Army Sgt. Eliu A. Mier, 27; Killed in Roadside Bombing of Convoy

The family of Army Sgt. Eliu A. Mier remembers him as a young man devoted to his family, especially his wife and son.

“As soon as I touch American soil, I want to see all my family,” the 27-year-old soldier recently told his sister, Ruth Vallejo, as they talked about his return home from Iraq within a few weeks.

But Mier was killed Jan. 31 when an improvised explosive device hit his convoy in the northern city of Kirkuk. A mechanic assigned to Company A, 4th Forward Support Battalion, 4th Infantry Division at Ft. Hood, Texas, he was deployed to Iraq in April.

Two other soldiers -- Cpl. Juan C. Cabralbanuelos, 25, of Emporia, Kan.; and Pfc. Holly J. McGeogh, 19, of Taylor, Mich. -- also were killed in the attack.

As of Friday, 529 American servicemen and women had been killed in Iraq, 391 since major fighting ended May 1. Mier is among 59 military personnel with ties to California who have died.

Mier, who was born in Durango, Mexico, moved with his parents, Pascual and Esthela Mier, to San Clemente when he was 3, his sister said.

He was a quiet young man who played soccer and basketball, and the saxophone in San Clemente High School’s marching band. His family said he took seriously his role as the older brother of two sisters -- Vallejo and Betsy Ebarra, now 22 and 26, respectively.

After graduating from high school in 1994, Mier attended Saddleback College for a semester before joining the Army.

He was stationed at Ft. Jackson, S.C., and Ft. Campbell, Ky., where he met his future wife, Amanda Dixon, now 24. The couple were married in 1999 in an impromptu civil ceremony after he was assigned to Ft. Hood, his sister said. The couple have a son, Heberto Adrian, now 2.

Mier was back in Texas in November on leave to visit his wife and son. His mother, a cook, and father, a landscaper, drove from their home in Pomona to see him. “There was nothing that could ever be before his wife and son,” Ruth Vallejo said.

By serving in Iraq, his family said, Mier believed he was helping protect freedom for Americans. “In his eyes, he was there for the right reasons,” his sister said. “He died for a good cause. He died for my two kids and his son.”

Funeral plans have not been finalized but, to fulfill a wish he expressed to his wife, his family said he will be buried at Riverside National Cemetery. Mier also is survived by his paternal grandparents, Jesus and Maria Teresa Mier of Guadalajara, and maternal grandfather, Julio Sandoval, who lives in the Mexican state of Michoacan.

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Other Deaths

The Defense Department last week also identified the following American military personnel who died in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Mideast:

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Juan C. Cabralbanuelos, 25, of Emporia, Kan.; corporal, Army. Cabralbanuelos was one of three soldiers killed Jan. 31 when their vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device during a convoy in Kirkuk, Iraq. He was assigned to Company A, 4th Forward Support Battalion, 4th Infantry Division (Mech) at Ft. Hood, Texas.

James R. Dillon Jr., 19, of Grove City, Pa.; private first class, Marine Corps. Dillon died March 13 of a noncombat-related injury in Kuwait. He was assigned to the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center at Twentynine Palms, Calif.

Seth J. Dvorin, 24, of New Jersey; second lieutenant, Army. Dvorin was killed Tuesday when an improvised explosive device exploded while he was conducting counter-IED operations along a supply route in Iskandariyah, Iraq. He was assigned to Battery B, 3rd Battalion, 62nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment at Ft. Drum, N.Y.

Benjamin L. Gilman, 28, of Meriden, Conn.; sergeant, Army. Gilman was designated duty status unknown on Jan. 29 when a weapons cache exploded prematurely in Ghazni, Afghanistan. On Monday, his remains were recovered. He was assigned to the 41st Engineer Battalion, 10th Mountain Division at Ft. Drum, N.Y.

Linda C. Jimenez, 39, of Brooklyn, N.Y.; sergeant, Army. Jimenez died Nov. 8 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. She was injured in a fall Oct. 31 in Iraq, taken to the 28th Combat Support Hospital and later evacuated to Landstuhl Army Regional Medical Center. Jimenez subsequently was moved to Walter Reed, where she died. She was assigned to the 2nd Squadron Combat Support Aviation (Maintenance), 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment at Ft. Polk, La.

Darrell Jones, 22, of Wellston, Ohio; petty officer second class, Navy. Jones died Oct. 8 of noncombat-related injuries in Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates. He was assigned to the guided missile destroyer Higgins, homeported in San Diego.

Holly J. McGeogh, 19, of Taylor, Mich.; private first class, Army. McGeogh was one of three soldiers killed Jan. 31 when their vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device during a convoy in Kirkuk, Iraq. She was assigned to Company A, 4th Forward Support Battalion, 4th Infantry Division (Mech) at Ft. Hood, Texas.

Jason Profitt, 23, of Charlestown, Ind.; petty officer third class, Navy. Profitt died March 17 of a noncombat-related injury while in the Red Sea. He was assigned to the destroyer Deyo, homeported in Norfolk, Va.

Tamarra J. Ramos, 24, of Quakertown, Pa.; specialist, Army. Ramos died Oct. 1 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., of noncombat-related injuries in Iraq. She was assigned to the 3rd Armor Medical Company, Medical Troop Regimental Support Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment at Ft. Carson, Colo.

David A. Scott, 51, of Union, Ohio; master sergeant, Air Force. Scott died July 20 as a result of a nonhostile cause in Doha, Qatar. He was assigned to the 445th Communications Flight at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

David Sisung, 21, of Phoenix; petty officer third class, Navy. Sisung died June 6 of a noncombat-related injury in the Persian Gulf. He was assigned to the aircraft carrier Nimitz, homeported in San Diego.

Armando Soriano, 20, of Houston; private first class, Army. Soriano was killed Feb. 1 while traveling in a two-vehicle convoy on a supply route in Haditha, Iraq, when weather conditions caused his vehicle to slide off the road and roll over. He was assigned to the howitzer battery, 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment at Ft. Carson, Colo. The unit is currently attached to the 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg, N.C.

Roger C. Turner Jr., 37, of Parkersburg, W.Va.; staff sergeant, Army. Turner was killed Feb. 1 while in his sleeping quarters in Anaconda, Iraq, when the logistical support area came under mortar attack. He was assigned to the Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 1st Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division at Ft. Hood, Texas.

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Source: Department of Defense