Army Spc. Jose L. Ruiz
Death: Aug 15, 2005
of Brentwood N.Y.; assigned to the 3rd Battalion 21st Infantry Regiment 1st Brigade 25th Infantry Division Stryker Brigade Combat Team Fort Lewis Wash.; killed Aug. 15 by small-arms fire from a civilian vehicle while he was conducting security operations in Mosul Iraq. N.Y. soldier killed in Iraq left his mark says wife Associated Press Last December Jose Ruiz called his mother Juliana to say a “big big present” was on its way. A few minutes later the doorbell rang. Ruiz was at the door grinning. “Here’s your present” he said wrapping his mother in a hug. Ruiz28 of Brentwood N.Y. was killed Aug. 15 by small-arms fire in Mosul. He was based at Fort Lewis. Ruiz attended the New York Institute of Technology and had worked as computer network engineer in New York but was inspired to join the military after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. He is survived by his wife Alexa and their 9-month-old daughter Liana who met her father for the first and only time last Christmas. “When he first met her it was glory” said his stepfather Eduardo King. “He never let her go.” Ruiz was looking forward to coming home in six weeks and had bought a house in Washington state. “I was confident every second of the day that he was going to come home to me” his wife said. “But I thank God for giving me the time he gave me with him and for giving me a baby with him. That’s his mark on the world.” Operation Iraqi Freedom