May 11, 2008 7:08 pm US/Mountain
Soldier From Loveland Killed In Afghanistan
LOVELAND, Colo. (CBS4) ―
This Mother's Day weekend the worst of news came for the family of a solider from Loveland. They are mourning his loss after he was killed in Afghanistan.
Army Sgt. Isaac Palomarez, 26, died in Kapisa province on Friday after his patrol unit was hit by a roadside bomb. He's the third soldier from the 101st Airborne to be killed in Afghanistan in a week.
Isaac was the youngest of four sons. His parents were notified on Friday, so it has been a very tough Mother's Day as they mourn their son. Elma and Candido Palomarez said their son served both in Iraq and Afghanistan, believed 100 percent in his mission and told them he was fighting for all of us.
Elma said she wished her last phone call with her son had been longer. He had borrowed a cell phone to wish her happy Mother's Day.
"He told us why he was there, but he didn't go into detail," she said.
Candido said one van exploded and they came under what they call small arms fire and a hand-propelled grenade, and a rocket-propelled grenade.
Isaac had been serving in Afghanistan since March and had already served a year in Iraq. Candido said he was motivated by a sense of patriotic duty.
"The way he put it, it was something to the effect that America was attacked on its own soil and we had to respond," he said.
An offensive lineman on Loveland's state championship football team, Isaac was described as a huge Colorado Avalanche fan with a "quiet sense of humor" and a lifelong interest in history.
"He cared about his country," Elma said. "He was a good Christian, a good son, a good man and a devoted American.
The Palomarez family told CBS4's Terry Jessup they feel blessed because they have three other sons. They said their sadness over Isaac extends to other families who have sacrificed for their country.
Isaac's older brother said Isaac was modest about his military service and even shy about getting his picture taken in his uniform.
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