Salisbury Soldier, Who Found Direction in Army, Is Killed

Relatives of Army Spec. Eric T. Caldwell knew that he rode as a gunner on a Humvee, trying to clear roads southwest of Baghdad. But though he said the streets were more chaotic than he had imagined, he comforted them that he had plenty of body armor and would be safe.

Just last week, the 22-year-old had called home to Salisbury, Md., to say he would be flying to the area this weekend for at least a week's leave.

Three days later, the Maryland native died in Iraq after his Humvee unit was in a firefight with enemy forces, said Defense Department officials and family members.

Caldwell grew up with his twin sister and grandparents in Ellicott City, before moving briefly to Florida, then to Maryland's Eastern Shore. In high school, the twins moved to Gloucester, Va., to be with their mother.

Relatives remembered him as a teenager who lacked direction and never graduated from high school but who grew to be a trustworthy and kind man, who seemed to trust almost everyone he met. He was a good cook, they said, who loved the Wizards, Ravens and Orioles and roughhousing and wrestling with his teenage cousins.

Caldwell's uncle, Vince Cerniglia, said the family learned of his death Sunday as Cerniglia wrestled with his three boys, who had always roughhoused with Caldwell. The teenagers looked up to him as an older brother and depended on him to take them to the movies or buy them a submarine sandwich, he said.

"Eric was looking for some direction, some career in life," said Cerniglia, who helped raise the twins as teenagers.

Caldwell found his direction in the military, first as a member of the Maryland National Guard, then when he was sent for active duty at Fort Hood, Tex. Caldwell, who was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade and 1st Cavalry Division, had wanted to become a mechanic and joined the service for training. But he found himself proud and committed to an Army career.

Growing up, Caldwell had heard military stories from his grandfather, Melvin Caldwell Sr., a World War II veteran who served in the Pacific theater in a B-25 bomber.

The grandson spent more than a year trying to become a soldier. Caldwell had a learning disability, but he spent two months studying to earn his graduate equivalency diploma and a few months more studying to pass written tests to enlist in the military, said another uncle, Melvin Caldwell.

"That's how dedicated he was. He wasn't going to give up," Melvin Caldwell said.

When Eric Caldwell returned home from a boot camp in Missouri during Christmas 2003, the young soldier arrived at 4 a.m. but refused to shower or change out of his uniform because he wanted to wear his colors at Mass.

"That's how proud he was to be a soldier," Caldwell said.

Caldwell is to be buried at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Arlington National Cemetery.

Staff researcher Meg Smith contributed to this report.