Army Staff Sgt. Jose Cintron Rosado

Died January 2, 2011 Serving During Operation New Dawn

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38, of Vega Alta, Puerto Rico; assigned to the 1013th Engineer (Sapper) Company of the Puerto Rico Army National Guard, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico; died Jan. 2 in Taji, Iraq, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. Also killed was Sgt. Jose A. Delgado Arroyo.

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Guardsman was hero to family

The Associated Press

Jose Cintron Rosado loved the military and was a hero to his family, his wife said.

He was such a hero that his son Carlos, 14, insisted that he have a chance to stand guard over his father’s coffin for a shift. The teen is a member of the Junior ROTC in Puerto Rico.

“This is the greatest thing for him,” Maria Robles Cintron said. “He always said, ‘Mommy, I want to be there beside him to see how proud I am.’

Cintron Rosado, 38, of Vega Alta, Puerto Rico, was killed by a roadside bomb Jan. 2 in Taji, Iraq. He was a member of the Puerto Rico Army National Guard based in Aguadilla. Another soldier, Jose A. Delgado Arroyo, also was killed in the bombing.

Robles Cintron said her husband loved being in the military. “He died a hero. For me and my children,” she said. He leaves behind another son, Kevin.

Maj. Paul Dahlen of the Puerto Rico National Guard said the two men were tasked with clearing bombs from roadways. They had deployed to Iraq together in April. He said their deaths had been especially tough on their comrades.

“We’re a pretty close group,” Dahlen said. “We consider ourselves a family.”