Army Sgt. Brian J. Pedro

Died October 3, 2010 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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27, of Rosamond, Calif.; assigned to 2nd Engineer Battalion, White Sands Missile Range, N.M.; died Oct. 3 in Pol-e-Khumri, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades.

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Kern County soldier killed in Afghanistan

The Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO — Military officials say a soldier from Kern County has been killed in Afghanistan.

The Department of Defense says Army Sgt. Brian Pedro died Oct. 3 of wounds he suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades in Pol-e-Khumri, Afghanistan.

The 27-year-old Pedro was assigned to the 2nd Engineer Battalion out of White Sands Missile Range, N.M.

Pedro was from Rosamond, a Mohave Desert community about 70 miles southeast of Bakersfield.

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Soldier wanted to make career in Army

The Associated Press

Brian Pedro wanted to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather and stepfather. He wanted to make the Army his career, his mother said.

In April, he deployed on his second Afghanistan tour. He was 27 and based out of White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

He died nearly a half a year later on Oct. 3 after an attack on his unit in Pol-e-Khumri, and despite his family’s grief, Pedro’s mother said his grandfather and stepfather are proud he died doing what he wanted to do.

“He was loved by all and will be missed by a whole lot of people,” his mother told KGET-TV in Bakersfield, Calif.

Pedro, who lists his hometown as Rosamond, Calif., attended Twentynine Palms High School and graduated from El Camino High School, Oceanside, Calif., in 2002. He enlisted in the Army in 2006.

Pedro had been a utilities equipment repairman in the Army, the military said. He will be posthumously awarded the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and Combat Action Badge.

Pedro’s survivors include his wife, Shanna; parents Lululima and David Nelson; and grandmother, Carol Nelson.