I did not know "TJ" personally. I had read about him in "The Roundup," which I receive in the mail from Cal Farley's Boys Ranch; located in the Texas Panhandle. I believe he is an American hero to be honored and remembered.
Specialist Rafael A. "TJ" Carrillo Jr., was born November 24, 1983 at Hill AFB, Utah, and was killed in action by an apparent IED attack in Baghdad, Iraq June 28, 2005. He proudly served with HHC 1-64 Battalion, 2nd Brigade Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Mortar Platoon, as the gunner on an M1114 armored Humvee, and was conducting an area security mission at a critically important road junction. SPC Carrillo was 21 years old. TJ joined the Army out of Austin, Texas in August 2002. He attended Basic Training and AIT at Fort Benning, Georgia where he successfully completed all training including earning his "jump wings" at Jump School. He was then assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, Georgia in January 2003. Upon arrival at Fort Stewart, he was immediately deployed to Kuwait and Iraq for Operation Desert Spring and Operation Iraqi Freedom - 1 until August 2003. After earning his Combat Infantryman's Badge at the age of 19, he redeployed with the rest of the Desert Rogues and went directly into a year-long train-up, which took him to the National Training Center in California, and the Joint Readiness Training Center in Louisiana, in a six-month period. Captain Sherman Powell, of the 1-64 Armor Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division in Iraq wrote the following in a memorial tribute: "Specialist Rafael "TJ" Carrillo was the kind of guy who was always ready for anything. He lived his life in a way that brought humor and joy to the people around him every minute of every day. It was his special gift. No matter how bad the situation might look, he was able to find the right words, the right joke, to lift everyone's spirits and get them through the day. He's going to keep inspiring us, and keep motivating us, to complete the mission for which he, and his family, have paid such a high price, and we will see him again." TJ is survived by his mother and step-father Amy and Jess Tippie, sister Julia Carrillo and step-brother Brice Tippie all of Austin, Tex.; father Tony Carrillo of Austin, Tex.; grandparents James "Whitey" and Gail White, Pampa, Tex.; great- grandmother Edna Chisum, Pampa, Tex.; numerous aunts, uncles and other relatives, friends and family from Cal Farley's Boys Ranch, and his brothers in arms of the Desert Rogues.
Specialist Rafael A. "TJ" Carrillo Jr., was born November 24, 1983 at Hill AFB, Utah, and was killed in action by an apparent IED attack in Baghdad, Iraq June 28, 2005. He proudly served with HHC 1-64 Battalion, 2nd Brigade Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Mortar Platoon, as the gunner on an M1114 armored Humvee, and was conducting an area security mission at a critically important road junction. SPC Carrillo was 21 years old. TJ joined the Army out of Austin, Texas in August 2002. He attended Basic Training and AIT at Fort Benning, Georgia where he successfully completed all training including earning his "jump wings" at Jump School. He was then assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, Georgia in January 2003. Upon arrival at Fort Stewart, he was immediately deployed to Kuwait and Iraq for Operation Desert Spring and Operation Iraqi Freedom - 1 until August 2003. After earning his Combat Infantryman's Badge at the age of 19, he redeployed with the rest of the Desert Rogues and went directly into a year-long train-up, which took him to the National Training Center in California, and the Joint Readiness Training Center in Louisiana, in a six-month period. Captain Sherman Powell, of the 1-64 Armor Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division in Iraq wrote the following in a memorial tribute: "Specialist Rafael "TJ" Carrillo was the kind of guy who was always ready for anything. He lived his life in a way that brought humor and joy to the people around him every minute of every day. It was his special gift. No matter how bad the situation might look, he was able to find the right words, the right joke, to lift everyone's spirits and get them through the day. He's going to keep inspiring us, and keep motivating us, to complete the mission for which he, and his family, have paid such a high price, and we will see him again." TJ is survived by his mother and step-father Amy and Jess Tippie, sister Julia Carrillo and step-brother Brice Tippie all of Austin, Tex.; father Tony Carrillo of Austin, Tex.; grandparents James "Whitey" and Gail White, Pampa, Tex.; great- grandmother Edna Chisum, Pampa, Tex.; numerous aunts, uncles and other relatives, friends and family from Cal Farley's Boys Ranch, and his brothers in arms of the Desert Rogues.
