Based: Ft. Bragg, N.C.
3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group
Supporting: Operation Enduring Freedom
Died: February 28, 2006
Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan
Married, 3 children
Gender: Male
Hometown: Pico Rivera
High School: El Rancho High (Pico Rivera)
Burial: Rose Hills Memorial Park, Whittier
Colleagues remember Emigdio E. Elizarraras, a former baseball player at El Rancho High School in Pico Rivera and an Army soldier, as a good-spirited team player.
"He was very well-liked throughout our company and within the battalion," Army Master Sgt. Vince Sepulveda of South Pasadena wrote in an e-mail from Afghanistan. "I am truly grateful to have known him, been his friend and served with him in the Special Forces."
Sepulveda last saw his friend Feb. 28, when a roadside bomb exploded near Elizarraras' Humvee during a reconnaissance mission in Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan, southwest of Kabul. The bomb killed Elizarraras, 37, who served as a Special Forces master sergeant assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group at Ft. Bragg, N.C.
"I really can't remember too much of that day, but I do remember looking into his eyes," Sepulveda wrote, "and [I] knew that he was proud to serve his country and help the people of Afghanistan."
Elizarraras, whose friends called him "EZ," served in the Army for 19 years. "EZ always put his friends first and was a true inspiration for the younger soldiers to follow," Sepulveda wrote.
The family could not be reached for interviews, but in a statement posted on the Army's Special Operations Command news website, they thanked the public for its support. "The Elizarraras family would like to thank friends and members of the Special Operations community for their sincere expressions of sympathy during this very difficult time," the family's posting read. "Your support is appreciated as we mourn the loss of Emigdio, who was a loving husband, a devoted father, a caring son and a selfless soldier."
Read the entire LA Times article about Army Master Sergeant Emigdio E. Elizarraras here, find more at Special Forces, Military Times, and Iraq War Heroes.
Remembrances of Sergeant Elizarraras can be found at Fallen Heroes.
No comments:
Post a Comment