Palmer man killed in Iraq

Sept. 13, 2005

CASEY RESSLER\Valley Life editor

PALMER - At 8:30 a.m. Sunday, Angela Berberich saw two men dressed in green military uniforms stride up her walkway, a sight thousands of parents with children stationed in Iraq never want to see. For the first time since the war in Iraq began, tragedy struck the Mat-Su Valley community.

The men were there to inform her that U.S. Army Sgt. Kurtis Arcala - her 22-year-old son - was killed in action Saturday, while serving his country, on a convoy near Balad, Iraq. A roadside bomb destroyed the Humvee in which he was riding, killing Arcala and his dream of becoming a teacher and mentor to young students, and the hope of his proud parents, Angela and John Berberich, to hug their son once again.

"I always thought they wore dress blues, like in the movies, so it didn't really sink in, because I had just woke up," his mother said. "I was going to crawl back into bed, and I thought that I should send Kurtis an e-mail to see if he was OK. Then I noticed a Palmer police officer with a radio in her hand looking at my vehicle, and I knew what was going on."

Because Berberich had been painting the house all summer, she forgot to put the house numbers back up. After her address was confirmed through her vehicle's license plate, the men knocked on the door and delivered the heart-rending news that has been delivered to four other Alaska families and hundreds of other families throughout the country.

Arcala was part of a convoy heading from Kuwait to Iraq when the roadside bomb detonated near Balad, Iraq, a city hit hard by insurgents. He is the fifth Alaskan to die in Iraq, and the first from the Mat-Su area.

A 2001 graduate of Palmer High School, Arcala was remembered by his basketball coach, Brandon Blake, as "a really special kid."

"He was a natural-born leader, and was unselfish on and off the court," Blake said. "This is really hard to imagine happening right now."

Arcala's father, John Berberich, and brother, Jason, were hunting about 50 miles from Eureka when Angela Berberich heard the devastating news. A family friend had a pilot fly over the campsite and drop a bottle that instructed them to call home due to a family emergency.

"John said he cried, screamed, swore and yelled the whole way home," Berberich said. "Jason has taken it really hard. His older brother was his hero, someone he really looked up to."

Arcala, who wanted to go to college on the GI Bill following his stint in the military, wanted to become a teacher, Blake said.

"He had aspirations to be a teacher and a coach, and I guarantee you he would have been a great one," Blake said. "He was the kind of kid that could do anything he wanted in life."

Blake said an example of Arcala's character took place just last month. He was scheduled for his two weeks of leave time, but instead, gave those two weeks to another member of his unit, who was lower in rank, simply because his fellow soldier had a wife and kids back in the states who needed to see him.

"He gave up that R&R time because he knew what it would mean to that family," Blake said. "He had an infectious smile that could just light up a room."

Arcala's mother said she last talked to her son on the phone right before the Alaska State Fair, about three weeks ago, and he told her he had just re-enlisted in the U.S. Army for another four years. He had already served one tour of duty in Iraq and was into his second when he was killed in action.

"I can't even remember what we talked about the last time we talked, I'm still kind of in a state of shock," Berberich said. "He called four or five days ago and left a message on the answering machine. I usually save his messages for a day or two to let everyone in the family hear it, and then erase it. For some reason, I didn't erase this one. I want to keep that. That's the last time I'll hear his voice."

Berberich said her family has received a lot of support during the last three days from friends and family members. She said it all hasn't started sinking in quite yet that their son and brother is gone.

"Pastor Lee married me and John 10 years ago, and Kurtis was our best man," she said. "He came over today and said that everyone grieves in their own way.

"I didn't cry when I heard the bad news. I didn't know what to do," she said. "I cleaned the house until 3 o'clock this morning [Monday], and then I cried and cried. I finally went to bed at 4 o'clock and was back up at seven. I was in shock, and I still kind of am. I only slept three hours, and I'm one of those people who needs nine hours of sleep."

Arcala is survived by his parents, Angela and John Berberich; brother, Jason, and sisters, Kaitlin and Aurora. Angela Berberich said she isn't sure about when a service will be held for her son.

"You know, Kurtis and I never really talked about that," she said. "He had to fill out a will with the Army, and we'll see. Everything is kind of up in the air right now. Right now, I have no idea. I can't even describe what we are feeling right now."

Contact Casey Ressler at 352-2284 or valleylife@frontiersman.

com.