Justin Verdejas.
Man I loved that kid.
I wasn't the normal age for an infantry platoon leader at 30. So they were definitely kids to me. And this one...man...he was having a hard time being in his first tour. Sat for a couple hours on my bunk in the "palace" (was literally a palace...but was messed up bc of a 2000lb bomb down the middle) in the green zone talking with him.
We talked about everything. Was having a hard time with the deployment. Kid had no dad. Mom was an illegal. Grew up in random apartments and motels as his mom cleaned motels for a living. Was a good WR out in CA. Bonded on my age and football. Looked to me as a father figure.
I got switched to a different platoon when one of our PLs got hit. So I took over a platoon over in the red zone in Dora...South of Baghdad.
His plt got moved down later. Justin died during a firefight on top of a building. He was a SAW gunner. So...singled out bc of the weapon he was using. Sniper grabbed him. Caught a round between the eyes.
All he ever wanted was to buy his mom a house. To give her a stable place to live. Like to think that happened with his death.
Such a great kid....
Man I loved that kid.
I wasn't the normal age for an infantry platoon leader at 30. So they were definitely kids to me. And this one...man...he was having a hard time being in his first tour. Sat for a couple hours on my bunk in the "palace" (was literally a palace...but was messed up bc of a 2000lb bomb down the middle) in the green zone talking with him.
We talked about everything. Was having a hard time with the deployment. Kid had no dad. Mom was an illegal. Grew up in random apartments and motels as his mom cleaned motels for a living. Was a good WR out in CA. Bonded on my age and football. Looked to me as a father figure.
I got switched to a different platoon when one of our PLs got hit. So I took over a platoon over in the red zone in Dora...South of Baghdad.
His plt got moved down later. Justin died during a firefight on top of a building. He was a SAW gunner. So...singled out bc of the weapon he was using. Sniper grabbed him. Caught a round between the eyes.
All he ever wanted was to buy his mom a house. To give her a stable place to live. Like to think that happened with his death.
Such a great kid....
Army Pfc. Justin A. Verdeja| Military Times
Honoring those who fought and died in Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn
thefallen.militarytimes.com
