Mary Ellen Cortellini is still busily moving into her new place in Shelton, Conn. Before moving across the country, however, the wife of a Navy captain had been living at Fort Rosecrans at Naval Base Point Loma.
Despite the cross-country move and her Navy loyalties, Cortellini appears forever linked to Fort Rosecrans and a handful of fallen American soldiers who also once called Point Loma home. Hers is a story of compassion and military kinship that crosses service lines ” a drive that led to a local monument that now stands in silent tribute.
During her time at Fort Rosecrans, Cortellini was intrigued by the beautiful housing area in which she lived.
“I did some historical research and found out the houses were built by an Army unit 100 years ago,” said Cortellini, who became a resident expert on the area’s history. She discovered that Fort Rosecrans was not only a Navy base but that it had once been home to Army units.
The history of Fort Rosecrans extends to 1899, when the former Army post was named after Maj. Gen. William Starke Rosecrans.
“The intertwined relationship of the Navy and the Army is very interesting,” said Drew Schunk, regional vice president of Lincoln Military Housing.
Until recently, the 710th Ordnance Company’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit had its headquarters in the old bakery building of the former Fort Rosecrans. The 710th left Point Loma in the fall of 2001 to support Operation Enduring Freedom. Three of the soldiers would pay the ultimate price.
Cortellini, who through her research befriended the group of Army people, heard about the loss of their three comrades.
“I made them a promise that their friends wouldn’t be forgotten,” Cortellini said.
Together with her Army friends, she designed a memorial plaque that is now located within Lincoln Military Housing at The Village, directly across from Fleet Anti-Submarine Warfare Base on Harbor Drive.
“The right side of the plaque with the boots and the rifles is based on the coin the Army made in memorial of the soldiers,” Cortellini said. “The text on the left side is from my historical research. In the middle is the EOD logo.”
The plaque bears the names of the soldiers killed in action in Afghanistan on Aug. 15, 2002: Staff Sgt. Justin J. Galewski, Staff Sgt. Brian T. Craig and Sgt. Jamie O. Maugans.
Before the unveiling of the monument in April, the last soldiers of the 710th in Point Loma were relocated to Fort Lewis, Wash.
“It was destiny that we were put together ” a Navy wife and Army soldiers,” Cortellini said. “Now that the plaque is there we really pay tribute to the Army soldiers. We left a legacy.”
Lincoln Military Housing funded the monument’s costs of a couple thousand dollars. “We will take care of it and make sure that it looks nice,” Schunk said.
“Mary Ellen became the Navy den mother for the Army. She approached me with the story about the fallen Army soldiers and that she wanted to dedicate something where family members could go to remember their loved ones. I couldn’t say no.”
The memorial, surrounded by white, purple and red flowers with a bench, a barbecue and a basketball court, is open to the public and inviting to the community.
“It is on a beautiful spot,” Cortellini said. “I know that people needed this place to pay respect to our soldiers.”