FRIENDS, FAMILY BID FAREWELL TO SOLDIER WHO DIED IN IRAQ.

Byline: JUDY O'ROURKE

Staff Writer

GLENDALE -- More than 200 mourners, many in military uniforms, bade farewell Thursday to a young Sylmar man they knew as a singer, a jokester, a confidant and, in the end, a soldier in Iraq.

Many jammed into a small chapel to pay their respects to Army National Guard Spc. Dennis Sellen Jr., 20, who died in Iraq on Feb.11 in an apparent accident.

His sister Vanessa, supported by her three siblings, eulogized Sellen. His mother, Silvia Sellen Jara, sang a spiritual ballad in his memory.

"I could talk to him about anything; he could always make me laugh," said his 22-year-old sister, Vanessa, choking back tears. Recalling her brother's charisma, she added, "I could introduce him to any of my friends, and he would instantly click with them -- especially the ladies."

Sellen Jara consoled the mourners, urging them not to cry because "Dennis is in heaven." Her graceful air impressed the cadre of hardened military officers who sat before her.

"Her will and her beliefs are as strong as I have ever seen, unfortunately, for all the funerals we've had to attend," said Command Sgt. Maj. Harold London of the 40th Infantry Division.

Brig. Gen. John Harell said the soldiers in Sellen's group had been removing ammunition from their weapons after returning to the base from a patrol mission when the accidental shooting occurred.

"One of his buddies in the same group had an accidental discharge," he said. He called Sellen a superior soldier. An investigation is ongoing, and it is not yet known whether the soldier, whose name was not released, will be disciplined.

Sellen's uncle, retired Army Lt. Col. William Sellen, asked the crowd to find forgiveness for the young man who accidentally took his nephew's life.

Sellen was deployed to Iraq in September, assigned to the 185th Infantry Regiment, Fresno. He died in Umm Qasr, Iraq. About 13,000 Army National Guard soldiers have been deployed worldwide since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001; about 22 have died.

Staff Sgt. Jose Aguilar, Sellen's squad leader, stood by the grave.

"He was a good soldier," Aguilar said. "He had a great personality, a great sense of humor."

Sellen and his childhood buddies from Arat Street in Sylmar still kept in touch. Jason Buchanan, 21, said: "He shines all the time. Everywhere he goes, he just makes everybody laugh."

Vernon Barnwell, one of Sellen's brothers-in-law, summed it up: "Everybody loved him. He's going to be greatly missed. There's nothing he wouldn't do to help somebody."

Sellen attended College of the Canyons for one semester as a part-time student in spring 2006. His death was the first military casualty to strike Santa Clarita since three young soldiers were killed in 2004.

judy.orourke(at)dailynews.com

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CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1) Sylvia Sellen Jara places a flower on the coffin of her son, Army Spc. Dennis Sellen, during his funeral Thursday at Forest Lawn Memorial-Park in Glendale. He was in the Army National Guard and died in an apparent accident in Iraq.

(2 -- ran in Valley edition only) An Army rifle team salutes Army Spc. Dennis Sellen during services Thursday afternoon at Forest Lawn Memorial-Park in Glendale.

(3 -- ran in SAC edition only) Sylvia Sellen Jara receives the American flag that draped the coffin of her son, Dennis Sellen, on Thursday at Forest Lawn Memorial-Park in Glendale. Sellen died Feb. 11 in Iraq of noncombat-related injuries.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer