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Name: Army Spc. Calvin M. Pereda
Age: 22
From: Fayetteville, NC
Assigned to 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Wainwright, Alaska
Incident: Army Spc. Calvin M. Pereda died on Saturday in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of injuries after encountering an improvised explosive device while on dismounted patrol, according to a U.S. Department of Defense press release. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, from Fort Wainwright, Ala.
Gov. Eddie Calvo yesterday proclaimed Guam to be in a state of mourning to honor the fallen Guam son. Flags will be flown at half-staff until the soldier is interred.
"He gave everything in his heart for everyone in his home," Calvo said. "Let us give, in perpetuity, all thanks, praise and prayers to this hero, this son of Guam."
Clifford Pereda and his mother, Rosario Evangelista Pereda, recently were in Dover, Del. for a "dignified transfer." Clifford Pereda said the transfer represents bringing a soldier from foreign soil back to American soil.
The Peredas watched as Calvin Pereda's coffin, which had an American flag draped over it, was brought down from the plane to the ground. They then saw it carried to a vehicle and taken away. Officials also saluted the casket and had a moment of silence.
"It was hard," Clifford Pereda said. "It was the hardest thing I've ever done."
The fallen soldier's Guam relatives have also felt an outpouring of support.
Calvin Pereda's cousin, Emerald Evangelista Salas, said about 75 to 100 people came to pray the rosary Monday night at the Evangelista family home. That included friends, family and other island residents with connections to the military.
Calvin Pereda was stationed at Fort Wainwright in Alaska and Salas said some Guam families who also have family stationed there came to their home Monday night. Members of Guam Army National Guard Spc. Samson A. Mora's family also came to pay their respects.
Mora was killed on July 10, 2008, in Afghanistan in an IED explosion, according to Pacific Daily News files. He was 28.
"It meant a lot," Salas said. "It meant a lot to our family, you know, that these people came out and showed their respects."
Calvo sent condolences on Monday to the Pereda family.
"As a father, I just cannot begin to know what the family is going through, but I want them to know (first Christine Calvo, Lt. Gov. Ray Tenorio, Tenorio's wife Naoko Shimizu) and I are praying for them and thinking of them," he stated. "Calvin Pereda is a son of Guam, an American hero who gave his life for our freedom. He put it all on the line for millions of people he never met, but whose freedom he loved so much."
Clifford Pereda said the family still doesn't have any details about when Calvin Pereda's body will be brought to Guam, and where he will be buried. He does expect to have more information today, after a scheduled discussion with U.S. Army personnel.
Clifford Pereda said that as of yesterday, the plan is for his mother to come back to Guam later this week to start praying the rosary with the family. The two youngest Pereda boys are also to accompany her.
But Clifford and Chaz Pereda plan to wait for their fallen brother before returning to Guam, a place they moved away from in 2000.
"Me and my other brother ... are going to transport my brother back to Guam when he's ready," Clifford Pereda said.
&lsquoHe was a wonderful son&rsquo
By Arvin Temkar
(Hagatna, Guam) Pacific Daily News
TIYAN, Guam &mdash Rosario &ldquoRose&rdquo Pereda&rsquos anguished cry broke the silence as soldiers carried in the casket holding the body of her son.
&ldquoOh my God, my boy&rsquos gone!&rdquo she wailed.
Hundreds gathered at an air cargo building in Tiyan on Nov. 26 to pay respects to Army Spc. Calvin Matthew Pereda, who died in Afghanistan on Nov. 12.
Rose Pereda, who had waited quietly in the air cargo building, couldn&rsquot contain her emotions when the men appeared with the casket, which was draped with an American flag.
&ldquoOh, my boy,&rdquo the grief-stricken mother moaned, her sobs muffled by her sons and family huddled around her.
&ldquoIt&rsquos OK to cry,&rdquo said Gov. Eddie Calvo, in a short speech following the recital of a prayer.
He offered his condolences on behalf of the entire island.
&ldquoThis island cares for you, and is praying for you,&rdquo Calvo said.
Earlier that afternoon, Rose Pereda, dressed in black, sat in the living room of her mother&rsquos house. Although there were several people in the room, it was silent, except for when she spoke. There was no Thanksgiving at the Pereda household this year. In place of the traditional feast, there was a rosary.
She told the story of her son &mdash a quiet, caring man, dedicated to his job and his country.
Calvin Pereda, 21, enlisted in the Army in March 2010, determined to be an infantryman. He was sent to Afghanistan earlier this year, and was injured in September after an explosion sent shrapnel into his knee and shoulder.
Calvin Pereda bounced back, and soon after was promoted. He received a Purple Heart, was chosen as soldier of the month and signed up for Ranger school. Two weeks after sharing his good news with his mother, he was dead, killed by an improvised explosive device.
