Army Sgt. Isaac Palomarez

Died May 9, 2008 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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26, of Loveland, Colo.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.; died May 9 in Kapisa Province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when his patrol encountered an improvised explosive device and came under small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire.

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Afghanistan ambush kills Loveland soldier

By Robert Moore

Fort Collins Coloradoan

LOVELAND — Given an opportunity to borrow a cell phone recently between combat patrols in Afghanistan, Sgt. Isaac Palomarez called his mother to wish her a happy Mother’s Day.

Days later, he was killed in an ambush in the war-torn country’s Kapisa Province.

“He just had a few minutes, so he called to say hello to us. He said he wanted to wish us all a happy Mother’s Day,” his mother, Elma Palomarez, said at her west Loveland home Saturday night.

Sgt. Palomarez, 26, was killed early Friday in Afghanistan (Thursday Colorado time). The Defense Department said he was killed “when his patrol encountered an improvised explosive device and came under small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire.”

His family was notified Thursday afternoon and the Army made his death public Saturday night. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.

Palomarez joined the Army in 2004 and previously served a combat tour in Iraq. He deployed to Afghanistan in March.

His mother said she never worried for his safety.

“I was very proud of him,” Elma Palomarez said. “That’s what he wanted to do and I had him in God’s hands.”

Isaac was the youngest of Elma and Candido Palomarez’s four sons.

Nine years after the birth of her third son they decided to have one more child. “I wanted the girl,” Elma said with a smile.

Her youngest son moved with them to Loveland when he was in the third grade, attending Immanuel Lutheran School and then Loveland High School.

Isaac played defense on Loveland High’s 2000 state championship football team and graduated in 2001.

One of Isaac’s passions was Colorado Avalanche hockey. His private e-mail address was “avs2001,” commemorating their last Stanley Cup championship, his father said.

“One of the last e-mails we got from him mentioned his disappointment in the Avs’ season,” Candido Palomarez said. The injury-riddled Avalanche were swept by the rival Detroit Red Wings in the second round of this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs.

Isaac also loved skiing and planned to return to Colorado after completing his second three-year enlistment, his parents said.

After graduating high school, Isaac attended Colorado State University for a year. An avid reader of military history, he decided to join the Army, motivated in part by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, Candido said.

“In one of his e-mails to us he wrote, ‘On 9/11, America was attacked on our own soil. That couldn’t go unanswered,’” his father said.

He wasn’t married. “That’s the one good thing — he didn’t leave a wife or children,” Elma said.

Isaac is the first Northern Colorado resident killed in the 6½-year-old Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, according to Pentagon records.

Four Northern Colorado residents have been killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom — Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael Parrot of Timnath, Army Pfc. Tyler MacKenzie of Evans, Marine Sgt. Nicholas Walsh of Fort Collins and Army Sgt. 1st Class Scott Brown of Windsor.

Funeral arrangements for Isaac have not yet been set, said his parents, members of St. John’s Catholic Church in Loveland.

His mother said Isaac never complained about drawing combat duty a second time.

“He was actually looking forward to it,” she said. “He was doing his job willingly.”

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Friends recall Sgt. Isaac Palomarez as smart, witty

By Douglas Crowl

Fort Collins Coloradoan

LOVELAND — Chris Griess never sensed fear in Isaac Palomarez before his friend was shipped back to Afghanistan as an infantry sergeant in the Army.

The two young men, both 2001 Loveland High School graduates, attended at Colorado Avalanche hockey game the last time they were together, just before Palomarez left for his second trip to the war-torn country.

“He’d been there before,” Griess said. “It wasn’t routine — I don’t think it can be routine. But he wasn’t scared to go back. He was kind of excited. It’s what he loved to do.”

Palomarez, 26, was killed early Friday (Thursday Colorado time) in the Kapisa Province of Afghanistan, when his patrol encountered an improvised explosive device and came under small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire, according to a Defense Department release.

Palomarez was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.

Griess and fellow high-school buddies Brett Sandford and Chip Gray learned of their friend’s death Friday and got together Saturday in Loveland to share their memories.

“I really don’t even know where to start,” Sandford said Sunday. “He knew me better than anyone that I know. He really was my best friend.”

People found Palomarez approachable, Sandford said. He was a “straight shooter” usually ready with a witty comment at the right time.

“He was the best smack-talker I ever met. He was just quick on his feet like that,” Sandford said.

Though smaller in stature, Palomarez played offensive tackle for the 2000 Loveland High School football state champion team, which reflected a competitive spirit.

Then offensive line coach Marty Gocken said Palomarez was a hard-working player who never missed an assignment.

“He was a very intelligent kid,” Gocken said. “He was very team oriented.”

After high school, Palomarez and his friends joined recreation hockey leagues in Fort Collins.

“It’s one of those leagues that was just for fun, but if we were down, he would get really fired up about it,” Sandford said.

He figured that having three older brothers probably contributed to Palomarez’s competitive, scrappy attitude.

Palomarez was bright in math and an avid reader who took a few classes at Colorado State University. But he never fully knew what he wanted to study, Sandford recalled.

Despite leaving college, Griess and Sandford considered Palomarez one of smartest people they knew.

“He would pull out his engineering homework when we were watching Monday Night Football and get it done in a quarter — and get it right,” Sandford said.

That’s one reason why when Palomarez joined the military in 2004, Griess and Sandford were surprised.

“But after he told me about it, I realized it was something he wanted to do for a while. He said it was a fit for him,” Griess said.

Palomarez’s parents, Loveland residents Elma and Candido Palomarez, told the Coloradoan in an interview Saturday how proud they were of their son.

Candido Palomarez said Sunday he expects his son’s body to be flown home in a few days and a memorial service would be scheduled for early next week.

“He was just a great guy,” Griess said. “He was one of the best friends I could ever have. He’s going to be missed.”

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Army Sgt. Isaac Palomarez remembered

The Associated Press

Brett Sandford considered Isaac Palomarez one of smartest people he knew.

“He would pull out his engineering homework when we were watching ‘Monday Night Football’ and get it done in a quarter — and get it right,” Sandford said.

Palomarez, 26, of Loveland, Colo., was killed May 9 in Kapisa province, Afghanistan, by an explosive and small-arms fire. He was a 2001 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Campbell, Ky.

Palomarez was bright in math and an avid reader who took a few classes at Colorado State University. But he never fully knew what he wanted to study.

Though smaller in stature, Palomarez played offensive tackle for the 2000 Loveland High School football state champion team. “He was a very intelligent kid,” said Marty Gocken, a coach. “He was very team oriented.”

One of Palomarez’s passions was Colorado Avalanche hockey. His private e-mail address was “avs2001,” commemorating their last Stanley Cup championship.

He is survived by his father, Candido, and mother, Elma.

During his last call home, Palomarez told his mother “If I don’t get to talk to you again, happy Mother’s Day.”