IRAQ BLAST KILLS LONG I. SOLDIER 
Paulo Pacificador, Pinoy Soldier. His father and grandfather
served around the world and he followed.
August 17, 2007 -- A young Long Island soldier who emigrated
from the Philippines, then joined the Army to carry on his family's military
tradition, was killed in Iraq by a roadside bomb, authorities said. Pfc.
Paulomarko Pacificador, 24, of Shirley, died Monday when his vehicle was struck
by an improvised explosive device, the Department of Defense said.
Pacificador and
two other soldiers in the vehicle died of the wounds they suffered in the
explosion in Qayyarah. All three were based at Fort Bliss, Texas.
"It's
surreal. It just couldn't happen," his younger brother, Rey Patrick, told
The Post yesterday. "It was too early. I accepted the fact that something
might go wrong, but nothing like this."
Pacificador,
who emigrated when he was 6, joined the military to carry on a family
tradition. "A pretty good portion of my dad's family was in the military
in the Philippines," his brother said. Pacificador, a budding artist who
was taking courses in aeronautical engineering, loved to make people laugh.
"He was a really fun guy," his brother said. "He was one of
those comical people who wanted everyone to smile and be happy." tom.liddy@nypost.com
Paulo Marko Pacificador was born in 1982 in Buguey, Cagayan, in
the Philippines. His family moved to the United States in 1988 and lived in
Virginia before moving to Jamaica, Queens, a few years later. They moved to
Shirley about six years ago.
"There were balloons all over the place at home, and he
says, 'I'm going,' and I said 'I'll miss you,'" she said. "It was my
50th birthday, and my son was being deployed in Iraq."Pacificador had
hopes of being an officer, his father said. He was driving a Humvee struck by a (IED) bomb,
his father said. He was field attillery automated tactical date system
specialist earned the Iraq Campaign Medal.
He will be posthumously
awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.
"My son is full of life. He has lots of ambition," said his father,
Jose Pacificador, a former soldier in the Philippines Air Force. "He has a
dream to be somebody to someone."
A member of the 5th Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade
Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Pacificador returned from Iraq for two weeks
in February.
"He was enjoying himself, eating, drinking with his friends," his
mother said, adding that he helped out around the house, fixing a faucet and
shower nozzle. Her son was starting to grow up, she said. Now, she said, she
feels only pain.
"Oh my Lord, I cannot describe it," she said. "It hurts so
much." (LI Newsday Aug 17)
Write to your senator & representative
to co-sponsor S57 & HR 760 as we continue to serve and die for freedom in
this small world. There were many before
Pacificador as the Filipino American casualty rate in Iraq is much higher than
any group. He is a real hero in this country and the country he was born.
The Filipino American National Historical Society of New Jersey in behalf of the Fil-Am WWII veterans displayed the above news at the Philippinefiesta in Meadowland Expo this weekend Aug 18-19. It caught many attention but I never expected the “comadre” (Mrs Antonio from Jersey City) of the the Pacificadors was inside the big expo building. She was very close to Paulo that she was going to deliver that Eulogy for the fallen soldier. It was a very emotional moment for I could see her reading it in tears. She told me that the soldier was on the way home and funeral would be this Wednesday (Aug 22) in Long Island, It was far cry when just few months ago Paulo was on vacation for just few days and they gathered in the Pacificador home in Long Island. Even then she had strange premonition.
God Bless America and the Pinoy Nation. The Pacific Islander
from the northern seacoast of Cagayan, the Ibanag (Tagailog), the Peacemaker
(Pacificador) now rest in Peace.
WWII Veterans of Jersey (Aug 4, 2007 Our Lady Of Victory, Jersey City) FANHS NJ Chapter will participate on the celebration of the on August 18-19, 2007 (SAT. 12noon-10pm & SUN. 10am-8pm) at MEADOWLANDS EXPOSITION CENTER, SECAUCUS, NEW JERSEY. FANHS NJ Chapter will present the "Pamana/Legacy" oral history project through photo exhibits from World War II (from Bataan & Corregidor in the Philippines). This project was made possible by a grant from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations in this project, do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities or the New Jersey Council for the Humanities.
