Perhaps some day the sun will shine again,
And I shall see that still the skies are blue,
And feel once more I do not live in vain,
Although bereft of You.
Perhaps the golden meadows at my feet
Will make the sunny hours of spring seem gay,
And I shall find the white May-blossoms sweet,
Though You have passed away.
Perhaps the summer woods will shimmer bright,
And crimson roses once again be fair,
And autumn harvest fields a rich delight,
Although You are not there.
But though kind Time may many joys renew,
There is one greatest joy I shall not know
Again, because my heart for loss of You
Was broken, long ago.
Sgt. Palomarez died May 9 in Kapisa Province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when his patrol encountered an improvised explosive device and came under small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.
Last week, Sgt. Palomarez borrowed a cell phone so he could call his mother and wish her a happy Mother’s Day; on Mother‘s Day, she mourned him.
On Sunday, Mother’s Day, Elma Palomarez used the strength she gained as a parent to cope with the death of her youngest son.
(snip)
"If you’re a mother you have to be strong," said Elma, who sat next to a flowering garden at her west Loveland home. "The strength just comes from the experience, from what you have to do."
(snip)
"Freedom doesn’t come free. He knew he was there for a purpose," said his father, Candido Palomarez.
"He was one of those that paid the price, and I think he did it proudly."
Among the tears, laughter could occasionally be heard in the home when Elma, Candido and their eldest son reflected on the family’s "baby."
(snip)
Among his passions were football, skiing and hockey — but most of all Isaac loved to read.
And military history was his specialty.
"Isaac would answer any military history question you might have had," Elma said with a smile.
She and her husband credited this keen interest as part of Isaac’s motivation to join the Army.
In school, Isaac was an honor roll student at Immanuel Lutheran School and Loveland High School.
Following graduation, he attended Colorado State University for a year and a half. But later he had a change of interest and in 2004 signed with the Army.
(snip)
Isaac was deployed to Iraq in 2005 and returned to the States a year later.
When time came for him to leave for Afghanistan in March, Isaac’s parents said they weren’t too worried for his safety.
"He was never afraid, he was ready to go," Elma said.
(snip)
Elma remembers the last time she spoke with her son.
Isaac had borrowed a cell phone for a quick call home, and was only able to get in a few minutes of conversation.
"He said hi and what’s happening right now," she said. "And then he said ‘If I don’t get to talk to you again, happy Mother’s Day.’"
Elma was backing out of her driveway Thursday when she saw a uniformed figure in the rearview mirror. The soldier came to her window.
"Immediately I knew what had happened," she said, letting a few tears escape.
(snip)
Along with the family, Loveland is grieving the loss of one of its own.
Tim Aho, Isaac’s fifth grade teacher, said he remembered the soldier more as an honorable man than an honor roll student.
(snip)
"He truly is an honor to his family and his country and to anyone who knew him."
(snip)
Isaac’s body is in Maryland and is expected to arrive in Loveland by Thursday.
While the impact of what’s really happened is still settling in, his parents said right now they’re happy for the 26 wonderful years they had with their son.
"We were blessed to have him in the first place," Candido said.
Isaac was the youngest of Elma and Candido Palomarez's four sons.
Nine years after the birth of her third son they decided to have one more child. "I wanted the girl," Elma said with a smile.
(snip)
One of Isaac's passions was Colorado Avalanche hockey. His private e-mail address was "avs2001," commemorating their last Stanley Cup championship, his father said.
"One of the last e-mails we got from him mentioned his disappointment in the Avs' season," Candido Palomarez said. The injury-riddled Avalanche were swept by the rival Detroit Red Wings in the second round of this year's Stanley Cup playoffs.
Isaac also loved skiing and planned to return to Colorado after completing his second three-year enlistment, his parents said.
(snip)
He wasn’t married. "That’s the one good thing — he didn’t leave a wife or children," Elma said.
(snip)
His mother said Isaac never complained about drawing combat duty a second time.
"He was actually looking forward to it," she said. "He was doing his job willingly."
Sgt. Palomarez had played on a state champion high school football team.
Sgt. Isaac Palomarez of Loveland, an offensive lineman with a state champion high school football team and a walking encyclopedia of the history he loved to read, died in Afghanistan on Friday when his patrol was attacked.
(snip)
Palomarez had been in Afghanistan since March, said his father, Candido Palomarez Jr. His son, an avid skier in Colorado, sent periodic e-mails describing his surroundings.
"He said, too bad there's a war going on, this is a beautiful country. If it wasn't for the war, it would be a nice place to visit," Candido Palomarez said Saturday.
(snip)
Isaac graduated from Loveland High School in 2001 and went to Colorado State University for a few years, his father said. He was more interested in having a good time than in rigorous study, his father said. His main devotion at the time was to the Colorado Avalanche hockey team, and he and friends joined a roller hockey league.
(snip)
Joining the military was not the family's first choice for Isaac, but they had "endorsed" the decision.
Sgt. Palomarez’s promotion to Sgt was announced April 30th in Army Times.
Sgt. Palomarez is survived by his parents, his three older brothers, Candido III of Minnesota, and Omar and Rene, both of Texas, and many nieces and nephews.
