Revere family grieves for son killed in war

N. RODRIGUEZ RAMIREZ

REVERE - Resting his arms on his thighs, his eyes tired from grief, Nelson Rodriguez sat in a relative's home yesterday and recalled how his son had found another purpose in Afghanistan.

Amongst barefoot children he had met in the war, children whose faces lit up when he gave them something as simple as a pen or a snack, Sergeant Nelson Rodriguez Ramirez had his faith in his service renewed, his father said yesterday. "He didn't like war, but it was in his heart to be there and protect those kids."

Saturday, Rodriguez Ramirez was riding in a truck when it struck an improvised explosive device, killing him and three other soldiers.

The 22-year-old father of two, who had been home for his second daughter's birth in January, had plans to visit his family in Revere for his 23d birthday on Aug. 13. His wife, Moraima, and their baby daughter, Kiara, were going to travel from their home in Rochester, N.Y. for the bash.

He would have been home for good in January, when he was going to take steps to join the Coast Guard and study to be a pilot, said his father, who lives in Revere.

"That all fell through when this happened," he said.

Rodriguez Ramirez is among 527 servicemen and women who have been killed in Operation Enduring Freedom, said Lieutenant Colonel Les A. Melnyk.

When he was killed, Rodriguez Ramirez was assigned to the Second Squadron, 101st Cavalry (Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition), New York Army National Guard, based in Geneva, N.Y. He was posthumously promoted to sergeant, said Eric Durr, a spokesman for the New York Army National Guard.

Rodriguez Ramirez and two of the three others who were killed in Saturday's attack - Sergeant Andrew Seabrooks, of South Ozone Park, Queens, N.Y.; and Sergeant Anthony Mangano of Greenlawn, N.Y., were posthumously awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross by Governor David Paterson, Durr said. The fourth soldier killed in the blast in Kandahar City was Lieutenant Colonel James J. Walton, 41, of Rockville, Md.

While he was away, Rodriguez Ramirez called his family every day.

"Even though he was so far away, he was so close to me," said his mother, Diana Ramirez of Chelsea, who said that there were no secrets between her and her second-oldest child and oldest son. "He didn't give me a chance to miss him a lot."

Rodriguez Ramirez was born in Puerto Rico and moved to Boston when he was 8 years old. A few years later, his family settled in Revere, where he attended Revere High School for a few years before dropping out, relatives said.

"He was rebelling, like most teenagers do," said his aunt, Raquel Rodriguez, huddled with family yesterday at her house in Revere.

"But we refused to let him go down the wrong road," she said.

At the urging of his family, Rodriguez Ramirez enrolled at Westover Job Corps in Chicopee and earned his GED. He took a few computer classes in the Boston area, but decided to move to Niagara Falls, N.Y., to be with the woman he loved. That relationship led to the birth of his first daughter, Ariana, now 4 years old.

To make sure she had everything she needed, he enlisted in the Army National Guard in 2003.

His relationship with Ariana's mother soured, but he maintained a close relationship with his daughter, who lives in Niagara Falls, relatives said. In December, he married Moraima, and he was on hand for Kiara's birth before he was deployed in March.

Moraima said in a phone interview yesterday that she found comfort in a quotation a friend e-mailed to her soon after her husband died: "A soldier never dies, he just joins God's army."

"He's always thinking about everybody else before he thinks of himself," said his wife. "He would always send me flowers to make sure I knew he was appreciative of me waiting for him."

Relatives credited Rodriguez Ramirez with keeping the large extended family connected. "Sometimes we don't realize in our busy lives how important it is to be with family, but not him," said his aunt Raquel Rodriguez.

Yesterday, Rodriguez Ramirez's family made arrangements for his military funeral, scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday at Immaculate Conception Church in Revere, followed by burial at Woodlawn Cemetery in Everett.

They shared their favorite stories about him, how he always wanted to play the red Power Ranger as a kid, how he loved to dance salsa, especially the music of Jerry Rivera, and how he could bring a smile to everyone's face.

"Any time you looked down, he would always make you happy," said his brother, Ricardo Rodriguez, 17, of Chelsea.

They wore T-shirts that bore a picture of Rodriguez Ramirez in his uniform with an American flag in the background. The image was inscribed with a Spanish phrase: "You will live forever in our hearts."

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.