Brockton family mourns slain soldier
Captain killed in Iraq was awaiting first child
BROCKTON -- Family members gathered to pray yesterday afternoon in the living room of a gray-shingled duplex, mourning the death of Anthony Palermo Jr., a 26-year-old Army captain who was killed Friday in Iraq.
Palermo, who grew up in Brockton playing war games and GI Joe with his cousins, had dreamed of becoming a soldier since he was 7 years old. He was a mischievous child who was drawn to the discipline of the military, family members said.
"He just had this immense pride in the country," said Meredith Griffin, one of Palermo's 16 cousins. "He saw [a soldier] as someone who's brave and fearless and fights for what they believe in."
A Department of Defense spokeswoman said she could not confirm Palermo's death, but the family said they had been notified of his death.
Palermo was preparing for a two-week leave so he could witness the birth of his son in Germany. His wife, Kristen Pine, also an Army captain, is stationed at a base there.
The baby is due April 30, and the couple had already named him Marcus Anthony . His new son was all Palermo could talk about recently, said family members who communicated with him via e-mail, instant messaging, and 2 a.m. phone calls.
Palermo, who was serving his second tour of duty in Iraq, and two of his soldiers were killed early Friday in Iraq when their Humvee drove over an improvised explosive device, family members said.
In phone calls to his mother, he would beg her not to worry and urge her to be strong, assuring her that he would be fine, said Griffin, 29, of Raynham.
"He would tell her that he was fighting for freedom, and it was really hard for her to understand," Griffin said during an interview at Palermo's boyhood home on Hillberg Avenue yesterday. "All he wanted to do was to bring all his soldiers home safely. He worried more for them and their families."
Palermo's mother, Maria Melendez , was too upset to talk yesterday. After learning of his death Friday, she felt compelled to clean the house, preparing for her son even though he will never return, family members said.
Several years ago, Palermo had persuaded his mother to learn how to use a computer and set up a webcam for them to stay in contact. Melendez composed several e-mails to him in the past two days, and asked her husband repeatedly why she had not heard back from "Mimo," Palermo's nickname.
Palermo, the eldest of three, was born in Puerto Rico and raised in Brockton by his mother and stepfather. He attended Brockton High, where he was a member of the Army JROTC, and he earned a full scholarship to Norwich University in Vermont, where he majored in criminal justice. He graduated from Bridgewater State College in 2003.
His stepfather, Johnny Melendez Sr., remembered visiting Palermo in college and watching him run uphill with a block of marble in his backpack to stay in military shape.
Palermo met Pine when both were students at Norwich. His family initially thought he was crazy when he proposed marriage two months later, Griffin said. They have been married four years.
Palermo was supposed to return home from Iraq in November. His parents plan to move to Florida, where his wife grew up, so the two families can be closer to help raise the baby. Palermo and his wife were trying to get stationed in Fort Benning, Ga.
Yesterday, a framed photo of the couple on a Caribbean cruise sat alongside candles and flowers on Palermo's parents' dining table as a memorial to the soldier. A package of Sour Patch Kids candy, Palermo's favorite, lay next to the photo.
Palermo used to torture his younger half-brother by putting the sour candy in his mouth and holding him down to the ground, forbidding him from chewing it, said Johnny Melendez Jr., 15, who adored the attention.
Melendez said his brother's influence compelled him to join JROTC at Brockton High, where he is a sophomore.
"He pushes me. He motivates me," Melendez said. "I wanted to enlist right after high school but he told me to go to college."
Melendez said that he, too, wants to be a military officer someday.
"Look, he's 15," said Griffin, motioning to the teenager hunched at the bottom of the stairs with his head in his arms. "He just lost his brother. And he still wants to go and fight for us." 