By John Montesano
The Fox Valley Veterans Breakfast Club named Carlos Aguirre the November Veteran of Month. Carlos was born November 7, 1978 in Aurora, where he lived until 1996 when he was graduated from West Aurora High School. Because of being one of six children, with many cousins, family was important to his upbringing. After graduation, he moved to Arizona to attend college and live with his father in Phoenix. College didn’t seem to be for him so he moved back to Aurora in 1999. He always had wanted to join the military, so November 8, 1999, he joined the U.S. Army.
In January 2000, he was in Ft. Benning, Ga. for basic, infantry, and airborne, training. In June 2000, he was in Ft. Bragg, N.C., with the 82nd Airborne Division, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment and was on a fire team as a SAW (squad automatic weapon) gunner.
Immediately following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S., Carlos’ unit was given the task with guarding water treatment plants, hospitals, or other institutions in the Ft. Bragg area, that were considered probable targets. In May 2002, he was deployed to Afghanistan. Traveling exclusively by helicopter, they were sent to many locations on various missions, some to provide security and mostly to search for specific Taliban individuals.
He learned about the residents and their culture. “Everybody was a lot different than we are,” he said. It was common for men to have multiple wives and 10 to 15 children. There was extensive poverty. An irony was that there were many fields of opium plants, as common as our corn fields. Even though opium is the largest export, the farmers would get paid only just enough to feed their families.
Carlos left Afghanistan in December 2002 and returned to Ft. Bragg. In September 2003, he was deployed to Iraq in an area south of Baghdad. Even though the mission in Iraq was more about dealing with the void created by the removal of Saddam Hussein, Carlos was still involved with security and searching for the enemy. The patrols were mostly in ground vehicles or on foot on treacherous terrain. It made his missions more perilous. Now a sergeant and a team leader, Carlos always was afraid for his guys and of something going bad. He couldn’t sleep. It took him while to get used to it. They would set up base camps which were frequently attacked. All of it was at night.
In April 2004, Carlos returned to Ft. Bragg. In February 2005, he was discharged and returned home to Aurora. From 2005 to 2016, he worked: As an Elgin Police Department restitution supervisor; and in odd jobs in construction. From August 2016 to the present, he has worked for West Aurora High School in security. In this time, he has earned an associates degree at Waubonsee Community College and is finishing his undergraduate and teaching degree at Northern Illinois University, in physical education.
Carlos has two brothers who served and deserve mention.
• Rosalio, born 1981, served in the Army XVIII Airborne Corps as a truck driver. He was deployed to Afghanistan in 2008 and was severely injured by an IED (improvised explosive device) He was medically discharged and continues his recovery, both physical and psychological.
• Jose, born 1994, served in the Marine Corps as a flightline cargo rigger. He was deployed to Afghanistan in 2015. He returned unharmed with no apparent aftereffects.
Carlos, after his discharge, except for adjusting his sleep habits, he did not have any lingering psychological issues. Being deployed did give Carlos an appreciation for life at home; one he won’t ever take for granted.
Veterans Day meaningful
We have just celebrated Veterans Day. It is important to remember that Veterans Day means freedom, sacrifice, and honor for those who served in the military. It means to give thanks to those who served. We should be brave and strong-hearted when meeting veterans. Without Veterans Day, many Americans would forget them and the sacrifices they made. —Brayden Stabile