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12 Filipinos die in Iraq, Afghanistan
Rita Gerona Adkins, Nov 03, 2004
 ARLINGTON, VA — By the time bells toll for the military dead on November 11, Veterans Day, there are, as of this writing, 12 Filipino American military casualties who had died in the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.
They are among the 1,100 U.S. military men and women who have lost their lives in battle or in areas of danger.
The most recent one, Spc. Kyle Fernandez of Pearl City, HI., a 26-year-old father of two young children, lost his life on October 14 when a remote-controlled homemade bomb detonated under a Humvee, killing him and another soldier, and wounding three others, during a military operation in the Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan.
He enlisted in the Army three years ago, and left his wife, Celeste, and their children in August when he was assigned to Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion of the 25th Infantry Division.
Another more recent casualty is Capt. Dennis I. Pintor, 30, of Lima, Ohio The 1998 West Point graduate was killed October 12 when an improvised explosive went off on the roadside while he was riding in a lead vehicle of convoy in Baghdad. The highest-ranking Filipino American casualty, Pintor was stationed in Iraq since March with the 20th Engineer Battalion B from Fort Hood, Texas.
He left a wife, Stacy, their four-year old daughter Rhea, and his bereaved parents Albert and Ellen Pintor.
Sgt. 1st Class Joselito O. Villanueva, 36, of Van Nuys, CA, was killed in an ambush September 27 when a sniper’s bullet wounded him fatally while in his convoy vehicle doing a routine patrol in Balad, Iraq.
Earlier in April, he was nearly killed by shrapnel that pierced his neck when a bomb was detonated near his Humvee.
He was born in the Philippines, joined the Army in 1986 and was assigned to the 9th Engineer Battalion, 1st Infantry Division in Schweinfurt, Germany.
Another most recent casualty from the Filipino American population is Army Spc. Edgar P. Daclan, Jr., of Long Beach, Calif.
Only 24, the Army combat medic was killed September 10 when a hidden explosive device detonated near his unit in the central Iraqi city of Balad, north of Baghdad.
A member of an immigrant family that eventually settled in a Los Angeles suburb, Daclan was two semesters short of finishing his electrical engineering degree when he opted to join the war in Iraq.
His family is still grappling with awe what great motivation had triggered his putting his life and limb – his life as it turned out – where danger was. He was scheduled to go on leave September 25.
These four soldiers will be among those who will be remembered and honored at a two-day Veterans’ Day activities organized by the American Coalition for Filipino Veterans and other community-based organizations.
Filipino World War II veterans and members of the local Filipino American community will gather on Thursday, November 11 at the Arlington National Cemetery and pay respects by visiting the gravesites of fallen Filipino American soldiers who fought in WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq.
Prayers will be led by a local pastor at the grave site of U.S. Army Ranger Sgt. Niño Livaudais, located at Section 60 No. 7863 of the national cemetery.
Divina Du Livaudais, mother of the slain soldier, be attending the ceremonies, along with family members of Spc. Daclan Jr. and Rel Ravago, father of U.S. Army Spc. Rel Ravago.
At noon, the V-Day group will be guests of a luncheon hosted by community members at the Mrs. Philippines Home in Oxon Hill, Maryland.
At mid-afternoon, they will visit the National Museum of American History exhibit, “Price of Freedom: Americans at War” at the Smithsonian.
On Friday, November 12, a dinner will be held by the Veterans of Foreign War at the US Navy Yard Conference Center CPO Club, with Ador Carreon, Post Commander of VFW District 5471 [which combines theVicente Lim and Gen. Douglas MacArthur posts] as the organizer.
The post has about 149 members, 80 percent of which is Filipino American.
The sentiment of the occasion honoring the memory of the fallen military heroes, as expressed in last year’s V-Day observance by the tribute of Livaudais to her son, still rings with relevancy in this year’s event – the powerful sense of duty and sacrifice.
“Niño fought and died on April 3, 2003 to save his brothers and to defend our freedoms that we enjoy today….He fulfilled that commitment to his brother Rangers. Nino once told me, ‘I would rather die for my men, than they for me.’ And so he did. “As a mother, it is my consolation that my son died for a noble cause.”
Iris Daclan, Edgar Daclan’s sister who was a Navy veteran herself, having trained with the Marines as a field medical corpsman (also a medic), told Philippine News about her brother:
“My family and I are very proud of Edgar’s sacrifice – to give one’s life for others is the ultimate sacrifice. For now, I can only speak for myself, but I still grieve for his sudden departure. Edgar was my only brother, and to see him go so soon is very painful, especially, the fact that he died so tragically,” she said.
“It does not matter how I or my family for that matter stand regarding the war in Iraq; what’s most important is that Edgar joined the Army to save lives.
He was a combat medic in charge of 35 soldiers. My brother took care of the troops to the best of his abilities. In fact, we met a soldier he saved. Edgar would come back from 16 hours mission and would stay up all night to tend to him. Yes, he was that dedicated to ensuring he would survive his injuries. Edgar will always be my hero.”
“After his death, his superior officer called in from Iraq and informed us that Edgar was a ‘very special solder’. He stated that he never saw fear in Edgar. He was very courageous, and he knew his duties,” Daclan recalled.
She said Edgar wrote to one of his friends that their situation in Iraq was similar to the movie ‘Black Hawk Down’.
It’s difficult to distinguish the civilians from the enemies, he was quoted as saying.
“I miss his smile and his laughter…”
The observance of Veterans’ Day started with the proclamation of “Armistice Day” in a concurrent resolution by Congress on June 4, 1925, as an official recognition of the end of the first modern global conflict, World War I.
Later, after World War II, the Korean and Vietnam wars, the occasion was changed to “Veterans’ Day” to be observed as a national holiday on November 11 to honor the memory of all U.S. military who died in foreign wars, including those in Afghanistan and Iraq.
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