EL CENTRO, Calif. - After a bomb exploded beneath his tank last month in Iraq, Army Sgt. Luis Montes was able to climb free but rushed back to help two fellow soldiers trapped inside. Struggling to pull his men from wreckage, Montes was burned over more than half his body.He was flown to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. There, in the presence of his family, he was removed from life support and died Sept. 7. He was 22.
At the hospital, another soldier who witnessed the Sept. 1 explosion west of Baghdad in Abu Ghraib told Montes' mother of watching him on fire and yet returning for the other soldiers. "He didn't want to go up in the helicopter until he knew his men were all right," his mother, Marisela, told the Los Angeles Times.
The other two soldiers survived. One lost a leg and the other was burned over 20 percent of his body, Marisela said.
Montes was born in Mexicali, Mexico and grew up in El Centro. As a teenager at Southwest High School, Montes played on the soccer team and at one point planned to attend technical school in Phoenix. After graduation, however, he decided to enlist, and finished boot camp in mid-2003.
Montes was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division at Ft. Hood, Texas. There, he quickly went through the ranks and was promoted sergeant. He later applied for, and received, U.S. citizenship. Last year he reenlisted for a three-year stint and was sent to Iraq in December.
His mother said when he came back in July on furlough, Montes talked about his desire to buy a house and maybe join the city police department or U.S. Border Patrol.
Montes was buried Sept. 16 in El Centro. The Army awarded him a Purple Heart and Bronze Star, and gave them to his mother.
| I don't know all the rules, but geez, he sounds like a DSC to me. On fire and going back to get others out of the tank? Rest in peace, Sargaent, you're a hero to all of us. |