Tyler Treadway: Local Marine in media eye in homeland

TCPalm.com By Tyler Treadway features columnist April 13, 2003

A Stuart Marine who joined the corps to show his gratitude to his adopted country has become something of a hero in his native land.

Lance Cpl. Eugenio Caceres emigrated from Venezuela with his family in 1987. After growing up in Stuart and graduating from South Fork High School in 2002, he enlisted in the Marine Corps.

Now the 19-year-old, son of Eugenio and Livia Caceres Sr., is serving in Iraq with the Marines' 2nd Division.

On April 3, he was featured in a "Treasure Coast Troops" story about local service men and women in Operation Iraqi Freedom in the Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers (The Stuart News/Port St. Lucie News and the Fort Pierce/Port St. Lucie Tribune).

Journalists from El Nacional, a nationwide newspaper in Venezuela, saw the story and contacted the Caceres family in Stuart.

"We talked," Livia Caceres said, "and they asked me to (e-mail) them some pictures. I thought they might write a cute little article. I asked my mother in Venezuela to look for it. I told her it would be very small."

The April 4 edition of El Nacional did run a small photo of Eugenio Jr. in his Marine dress blues -- on the front page. And two-thirds of page B10 was taken up with a story and two more photos: one of the entire Caceres family and another of Eugenio Jr. in combat gear.

Stories about the Caceres family also appeared on Venezuelan television and radio.

"People there are very proud that Venezuela is being represented," Livia Caceres said. "They're saying what a brave young man he is to be there. I'm very proud of him, but I'm also very humbled, too."

The mother thinks her son's reaction to the attention he's getting might be very much the same.

"Being a 19-year-old young man," she said, "the son who left me might enjoy the notoriety. But after being there, I don't know exactly who will be coming back. These experiences he's having, they'll change him. He will grow. Gaining a certain notoriety through war and all the suffering that goes on in a war, that might make it a humbling experience for him."

The family last heard from Eugenio Jr. when he phoned from Kuwait on March 17, two days before the invasion of Iraq began.

Red Cross forming support groups

To help ease the pain of family members of men and women serving overseas, Treasure Coast chapters of the American Red Cross are offering to form support groups for families of overseas service men and women.

The Martin County Red Cross will hold a preliminary meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the chapter headquarters, 2715 S. Federal Highway in Stuart.

Anyone interested in joining the group who can't attend Tuesday's meeting can call the chapter office, 287-2002.

The North Treasure Coast chapter is asking people interested in joining a support group to call 461-3950 in St. Lucie County and 562-2549 in Indian River County.

Both chapters will determine the best places, days and times to hold regular meetings based on input they receive.

Tyler Treadway can be reached at 221-4236 or at tyler.treadway@scripps.com via e-mail.