|
Search Tributes |
There are9,708 Tributes and 23,854 Condolences In LU's Database
LU Tributes Honoring Victims of War and Terror!
|
 |
|
Who's Online |
There are currently, 306 guest(s) and 0 member(s) that are online.
You are an Anonymous user. You can register for free by clicking here
|
|
|
|  |
|  |
|
|
|
|
Name: Army Maj. Jeffrey R. Calero
Age: 34
From: Queens Village, N.Y.
Assigned to the 1st Battalion, 20th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Massachusetts National Guard, Springfield, Mass.
Incident: Army Maj. Jeffrey R. Calero died Oct. 29 in Kajaki, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated while he was on dismounted patrol.
Died: October 29, 2007
Major killed in Afghanistan
When Raymond Calero saw two soldiers in dress uniform at the door of his Queens Village home, he thought immediately of his son Jeffrey, a Special-Ops officer serving in Afghanistan.
“It was horrible and unbelievable,” the stoic father said of the news - that Jeffrey had been killed on Monday, October 29.
Major Jeffrey R. Calero, 34, who was serving his second stint in Afghanistan with a Special Operations Task force from Massachusetts, died from injuries he suffered when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated during a combat patrol of Kajaki, a city in southern Afghanistan, military officials said.
“He’s my hero. I am so proud of him. He died for you and me and his country and your children and my grandchildren,” his mother Roselle said.
Jeffrey is the 23rd soldier from Queens to die in the War on Terror.
Born in Puerto Rico, Jeffrey was raised in Queens, attended St. Francis Preparatory High School, and went on to study at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. where he earned a degree in engineering. While in college, he also joined the ROTC program, and when he graduated in 1995, he was commissioned as an Infantry 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army.
A dedicated soldier, Jeffrey had received numerous awards for his service, which included airborne training and service as an Army Ranger before he joined the Special Forces. After six years of active duty, which culminated in him receiving the coveted “Green Beret,” - a distinction that members of the Army’s Special Forces unit receive - Jeffrey joined the Army’s National Guard.
His father said that Jeffrey had turned down two promotions so that he could stay with his unit. The Army promoted him posthumously to the rank of Major.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Major Calero’s family and with his fellow soldiers in Charlie Company,” said Major General Joseph C. Carter, the Adjutant General of Massachusetts, which is where his Special Forces group was located.
“[Jeffrey] always had the military in the back of his mind,” Raymond said of his son, explaining that in his high school yearbook, the slogan underneath Jeffrey’s picture read, “Live free or die.”
“I’m very proud of him. That’s about all I have left - to be proud,” Raymond said, “If we aren’t proud, then he died in vain.”
Raymond said that what stood out most about his son was his dedication and subtle sense of humor.
“[Jeffrey] was a big quiet guy,” he said, adding that Jeffrey doted on his four nieces and nephews - Richard, Amelia, Lauren, and Claire.
Now the entire family and Jeffrey’s long-time girlfriend Allison Weiner of Port Washington will gather for a wake tentatively scheduled for Sunday, November 4 and a funeral on Monday, November 5.
“His biggest love in life was his family,” Raymond said.
Since Monday, a number of soldiers have come to pay their respects to the Calero family.
Raymond said that he had asked his son’s comrades, “Do you think it is worthwhile going over there?” He said they told him, “Well, they [terrorists] are not coming over here.”
|
.:: Light A Candle & Post Your Condolences ::.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Condolences :
|   
Prayers & Condolences For:
Jeffrey R. Calero
BY John on Apr 09, 2008 | |  | May the grace of God, the love of Jesus, and the peace of the Holy Spirit be with you and your family forever.
| | | |
|
Main » Soldiers » US Army
| |
|
Survey |
|
|
|
|
|
Wall Of Prayers |
Wall Of Prayers
Wall Of Prayers
|
|
|
|
