On Friday, June 23, I joined 75 other Patriot Guard Riders and hundreds of friends and family members to honor the memory of and pay our final respect to Sgt. Roger P. Pena Jr. of San Antonio, TX.

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Sgt. Roger P. Pena Jr., 29, of San Antonio died in Musa Qulah,
Afghanistan, on June 14, when his convoy came under enemy small arms fire
during combat operations.  Pena was assigned to the 10th Sustainment Brigade,
10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.

Sgt. Pena was a fellow Combat Medic, and also a former student at the University of Texas at Austin. He leaves behind a wife and two sons.

According to Roger Pena Sr., his son loved the Army:

“He did what he loved. He joined the service on his own free will to protect this country. Protect all of us, because that’s what he believed in.”

The services for Sgt. Pena were held at San Fernando Cathedral, which is the seat of the Archdiocese of San Antonio, and the oldest cathedral sanctuary in the United States. He was laid to rest with full military honors at Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio.

SATX News has video, which makes the following point about the size of Sft. Pena’s funeral: “Because so many Americans, like the PGR, refuse to let military funerals become ordinary.”