korean War. The two rescued some homeless orphans on the heels of a typhoon and as a result of that experience founded International Orphans to help what were termed at the time “throwaway children.”

In 1978 the two women founded Children’s Village USA which later became Childhelp, a nationwide non-profit that has helped more than 10 million neglected abused and at-risk children. Powers was taken in by Childhelp when his biological mother, who had fled to Virginia with Caleb and his sister, Rosanna, following a divorce, signed him over as a ward of the state when he was seven.

Caleb’s aunt, Jackie Tupling of Mansfield, and her sister had petitioned for custody of Caleb and Rosanna but lost track of the children when their mother moved away.

“We didn’t know where they were or what had happened,” Jackie said.

Even during those dark days, Caleb did not abandon his dreams of becoming a U.S. Marine, and during his time with Childhelp, he joined the Young Marines, “a national non-profit youth education and service program for boys and girls age eight through the completion of high school,” according to its website, www.youngmarines.com. Rosanna also joined the Young Marines.

While in the Young Marines, Caleb caught the attention of a future mentor, Navy Admiral William A. Owens, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1994-96. Friends say Caleb flourished under Williams’ guidance and they credit the Admiral with “drawing out the young boy, taking him on a special submarine tour and to the White House, among other high-profile excursions.”

Caleb’s real turning point came when he was 12 years old and he moved to Mansfield and the care of Jackie, husband, Mike Tupling, and daughters Mikia, Mikki, and Mishell.

“The State of Virginia was searching for living relatives because they were transitioning him out of the system,” Jackie said.

In the rural beauty, honest work, and simple pleasures of life with his new family in Mansfield, Caleb thrived and one day dreamed of returning to the community and owning his own farm.

In 1999 Caleb and Mike began restoring a 1964 Ford F100 pickup, a project that was interrupted by military obligations and was finally completed by the Tupling family in 2014, 10 years after Caleb’s death.

The shiny red classic, with the U.S. Marine emblem sewn into the backrest and Caleb’s dog tags hanging from the mirror, has since been rolled out for special occasions like Mansfield Days, the Sun Lakes Car Show, the Chelan Memorial Day Parade, and one other solemn annual observance.

In between visits home during active duty, Powers found time to support Childhelp functions like the Childhelp Armed Forces Tribute in Beverly Hills, Calif., where he mixed with founders Fedderson and O’Meara, celebrities, and political luminaries in the cause of disadvantaged youth.

Jay Cooper, a friend and charity worker, described Powers as “our poster Marine, just an amazing young man, a fine, inspirational young man who loved life.”

A 16-plus minute YouTube video posted at https://www.facebook.com/LCpl-Caleb-Powers-Young-Marines-141359516078/ includes scenes of the Childhelp event and many more as it follows Caleb’s years as a child through the last footage taken of him in August 2004. Be advised that the retrospective of this young man’s brief life is a powerful tribute.

In an ironic twist of fate, Caleb’s sister, Rosanna, who also served as a Marine Lance Corporal, lost her fiancé, 24-year-old Marine Sergeant Rick Lord, killed in action the day after Caleb.

The town of Mansfield held a service for Powers on Oct. 2, 2004, with hundreds in attendance including fellow Marines and a certain member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. A Raise the Flag Memorial Fund paid for a flag pole that stands on the school football field in Powers’ honor.

Powers’ remains were interred at Arlington National Cemetery during a ceremony held on October 14, 2004. His memorial marker is in Section 60, Site 8003.

The Tuplings have established a scholarship in Caleb’s name for a Mansfield graduate who wants to pursue an agriculture-related career.
“Grades are not a factor and those with learning disabilities are given preference,” Jackie said.

Contributions may be made c/o the Caleb John Powers Memorial Scholarship Fund at any North Cascades Bank branch.

Every year on Halloween, the Tuplings drive Caleb’s pickup to his memorial marker at Mansfield Cemetery. Caleb was born on Oct. 31, 1982.

He would be 36 years old.

Semper Fi

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