82nd Airborne Division, XVIII Airborne Corps
82nd Airborne Division, XVIII Airborne Corps
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PFC Miguel A. Villalon of Joiliet, Illinois, died January 11, 2020 serving During Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.
His vehicle was struck an improvised explosive device in Kandahar province, Afghanistan. Also killed in the incident was Staff Sgt. Ian McLaughlin. Both soldiers were assigned to the 307th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Villalon joined the Army in 2018 to be a combat engineer and reported to the 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion as his first assignment.
SPC Vincent DeLao remembered that his friend, Miguel Villalon, never told anyone ahead of time he was going to join the U.S. Army. DeLao had been Villalon’s good friend all the way through East Aurora High School, they were in the Navy Junior ROTC program together, and he ended up driving Villalon to the airport when he was ready to report to the Army.
“He asked me to play Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’ on the way,” DeLao remembered. “I said, you are an old man in a young man’s body.”
The city of Aurora, along with the East Aurora School District, veterans and active military personnel, and family and friends, held a memorial SPC Villalon in January of this year.
Fittingly, at the end of the event at East Aurora High School, hundreds of members of the East Aurora Navy Junior ROTC unit - the same one Villalon served in for four years - walked onstage, hugged Miguel’s mother Olivia Guzman Villalon, and stood at attention, all to the music of “My Way.”
His awards and decorations include the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star Medal, the Army Achievement Medal with “C” device and the Combat Action Badge.
The Global War on Terrorism Memorial was dedicated October 16, 2017. Villalon’s service and sacrifice will be forever remembered on this sacred memorial and his name will be added to the memorial this year. The 2020 rededication will take place on September 12.
Donations to the National Infantry Museum Foundation will allow for annual rededications of the memorial to include the names of service members who’ve recently given their lives in the fight. Your donation will help ensure they’re never forgotten, and that the monument remains worthy of their sacrifice.
https://app.etapestry.com/onlineforms/NationalInfantryFoundation/HonorCircle.html
His vehicle was struck an improvised explosive device in Kandahar province, Afghanistan. Also killed in the incident was Staff Sgt. Ian McLaughlin. Both soldiers were assigned to the 307th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Villalon joined the Army in 2018 to be a combat engineer and reported to the 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion as his first assignment.
SPC Vincent DeLao remembered that his friend, Miguel Villalon, never told anyone ahead of time he was going to join the U.S. Army. DeLao had been Villalon’s good friend all the way through East Aurora High School, they were in the Navy Junior ROTC program together, and he ended up driving Villalon to the airport when he was ready to report to the Army.
“He asked me to play Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’ on the way,” DeLao remembered. “I said, you are an old man in a young man’s body.”
The city of Aurora, along with the East Aurora School District, veterans and active military personnel, and family and friends, held a memorial SPC Villalon in January of this year.
Fittingly, at the end of the event at East Aurora High School, hundreds of members of the East Aurora Navy Junior ROTC unit - the same one Villalon served in for four years - walked onstage, hugged Miguel’s mother Olivia Guzman Villalon, and stood at attention, all to the music of “My Way.”
His awards and decorations include the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star Medal, the Army Achievement Medal with “C” device and the Combat Action Badge.
The Global War on Terrorism Memorial was dedicated October 16, 2017. Villalon’s service and sacrifice will be forever remembered on this sacred memorial and his name will be added to the memorial this year. The 2020 rededication will take place on September 12.
Donations to the National Infantry Museum Foundation will allow for annual rededications of the memorial to include the names of service members who’ve recently given their lives in the fight. Your donation will help ensure they’re never forgotten, and that the monument remains worthy of their sacrifice.
https://app.etapestry.com/onlineforms/NationalInfantryFoundation/HonorCircle.html
82nd ABN
Fallen Soldiers
Heroes
Spirituality
Posted 4 y ago
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