WAR CASUALTY
Soldier From Montgomery Killed in Afghanistan
Remains Arrive At Air Force Base In Dover, Del.
Army Spec. Rodrigo A. Munguia Rivas, one of two soldiers killed in an enemy attack Sunday, was remembered as bright, good-natured and friendly.
(Courtesy Of Fort Drum)
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Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Spec. Rodrigo A. Munguia Rivas, 27, who went to school in Montgomery County, began active duty with the Army a little more than a year ago.
In a solemn military ceremony, his flag-draped remains were carried off an airplane yesterday at Dover Air Force base in Delaware.
The Pentagon said yesterday that Munguia Rivas, who listed Germantown as his home town, was one of two soldiers who died Sunday in Bagram, Afghanistan, of wounds from indirect fire after their unit came under attack.
A neighbor who answered the telephone yesterday evening at his parents' home in Gaithersburg said he was bright, good-natured and friendly, someone who could be described as "simpatico."
The neighbor, who did not wish to give her name, said he graduated from high school in the county and had been pleased with his time in the Army.
The Defense Department said Munguia Rivas was assigned to the 710th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.
He went on active duty in April 2008, according to Julie Cupernall of the Fort Drum public affairs office.
Munguia Rivas trained at Fort Sill, Okla., the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico and Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, she said.
He deployed with the 3rd Brigade Combat team to Afghanistan around January, according to a Fort Drum statement. He was assigned as a vehicle driver.
The neighbor who spoke from the family home said she understood that Munguia Rivas had also been trained as a helicopter mechanic.
Munguia Rivas's awards and decorations include the National Defense Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon and the NATO Medal, according to Fort Drum.
The statement said he is survived by his mother and stepfather. He was an only son, neighbors said.
The Pentagon identified the other soldier killed in the attack as Sgt. Ricky D. Jones, 26, of Plantersville, Ala. He was assigned to the 1st Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, Fort Polk, La.
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