Ivan E. Merlo, 19
Army, Private 1st Class
Based: Ft. Campbell, Ky. 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment,
1st Brigade Combat Team, (Air Assault) 101st Airborne Division
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: January 8, 2008
Samarra, Iraq
Married
Gender: Male
Hometown: San Marcos High School: San Marcos High (San Marcos)
Burial: Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego
Army Pfc. Ivan E. Merlo of San Marcos was supposed to come home in two weeks from Iraq.
The 19-year-old was supposed to reunite with his wife, Nicole. He was supposed to serve as the best man at the wedding of his best friend and brother in combat, Pfc. Phillip J. Pannier, 20, of Washburn, Ill.
But Merlo and Pannier died Wednesday while waging an Army offensive targeting insurgents north of Baghdad.
Also killed during the battle in the city of Samarra was Sgt. David J. Hart, 22, of Lake View Terrace. The three soldiers belonged to A Company, 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Fort Campbell, Ky.
Merlo and Pannier “would do anything for each other. I will never forget those two boys together,” Jennifer Marie Held, Pannier's fiancee, said yesterday in an e-mail from her home in Metamora, Ill. “I intend on keeping contact with Nicole for the rest of my life because we need each other.”
The Merlos were present at the dinner when Pannier proposed to Held. The two couples spent time together on many occasions.
“Ivan was a great, great person and always helped me through everything,” Held said.
At the Merlo family home in San Marcos, Diego Merlo said he'll miss his older brother's magnetic personality. He also expressed admiration for the way his brother aspired to achieve greater things in life.
Ivan Merlo graduated from San Marcos High School in 2006. He joined the Army that October and arrived at Fort Campbell four months later. His awards and decorations include the National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and Army Service Ribbon.
“He was one those people you knew was good from the moment you met him. . . . He never got into trouble. He didn't run the streets. He got good grades,” Diego Merlo said. “He was just the kind of person that other people would go to and ask for advice. The guy had a lot of friends and stayed in touch with them.”
The brothers last talked to each other on Dec. 12, the day Diego Merlo turned 16. During the brief conversation, the elder brother imparted some advice.
“He said to be strong and said he soon would see me, and I told him to stay safe,” Diego Merlo said. “I'll always remember how he was always smiling, always funny.”
Merlo also is survived by his parents, Tony Merlo and Joanna Villegas.
Read the entire San Diego Union Tribune article about Army Private 1st Class Ivan E. Merlo here; find more here, and here. Visit Private Merlo's Guest Book here.
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