He died on Saturday in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of injuries after encountering an improvised explosive device while on dismounted patrol, the U.S. Department of Defense said. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, from Fort Wainwright, Ala.
According to Pereda’s granduncle, Yigo Mayor Robert Lizama, the family received word of his grandnephew’s death Sunday night.
Lizama is related to Calvin Pereda through his father Cliff Pereda, who is Lizama’s cousin.
The young man’s mother, Rose Evangelista Pereda, is also the goddaughter of the mayor’s grandmother.
The mayor said he can still remember Calvin Pereda when he was a little boy going to elementary school, before the family moved to North Carolina.
“He graduated from high school off-island, entered the military and was deployed,” Lizama said.
Among the relatives who are going to miss Calvin Pereda is his cousin Emerald Evangelista Salas, 26, of Yigo.
Salas said dealing with Calvin Pereda’s death is not easy, especially since their grandmother, Beatrice Evangelista, passed away in April.
“It’s very hard for us. This really crept up on us. This devastated our family. We’re taking this very hard,” Salas said. “We grew up together. He stayed in our grandmother’s house. We were very close.”
Salas recalls her cousin as soft-spoken, but very respectful.
“He was the kid everybody liked to take because he was so well behaved. If he asked to go somewhere, no one would say no. With Calvin, we’d say ‘let’s go,’” she said, adding his main focus was always his mother and his brothers.
The family lived in North Carolina for a number of years before moving to Texas.
“He was supposed to go there for rest and relaxation and for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, God had other plans,” Salas said, while holding back tears.
Calvin Pereda is survived by his parents, his brothers Clifford Pereda II, Chaz Pereda, Jarett Cruz, and Jeremy Fejeran; as well as several other relatives.
According to the Office of Insular Affairs, Calvin Pereda is the 20th soldier originally from Guam to be killed in action.
There is a 6:30 p.m. Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church and rosaries are being held at 7:30 p.m. at the residence of Calvin Pereda’s grandparents’ home at 500 Chalan Deggu in Mataguac, Yigo near the front gate to Andersen Air Force Base.
Condolences
Guam Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo has expressed her condolences to the family.
“I join our island and nation in mourning the loss of Calvin Evangelista Pereda, a son of Guam. Calvin Pereda paid the ultimate sacrifice in defending our nation’s freedom, and we continue to pray for the safety of all service members serving our nation in harm’s way. I extend my most sincere condolences to his family, friends and loved ones,” Bordallo said in a statement.
Also expressing condolences was Gov. Eddie Calvo.
“As a father, I just cannot begin to know what the family is going through, but I want them to know Christine, Ray, Notch and I are praying for them and thinking of them. He is a son of Guam, an American hero who gave his life for our freedom. He put it all on the line for millions of people he never met, but whose freedom he loved so much. There are no words to describe my sorrow. We pray for strength for his family and friends,” Calvo said.
