Army Sgt. Rodolfo Rodriguez Jr.

Remember Our Heroes

Army Sgt. Rodolfo Rodriguez Jr., 26, of Pharr, Texas

Sgt Rodriguez was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Wainwright, Alaska; died Sep. 14, 2011 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.

Sgt Rodriguez graduated from Weslaco High School in 2003 where he was a varsity basketball and football player. He was named Defensive Player of the Year in his district as a senior.

Sgt Rodriguez joined the Army in March of 2006. After basic at Fort Benning in Georgia, he served three years with the 2nd Battalion, 505th Infantry at Fort Bragg before arriving at Fort Wainwright in March of last year.

This was his third deployment, having previosly been deployed to Iraq in November 2006 and December 2008. He deployed to Afghanistan in August.

Cousin, Leann Rodriguez, hoped it would be his last tour of duty. He was expected to return home in December.

She described her cousin as a gregarious man who loved fishing, sports and his family, whose future he would plan every day.

Mark Aguilar, one of the soldiers who served along side Rudy in Iraq, said, “That was my boy, man. I just want everybody to know he was a good f---ing leader.”

“He would joke around with them,” he said. “But when it came time to work, he would work. And he always made sure his guys were taken care of first.”

Sgt Rodriguez was laid to rest on September 26 at Rio Grande Valley State Veteran's cemetery in Mission.

He is survived by his mother, Cristela; father, Rodolfo Rodriguez Sr; wife, Melissa and their children, Derek, 7, and Katelyn, 5; siblings, Rodzie, Cristy and Danny; paternal grandparents, Juan and Isabel; maternal grandmother, Carolina.

Army Sgt. Rodolfo Rodriguez Jr. was killed in action on 9/14/11.