Funeral arrangements for Sgt. Palomarez have not yet been set. His parents are members of St. John’s Catholic Church in Loveland.
Thank you, Sgt. Palomarez. Your mission is done.
Spc. Mary J. Jaenichen, 20, of Temecula, California
Spc. Jaenichen died May 9 in Iskandariyah, Iraq, of a non-combat related injury. She was assigned to the Brigade Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.
Spc. Jaenichen joined the Army Reserve when she was just 17 years old.
Mary Jaenichen made the decision to join the U.S. Army early in life.
The 2006 graduate of El Camino High School in Oceanside was part of that school's ROTC program for several years and had joined the Army Reserve prior to graduating.
Jaenichen, 20, an Army specialist who spent time in Temecula with her mother before going on active duty in June of 2007, died May 9 in Iskandariyah, Iraq, of a non-combat related injury, according to a Department of Defense press release.
(snip)
Mary Jaenichen . . . served in Iraq as a military police officer, said Kevin Larson, a spokesman for Fort Stewart.
"Joining the Army was her decision," said Mini Jaenichen. "Her father just retired from the Marine Corps. They used to tease each other a lot about that."
(snip)
Mary Jaenichen had moved to Temecula to be with her mother Julieta, but spent little time here, Mini Jaenichen said.
"She mostly used the address in Temecula for mail while she was away at training," Mini Jaenichen said.
(snip)
"Mary was very cheerful," Mini Jaenichen said. "She always put everybody first. She was a beautiful little girl both on the outside and on the inside."
The soldier surprised her family in March when she arrived home on leave.
"She was so grown up," Mini Jaenichen said. "She said after being in the military herself she finally really understood her father."
After a year in Iraq, Spc. Jaenichen was scheduled to come home this summer.
She had served in Iraq for nearly a year, and was due to come home within a few months, said Alfred Jaenichen, a retired Marine Corps master sergeant who was based at Camp Pendleton.
Jaenichen's wife, Mini Jaenichen, said her stepdaughter always thought of others before herself.
She said Mary surprised them with a visit during a leave last March.
"I'm very grateful we got to see her," said Mini Jaenichen, of Santa Ana.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today released the following statement regarding the death of Spc. Jaenichen:
"Maria and I were deeply saddened to learn of the loss of Specialist Mary Jaenichen. She devoted her life to serving our country with courage, pride and honor. Our thoughts and prayers are with Mary's family and friends as they mourn the passing of this brave and dedicated patriot."
In honor of Spc. Jaenichen, Capitol flags will be flown at half-staff.
More than 100 people gathered outside the Polartec Mill (yesterday) to honor Sergeant Alex Jimenez of Lawrence and Private Byron W. Fouty of Waterford, Mich., in an hourlong ceremony that included hymns, prayers, and a Black Hawk helicopter flyover.
"In my heart and in my head, I know I will see him again," Jimenez's father, Ramon "Andy" Jimenez, told the crowd.
The soldiers, who are in the 10th Mountain Division based at Fort Drum, N.Y., were part of a patrol looking for insurgents planting roadside bombs when they were hit by automatic weapons fire and explosives. Four men and an Iraqi translator were killed in the attack and the body of a fifth was found later.
Military officials announced in June that US troops had discovered Jimenez and Fouty's ID cards in an empty house about 75 miles north of the site of the ambush. They remain classified as "missing-captured" by the military.
To date, 4075 members of the United States military have lost their lives in Iraq. The death toll for May is already 10. The Department of Defense Press Releases, from which the information at the start of each entry in this diary was drawn, can be seen here. The death toll among Iraqis is unknown, but is at least 100,000. and perhaps many times that number.
To date, 500 members of the United States military have lost their lives in Afghanistan. The death toll thus far for 2008 is 25. 309 members of the military from other countries have also lost their lives.
Other sites have stories, video, pictures and remembrances, including: Honor the Fallen.
Helping Out
If you want to do something to assist our military and their families, please visit anysoldier.com or Fisher House. If you have frequent flyer miles you would like to donate to hospitalized veterans or their families, please see Fisher House’s Hero Miles program. Finally, if you would like to assist the animal companions of our deployed military, information is available here.
And don’t forget them when they get home! Read welcomebackveterans.org to learn what you can do.
About the Series
I Got the News Today is a diary series intended to honor, respect and remind. Click here to see the series, which was begun by i dunno, and is currently maintained by Sandy on Signal, monkeybiz, MsWings, greenies, blue jersey mom, twilight falling, labwitchy, moneysmith, joyful, roses, SisTwo, SpamNunn, a girl in MI and me, noweasels. These diaries are heartbreaking to write, but, we believe, an important service to those Americans who have died, and to our community’s respect for and remembrance of them. If you would like to volunteer, even once a month, please contact Sandy on Signal,monkeybiz, or me, noweasels.
Please, no politics.
As you read this diary, please consider that the families and friends of those profiled here also may read it and that many members of our community have served in Iraq or Afghanistan or have loved ones currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. As the very proud daughter of a Navy pilot, and the granddaughter of a Marine pilot and a submariner, I hope that the comments tonight will demonstrate our respect for the sacrifices of our fallen military and our compassion for their families; please reserve your political comments for appropriate diaries.
