Wilfredo Perez Jr
Profile
Age: 24
From: Norwalk, Conn
Assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas
Incident: Army Spc. Wilfredo Perez Jr. was killed July 26 as a result of a grenade being thrown from a window of an Iraqi civilian hospital he was helping guard in Baqubah, Iraq.
Died: July 26, 2003
Family, friends remember slain soldier at memorial service
NORWALK, Conn. — Veterans and elected officials walked down the middle aisle of the church as people in the pews sang “America the Beautiful” in an Aug. 20 memorial service for Army Spc. Wilfredo Perez Jr.
Perez, 24, of Norwalk, and two other soldiers died July 26 during a grenade attack in Iraq as they were guarding a children’s hospital in Baqubah, Iraq. He was the third Connecticut serviceman to die in Iraq.
The procession inside the church included the American Legion Post 12, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 603 and the Military Order of the Purple Heart.
An American flag and a wreath of red, white and blue flowers surrounded a picture of Perez at the front of the church.
The turnout of nearly 500 friends, neighbors and other loved ones touched Perez’s family.
“Within the community they have supported my brother so much,” said Perez’s sister,...