Army 1st Lt. Michael W. Vega

Died March 20, 2004 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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41, of Lathrop, Calif.; assigned to the 223rd Military Intelligence Company, 223rd Military Intelligence Battalion, Army National Guard, based in Sacramento, Calif.; died March 20 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, in Washington, D.C., from injuries sustained March 11 when his military vehicle rolled over in Diwaniyah, Iraq.

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Happy and outgoing, Vega was ‘a soldier at heart’

By Mielikki Org

Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO — When 1st Lt. Michael Vega joined the California National Guard three years ago, he was following in the proud footsteps of his father and brothers, who had all served in the military.

Vega, 41, died on March 20, nine days after his military vehicle rolled on top of him during fighting with Iraqi insurgents in Diwaniyah.

“He believed in defending the country and was willing to do anything for it,” said his girlfriend, Marisol Vazquez, who lived with Vega in Lathrop, Calif. “He knew this is what he wanted to do, because he was a soldier at heart.”

She described Vega as “an upbeat person, outgoing, really happy. He could make anybody laugh.”

Vega, who was stationed with the 223rd Military Intelligence Battalion in Sacramento, was a football star at Vallejo High School who enlisted in the Army after graduation. He served as a helicopter mechanic for three years, going on to earn a degree in aeronautics at Cal State-Hayward several years later.

Vega is survived by his father, Raphael; his mother, Maria Nothnagel; his stepfather, John Nothnagel; four brothers; three sisters; and nieces and nephews from California, Colorado, Florida, New York and Guam.