It is not easy to leave your home and go to a different country to live. There are friends left behind and an uneasy feeling in strange surroundings. Sometimes there is prejudice against you that is hard to take. However, although many forget this, the United States is a country of immigrants. Very few of us are of pure Native American blood.
One thing that makes our country great, is that most of our immigrants develop a deep love and fierce loyalty to the United States. Our military has many whose roots extend into nations around the world.
One of our dedicated US Marines was an immigrant and the son of immigrants - Corporal Nicolas D. Parada-Rodriguez. We honor his memory tonight.
Corporal Nicolas D. Parada-Rodriguez
Nicolas Parada-Rodriquez came to the US from El Salvador in 1991. He and his family settled in Springfield, Virginia and he attended Robert E. Lee High School.
After graduation, he joined the Navy and was deployed to Afghanistan during his service. After being discharged from the Navy, he held a civilian job for a while. In January of 2007, he signed up to be with the Marines. He deployed to Afghanistan in 2008 and began second Afghanistan tour with the Marines last December. He was set come home to Stafford County in Virginia in June or July.
Parada-Rodriguez was a team leader assigned to 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 7, I Marine Expeditionary Force Forward which is based at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. He was promoted to the rank of corporal on April 1, 2009.
The Corporal died May 16 when he was shot and killed while on duty in the Helmand province of Afghanistan. He was 29 years old. Nicholas' brother is quoted by a Fox News site:
"When I hear the numbers and see pictures, I think 'wow'. They are 18, 19 years old. Kids. Dying. I feel sad. Not because my brother was there, but because they are fighting hard," said Lisandro.
He said when his brother was in uniform, people he did not know would walk up and thank him for his service. Lisandro said he may do that now too - shake the hand of a stranger in uniform because he now truly understands their sacrifice.
The Corporal's awards include the Navy Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, and NATO International Security Assistance Force Medal.
The survivors of Corporal Parada-Rodriquez include his sisters, Maria and Norma, a brother, Lisandro, and their mother, Luisa.
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Helping our troops:
If you wish to assist our military and their families, consider Operation Helmet, or Fisher House. Sponsoring a deployed service member at US Troop Care Package can provide letters or care packages that make a real difference in a military person's life. To assist the animal companions of our deployed military, information is available here. Also, you could visit:
When our veterans come back home, they need jobs. Look at the programs of Hire Heroes USA and Welcome Back Veterans to see if you can help out. The new KINship Project has also been of help to our veterans and other Kossacks In Need.
About the IGTNT series:
"I Got the News Today" is a diary series intended to honor, respect, and remind us of the sacrifice of our US troops. Click here to see the series, which was begun by i dunno, and which is maintained by Sandy on Signal, monkeybiz, noweasels, blue jersey mom, Chacounne, twilight falling, joyful, roses, SisTwo, SpamNunn, a girl in MI, JeNoCo, Mediaprof, TrueBlueMajority, JanosNation, Proud Mom and Grandma, Ministry of Truth, and CalNM. These diaries are heartbreaking to write, but are an important service to those who have died, and show our community’s respect for them.
Fallen service members whose names have been released by the US Department of Defense will usually be diaried two days after the official announcement on the DoD website. This allows the IGTNT team to cover each person more fully, but still in a timely manner
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Please bear in mind that these diaries are read by friends and family of the service members mentioned here. May all of our remembrances be full of compassion rather than politics.