I REMEMBER PFC JUAN SEBASTIáN RESTREPO

This Memorial Day I will be thinking about and praying for many of our fallen including PFC Juan Sebastián Restrepo who grew up in South Florida in Pembroke Pines. This July 22nd will mark the tenth anniversary of his death in the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan. He was only 20 years old when he was killed. Restrepo was his unit’s “Doc”, the medic charged with keeping his fellow soldiers alive should they become wounded. They were ambushed by the enemy and when Restrepo raised his head to see if anyone was wounded, he was shot. One bullet tore through the carotid artery in his neck. Despite his injuries, Restrepo guided his fellow soldiers on how to care for his wounds. Unfortunately he bled out on the helicopter as he was being evacuated to a field hospital.

Like many in our community, Juan Sebastián was a Colombian-American kid raised by a single mom, Marcela Pardo. His parents had separated when he was very young and Marcela migrated with her children to the US in 1993. Restrepo attended Charles Flanagan High School in Pembroke Pines. He wanted to become a doctor but he couldn’t afford college. He joined the Army and became a medic in the hope that it would provide a springboard to becoming a physician like his father and grandfather in Colombia.

If the name Restrepo rings a bell, it is because his fellow soldiers named their observation post (OP) in the Kornegal Valley, OP Restrepo, after their fallen medic. The outpost became the name of the 2010 Oscar-nominated documentary film, Restrepo, by Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington. The movie showcased both the bravery and the frustration of US soldiers attempting to push back against a very primitive and determined enemy in one of the most rugged regions of Afghanistan.

I had the privilege of meeting Juan Sebastián’s mother, grandmother, siblings and other family members when the University of Miami kindly allowed us to premier the Restrepo film on campus shortly before its national debut. I sat next to Marcela Pardo and shared in her tearful anguish as we watched, for the very first time, the last images of a smiling Juan Sebastián joking with his buddies shortly before being deployed. The experience shook me to the core and drove home the horrible price that war exacts not only on our country’s sons and daughters but also on the families they leave behind.

Time heals all wounds, even those that pierce like a dagger into the very heart of a loving mother. While Marcela’s pain and loss will endure forever, the community around them has embraced the family and assured Marcela that her son’s sacrifice--- and his memory--- will never be forgotten. This Memorial Day, take a minute to honor the sacrifice of all those who have died wearing our country’s uniform….and say a prayer for those they left behind.