Farewell and Walk with God ~ Maj Rodolfo Rodriguez

When the Marriott Hotel was bombed a few weeks ago, people quickly forgot the horror of the terrorism. However, two troops were killed in the blast. The DOD has announced the death of an airman supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Maj. Rodolfo "Rod" I. Rodriguez, 34, of El Paso, Texas, died Sept. 20 in Islamabad, Pakistan, of wounds suffered from an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 86th Construction & Training Squadron, Ramstein Air Base, Germany. He was in the area assisting with the training of Pakistani forces. He was on the phone with a sergeant, talking about a construction project, when the line went silent.

"He passed away where he wanted to be, making his difference," said Cousin Armando Juarez. "(He was) very smart, very generous, loving, caring. You name it; he was everything." Juarez said his cousin graduated from Ysleta High School, in El Paso, Texas in 1993 where he played football, baseball, and played in the band.

Major Rodriguez is a 1998 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy. Rodriguez, a first-generation American, elevated himself out of a poverty-stricken situation in El Paso, Texas, earning a 4.0 grade point average in high school and an appointment to the Air Force Academy.

Rodriguez is survived by his wife, Karen Rodriguez, his mother Minerva Rivas, his brothers Edgar and Fernando Rivas, as well as nieces and nephews.

Pictures of his memorial service at Ramstein Air Base are here: http://www.ramstein.af.mil/photos/media_search.asp?q=rudolfo+rodriguez&btnG.x=0&btnG.y=0