After his injury, &ldquohe wanted to hurry up and heal and go back out,&rdquo Rose Pereda said.
Before what would be his final mission, Calvin Pereda called home, as he often did. The mother and son made plans for Thanksgiving, and Rose Pereda promised him a barbecue. He was to return to Texas, where his family lives, on Nov. 18.
&ldquoHe came home, but not the way we want him to,&rdquo Rose Pereda said.
The day after the conversation, Rose Pereda&rsquos son Clifford Pereda yelled for her &mdash &ldquomy sons never holler at me&rdquo &mdash and came to her room, crying. She went to the living room and saw two officers, dressed in their uniforms, waiting to deliver a message.
&ldquoI didn&rsquot want to believe it was my son,&rdquo she said. &ldquoI said, &lsquoNo, it&rsquos not him, because I just spoke to him yesterday.&rsquo &rdquo
In December, Rose Pereda will return to Texas, and her two youngest boys will go back to school. Her other two sons are in the Army, stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. But now they want to leave the military, she said.
&ldquoThey don&rsquot want to put their brothers and myself through what we went through,&rdquo she said.
Then begins the process of coping, healing. She has a strong support group, she said, including family at home on Guam.
&ldquoI&rsquom just going to miss him,&rdquo she said. &ldquoIt&rsquos not going to be the same Christmas or the same New Year&rsquos.&rdquo
She dabbed her face with tissues.
&ldquoHe was a wonderful son,&rdquo she said.
Full military honors for fallen hero at his funeral
By Arvin Temkar
(Hagatna, Guam) Pacific Sunday News
PITI, Guam &mdash Though scores were gathered at the final resting place of Army Spc. Calvin Matthew Pereda at the Guam Veterans Cemetery on Nov. 26, at times the only sounds that could be heard were the flags, set at half-staff, whipping in the wind.
Calvin Pereda, 21, was laid to rest with full military honors in a solemn ceremony, following Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Yigo.
A son, a brother and a soldier, Calvin Pereda died Nov. 12 in Afghanistan from wounds suffered in an improvised explosive device blast.
Family, friends and veterans paid respects to the soldier in a day filled with prayer and remembrance.
After leaving Guam more than a decade ago, he has returned home.
All morning, people streamed into the Yigo church to say goodbye to Calvin Pereda and offer condolences to his family. A collage of photographs welcomed the guests, offering a glimpse of the soldier&rsquos life: a picture of him bowling a photo in his uniform a picture with his brothers and mother.
Frank Pereda, cousin of Calvin Pereda&rsquos father, hadn&rsquot seen Calvin Pereda&rsquos side of the family in years. Now everyone has gathered in Guam to mourn the loss.
&ldquoYou don&rsquot want to meet like this,&rdquo he said.
Calvin Pereda had been a thoughtful, family-oriented man, said his mother, Rosario &ldquoRose&rdquo Pereda.
As a boy growing up in Guam, he was quiet and respectful, always willing to lend a hand to his grandmother. As an adult, he was dedicated to his job in the Army. He joined the military in 2010.
Just weeks before he died, he had been awarded the Purple Heart for an injury, promoted and chosen as Soldier of the Month.
At the Mass, Father Patrick Garcia spoke of the soldier&rsquos courage.
&ldquoWhat happened in Afghanistan hasn&rsquot destroyed your love,&rdquo he told the grieving family. &ldquoHis strength ... moves us forward.&rdquo
Afterward, a group of soldiers draped a flag over the fallen soldier&rsquos casket. As the casket was moved into the hearse, one of his brothers, a soldier, saluted.
The mourners followed the hearse in a long procession that wound south to the Veterans Cemetery.
At the cemetery, they walked solemnly and silently to the soldier&rsquos resting place.
A group of soldiers fired their weapons in a final salute, as &ldquoTaps&rdquo played in the background.
For their final goodbyes, friends and family members placed flowers on Calvin Pereda&rsquos casket.
Before he deployed, Calvin Pereda told his mother that if anything happened, he didn&rsquot care where he was buried.
&ldquoI just want to be happy,&rdquo he told his mother.
&ldquoCal, let&rsquos not talk about that yet,&rdquo she said.
At the cemetery, Rose Pereda buried her face on the casket, while her sons, Calvin Pereda&rsquos brothers, wept beside her.
&ldquoI love you, my boy,&rdquo she cried.
Died: November 12, 2011
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Prayers & Condolences For:
Calvin M. Pereda
BY John on Dec 13, 2011 | |  | May the grace of God, the love of Jesus, and the peace of the Holy Spirit be with you and your family forever.
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