Posted on: Saturday, October 30, 2004
O'ahu unit loses 7th soldier in Afghan war
By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer
A 25-year-old medic is the seventh soldier from the 25th Infantry Division (Light) to be killed in Afghanistan since more than 5,800 of the Hawai'i-based soldiers deployed early this year.
Cpl. Billy Gomez of Perris, Calif., died Wednesday at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany from injuries received when his vehicle hit a mine Oct. 20 in Naka, the Pentagon said.
Two other Schofield Barracks soldiers were injured and are at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Two Humvees were destroyed in the explosion. An interpreter was injured.
Gomez was assigned to the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment "Wolfhounds." He enlisted in the Army in 1997 and was assigned to Schofield Barracks in 2001.
Gomez's parents were still in Germany yesterday making arrangements for the return of their son's body. Two brothers in the Army also were in Germany. A private prayer service will be conducted in the Schofield Barracks Main Post Chapel on Monday.
Gomez is the second Wolfhound killed in Naka. The town is an hour's drive north of an old Soviet air base at Orgun-E used by the 25th Division, near the Pakistan border in southeastern Afghanistan.
Spc. Wesley Wells, 21, of Libertyville, Ill., was killed Sept. 20 in the town when his unit was ambushed.
The last four Schofield fatalities in Afghanistan have involved roadside bombs.
Spc. Kyle Ka'eo Fernandez, 26, of Pearl City, and Staff Sgt. Brian Hobbs, 31, of Mesa, Ariz., were killed in Miam Do on Oct. 14 when their Humvee hit a mine.
More than 5,200 soldiers with the 25th Division and U.S. Army, Hawai'i are in Iraq. Twenty-four soldiers and a Marine with Hawai'i ties have died in the Middle East since the U.S.-led war in Iraq began in March 2003.
More than 16,000 soldiers and Marines from Hawai'i are either deployed for the two wars, or preparing for deployment.
Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5459.
