Federico G. Borjas, Army Reserve, Sergeant -- Rest In Peace

Federico G. Borjas, 33

Army Reserve, Sergeant
Based: San Diego
416th Civil Affairs Battalion, 351st Civil Affairs Command
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: October 16, 2008
Bermel District Center, Afghanistan
Single, 1 child
Gender: Male
Hometown: San Diego
Burial: Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego

Shortly after Army Reserve Sgt. Federico G. Borjas arrived in Afghanistan in late September, he called his father to tell him what he saw.

"He said, 'This place is just like back home,' " said Raimundo "Mundo" Borjas, his older brother. " 'This is the same moon; these are the same stars.' "

Federico Borjas, a 33-year-old San Diego police officer, had always dreamed of serving his country overseas. Last year -- a decade after he completed a stint in the Marines -- he volunteered for the Army Reserve, in part hoping to reach that goal.


His police colleagues said he also had another motivation: to honor his cousin, Army National Guard Spc. Eric U. Ramirez, 31, of San Diego, who was killed in an attack in Iraq in early 2004.

*******

Just weeks after Borjas deployed to the Middle East with the San Diego-based 416th Civil Affairs Battalion, 351st Civil Affairs Command, a gunman ambushed his convoy. He died Oct. 16 in Bermel District Center in Afghanistan's Paktia province, south of Kabul.

Raimundo Borjas said his brother, known as Rico to family and friends, was a thoughtful man with a big smile and a soft spot for his 11-year-old daughter, Yvette.

His brother had an easy way about him, Raimundo Borjas said, but spent his life looking for challenges.

"He always wanted to excel," he said.

The brothers acquired their discipline as children growing up in a small town outside Orlando, Fla. They lived in a house next to the orange grove where their parents worked. "It was backwoods," Raimundo Borjas recalled. "It was the boonies."

There were few Latinos in town, and the family faced discrimination, he said.

"They just kind of pushed us to the side," he said of their neighbors. "We grew up pretty rough."

Their father, who also was a Baptist pastor, pressed his children to work hard. He told them they should never do anything halfway.

"We'd go to school, come home, do our homework and then go out and help our family in the fields," Raimundo Borjas said.

Federico Borjas followed him into the Marines, joining at age 18.

Read the entire LA Times article here and read more about Army Reserve Sergeant Federico G. Borjas here.