I did not know "TJ" personally. I had read about him in "The Roundup," which I receive in the mail from Cal Farley's Boys Ranch; located in the Texas Panhandle. I believe he is an American hero to be honored and remembered.
Specialist Rafael A. "TJ" Carrillo Jr., was born November 24, 1983 at Hill AFB, Utah, and was killed in action by an apparent IED attack in Baghdad, Iraq June 28, 2005. He proudly served with HHC 1-64 Battalion, 2nd Brigade Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Mortar Platoon, as the gunner on an M1114 armored Humvee, and was conducting an area security mission at a critically important road junction. SPC Carrillo was 21 years old. TJ joined the Army out of Austin, Texas in August 2002. He attended Basic Training and AIT at Fort Benning, Georgia where he successfully completed all training including earning his "jump wings" at Jump School. He was then assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, Georgia in January 2003. Upon arrival at Fort Stewart, he was immediately deployed to Kuwait and Iraq for Operation Desert Spring and Operation Iraqi Freedom - 1 until August 2003. After earning his Combat Infantryman's Badge at the age of 19, he redeployed with the rest of the Desert Rogues and went directly into a year-long train-up, which took him to the National Training Center in California, and the Joint Readiness Training Center in Louisiana, in a six-month period. Captain Sherman Powell, of the 1-64 Armor Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division in Iraq wrote the following in a memorial tribute: "Specialist Rafael "TJ" Carrillo was the kind of guy who was always ready for anything. He lived his life in a way that brought humor and joy to the people around him every minute of every day. It was his special gift. No matter how bad the situation might look, he was able to find the right words, the right joke, to lift everyone's spirits and get them through the day. He's going to keep inspiring us, and keep motivating us, to complete the mission for which he, and his family, have paid such a high price, and we will see him again." TJ is survived by his mother and step-father Amy and Jess Tippie, sister Julia Carrillo and step-brother Brice Tippie all of Austin, Tex.; father Tony Carrillo of Austin, Tex.; grandparents James "Whitey" and Gail White, Pampa, Tex.; great- grandmother Edna Chisum, Pampa, Tex.; numerous aunts, uncles and other relatives, friends and family from Cal Farley's Boys Ranch, and his brothers in arms of the Desert Rogues.
Specialist Rafael A. "TJ" Carrillo Jr., was born November 24, 1983 at Hill AFB, Utah, and was killed in action by an apparent IED attack in Baghdad, Iraq June 28, 2005. He proudly served with HHC 1-64 Battalion, 2nd Brigade Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Mortar Platoon, as the gunner on an M1114 armored Humvee, and was conducting an area security mission at a critically important road junction. SPC Carrillo was 21 years old. TJ joined the Army out of Austin, Texas in August 2002. He attended Basic Training and AIT at Fort Benning, Georgia where he successfully completed all training including earning his "jump wings" at Jump School. He was then assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, Georgia in January 2003. Upon arrival at Fort Stewart, he was immediately deployed to Kuwait and Iraq for Operation Desert Spring and Operation Iraqi Freedom - 1 until August 2003. After earning his Combat Infantryman's Badge at the age of 19, he redeployed with the rest of the Desert Rogues and went directly into a year-long train-up, which took him to the National Training Center in California, and the Joint Readiness Training Center in Louisiana, in a six-month period. Captain Sherman Powell, of the 1-64 Armor Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division in Iraq wrote the following in a memorial tribute: "Specialist Rafael "TJ" Carrillo was the kind of guy who was always ready for anything. He lived his life in a way that brought humor and joy to the people around him every minute of every day. It was his special gift. No matter how bad the situation might look, he was able to find the right words, the right joke, to lift everyone's spirits and get them through the day. He's going to keep inspiring us, and keep motivating us, to complete the mission for which he, and his family, have paid such a high price, and we will see him again." TJ is survived by his mother and step-father Amy and Jess Tippie, sister Julia Carrillo and step-brother Brice Tippie all of Austin, Tex.; father Tony Carrillo of Austin, Tex.; grandparents James "Whitey" and Gail White, Pampa, Tex.; great- grandmother Edna Chisum, Pampa, Tex.; numerous aunts, uncles and other relatives, friends and family from Cal Farley's Boys Ranch, and his brothers in arms of the Desert Rogues.
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