Remembering and honoring Sgt Angelo Lozada, Jr ~ NH Hero
Remembering and honoring Sgt Angelo Lozada, Jr. – KIA 4/16/2005 – Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 17th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Te4am, 2nd Infantry Division, Camp Hovey, Korea.
The last call from Angelo to his family was a happy one; he was headed home in 2 weeks. He wanted to surprise his mother for Mother’s Day and meet his first grandchild. He was killed in Ramadi, Iraq when his section’s M109 Paladin took a direct hit from a rocket while in the battery firing position.
Angelo grew up in Brooklyn, NY with his parents, 5 brothers, 2 sisters and a large extended family. Growing up, he earned a reputation as a practical joker who always looked out for his younger siblings. He and his two brothers, Louis and Antonio, joined the reserves after graduating from Easton District High School in Brooklyn, NY. He moved to Nashua when he was 19 and served in the New Hampshire National Guard for 6 years before switching over to active duty in the Army. His family says Angelo considered New Hampshire to be his home.
His brother Antonio said one of the reasons he loved the reserves was traveling the world. “He wanted to travel and he got to. He was gung-ho all the way.”
Gus, another of Angelo’s brothers referred to Robert Frost’s “The Road Less Traveled” saying his brother took a road of unselfishness, sacrifice and service. Family was very important to Angelo. His son, Michael, said his father often brought him to the movies and had coached his baseball team when he was little. “He did right for everybody. We were always worried about him, but he was always worried about us,” his sister Angela said. “He was a sweetheart” said his brother the Rev. Augustin Rodriquez. “He cared very much for everyone – he was just a good person.”
Angelo was the first NH soldier killed in Iraq to be laid to rest at the New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery in Boscawen.
To Honor is to Remember
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