Two Clashing Symbols

Each in his own way vividly symbolized the two contrasting views of the State of the Union. President Reagan led a standing ovation for the heroism in Grenada of Sergeant Stephen Trujillo, an Army Ranger from Denver, "who reminds us what it means to be Americans." Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis, moderator of the Democratic response to Reagan, cited the death in Beirut of Marine Corporal Edward Gargano from Quincy, Mass., as tragic proof that the Administration's Lebanon policy is wrongheaded.

Trujillo will soon get a silver star from the Army for repeatedly rushing into the flaming wreckage of three U.S. helicopters that had crashed during the Grenada invasion (one, hit by ground fire, had smashed into the other two). A medic, he ignored enemy shooting and the possibility of imminent explosions of the chopper fuel tanks to pull at least three comrades to safety.

Trujillo, 23, studied at the University of Colorado for two years before joining the Army in December 1979. After the invasion, according to his father, Trujillo called to say that he had "done some pretty good things in Grenada." His parents did not learn the extent of his heroism until they heard Reagan on TV. The sergeant was sensitive to charges that he had been used for political purposes: "I was incredibly embarrassed. I felt very unworthy. You can say I was used. But the President was in no way jeopardizing my integrity." As for war and this combat he saw in Grenada, he said, "It's terrible. It's horrible. It's pointless."

Gargano had dropped out of Quincy High School at 17 to join the Marines. After a three-year hitch, he returned home early last year. He did not actively seek a job. "He was restless," says his mother Mary Gargano. "He wanted to get back in the Marines within 90 days so he wouldn't lose his rank." Gargano, then 21, re-enlisted last June. He took part in the Grenada invasion, then was sent to Lebanon. He had been there less than two months when he landed in a helicopter near the temporary U.S. embassy in Beirut. Gunmen, waiting in ambush, opened fire and killed him.

"I blame the whole system for letting that happen," says Mary Gargano. "There was no protection, no cover. What else could you call them but sitting ducks?" Eddie would write home and say, "Don't worry, Mom, I'm O.K." Said she last week: "He was wrong."