24th Soldier from Puerto Rico killed in OIF/OEF

January 6, 2005 Copyright © 2005 Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. WASHINGTON - Sgt. 1st Class Pedro Muñoz of Puerto Rico, a 47-year- old Green Beret killed in action in Afghanistan this week, was called "old man" by his troops, but it was said with respect bordering on awe. "Man, he was a stud. We called him 'old man,' but Pedro was harder than woodpecker lips," said Sgt. 1st Class Kevin McDaniel, who jumped with Muñoz into Yankee Stadium as members of the Army's famed Golden Knights parachute team.

McDaniel, 34, of Lakeside, Ariz., recalled that during rare lulls in their grueling training, Muñoz would drop down to do pushups at warp speed to set an example for the younger troops. "C'mon, Pedro, you're making the rest of us look bad," McDaniel said he told his friend. With his death Sunday in restive western Afghanistan near the Iran border, Muñoz became the first Golden Knight killed in the war on terror. He was also one of the oldest Green Berets to fall in Afghanistan or Iraq.

The Special Operations Command said that Muñoz, serving with the 7th Special Forces Group, was on a "presence patrol" with his "A- team" near the town of Shindand when he was hit by small-arms fire. He died aboard a medevac helicopter leaving the scene.

Rep. Jose Serrano (D-Bronx), who was born in Mayaguez near Muñoz's hometown of Aguada on Puerto Rico's east coast, said that "with his death, our community has lost a great 'compatriota.' "

Serrano called Muñoz, who had earned two Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart among his chestful of ribbons, a soldier "who knew what it was to love both Puerto Rico and America."

Maj. Rob Gowan said services for Muñoz would be held at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Chapel at Fort Bragg, N.C., tomorrow. In the Special Ops tradition, Muñoz's inverted boots, his rifle and his green beret will be at the front of the chapel.

His Green Beret buddies said Muñoz's life was marked by devotion to his wife, Gisela; his daughter, Dalia, and his Catholic faith, and by pride in his Puerto Rican heritage.

Muñoz showed his pride in spectacular fashion at a 1999 ceremony to mark the transfer of Army South's headquarters from Panama to Fort Buchanan in San Juan. From a Black Hawk helicopter hovering at 4,000 feet, Muñoz parachuted into the fort to deliver the command's colors. The crowd burst into applause when told that the colors were being carried by a decorated son of Puerto Rico.

"This is where I was born and raised," Muñoz told the crowd, including then-Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Rossello. "It's an honor to be here, doing this in my country."

God rest his soul. He was a true patriot.

Thanks for pointing out the use of the word "country." The semantic confusion involving país/nación/patria in the Spanish language are really unfortunate, since most Puerto Ricans are proud Americans as well as proud Puerto Ricans, and it is no more inconsistent than someone who is both a proud American and a proud Tennessean. Unlike in English, in which the word "country" is seldom used to refer to something other than an independent nation, the Spanish word "país" is often used to describe the local territory---for example, locally farmed eggs are referred to as "huevos del país." And because Puerto Rico is not a state, the adjective "estatal" is usually not used to refer to something that applies to the entire island, so many people use "nacional" despite the fact that Puerto Rico is clearly not a nation and that it causes confusion, since the word "nacional" is also used to refer to things that apply to the entire United States. The word "patria," literally "fatherland," is often used to refer to what can best be described as "the common good," and, ironically, is best translated into English as "the common weal" or "commonwealth" (there is no direct translation into Spanish for the word commonwealth, which is why the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico was translated as Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico). So despite the common use, even among many ardent statehooders, of words such as país, nación and patria to refer to Puerto Rico, this should not be taken to mean that such persons do not owe allegiance to the United States of America. One would hope that the thousands of Puerto Ricans who have served in the U.S. military over the past century would make this explanation unnecessary, yet it is better to reiterate something needlessly than to assume incorrectly that the point is self-evident.

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