Edwardo Loredo – Staff Sergeant, United States Army

U.S. Department of Defense

Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)
News Release

IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 547-10
June 28, 2010

DOD Identifies Army Casualty

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

Staff Sergeant Edwardo Loredo, 34, of Houston, Texas, died June 24, 2010, at Jelewar, Afghanistan, when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.  He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

For more information, the media may contact the 82nd Airborne Division public affairs office at 910-432-0661 or 910-432-0662.


Houston soldier Edwardo Loredo gave his life for this country when he died fighting insurgents in Afghanistan. Now his country will honor him with a hero's burial.

His sacrifice will be forever memorialized with a grave at Arlington National Cemetery. It will be a bittersweet moment for his family.

Tuesday will be a very difficult day for the Loredo family. Staff Sargeant Edwardo Loredo was just weeks from the end of his Afghanistan tour when he was killed. But the soldier's family finds comfort because final resting place stood for so much to him.

After Edwardo Loredo graduated from Sam Houston High School, he didn't even tell his family he had enrolled in the Army.

“He was just a big adventurer,” said his cousin Elizabeth Huff. “He just wanted to go out and explore.”

And he did, earning his way to Staff Sergeant by the age of 34. His cousin Elizabeth says he was really more like a brother to her and when he came home standing tall in his uniform they were so proud.

Huff said, “He wanted to protect us here, he wanted to protect them there. He was a protector, a guardian.”

Huff knew when her cousin was deployed to Afghanistan late last year it would be a very dangerous mission. He had been to Iraq before. He died during combat in Afghanistan, just one day short of his 35th birthday and just weeks before he was to finish his tour to the Middle East.

“Of course we are saddened that he is not with us because we miss him so much,” Huff said. “We miss him a whole lot but we know that he is with the angels.”

Loredo had told Huff he was ready to get out to spend more time with his family. His wife Jennifer is also in the army. The first sergeant was also deployed to Afghanistan in May. She was stationed in the northern part when her husband was killed.

“He's proud of his family,” Huff said. “He loves his wife so dearly.”

Not all of the family can make the journey to Arlington, but when taps fill the air at the National Cemetery for their dear Edwardo, they want him to know how much he meant to them, as they say they know what Arlington symbolized to him.

“It means honor to be buried there,” Huff said.

The staff sergeant's wife and children will remain in North Carolina after the funeral at Arlington.


A Houston soldier has been laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.

Staff Sergeant Edwardo Loredo of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division was killed June 24, 2010, when insurgents attacked his unit with a homemade bomb in Afghanistan. He died just one day shy of his 35th birthday.

Loredo's wife, Jennifer, is a First Sergeant in the Army. She was stationed in the northern part of Afghanistan when her husband was killed.

On Tuesday morning, Loredo's remains were buried at the National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. An honor guard fired a 21-gun salute in memory of Loredo.

Loredo's family says they are proud of his service and honored by his final resting place.

Arlington Burial Afghanistan

A caisson carries the coffin during a burial service for Staff Sergeant. Edwardo Loredo, 
at Arlington National Cemetery Tuesday, July 27, 2010. 

Arlington Burial Afghanistan

Army honor guards carry the coffin of Army Staff Sergeant Edwardo Loredo, during a burial service 
at Arlington National Cemetery Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Jennifer Loredo, Alexis Loredo, Laura Loredo

The widow of Staff Sergeant Edwardo Loredo, First Sergeant Jennifer Loredo, left, and his stepdaughter 
Alexis Loredo, second from left, and daughter Laura Loredo, second from right, pause as the taps is played 
during a burial service at Arlington National Cemetery Tuesday, July 27, 2010.

edwardo-loredo-gravesite-photo-by-eileen-horan-july-2010-001

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