Nathaniel A. Aguirre

Nathaniel A. Aguirre

HHC 1-22 Infantry

4th Infantry Division (Mechanized)

KIA October 22, 2006

Fallen Carrollton Soldier 'wanted to serve'

05:11 PM CDT on Thursday, October 26, 2006

By MARISSA ALANIS / The Dallas Morning News

Nathaniel Aguirre couldn't wait to serve his country.

He joined the reserves while still in high school in the Carrollton-Farmers Branch school district,
and put off plans to attend Texas A&M so he could sign up for the Army.

“He didn’t want to wait four years to go into the service,” his father, Louis L. Aguirre of Carrollton, said Thursday. “He wanted to serve."

Spc. Aguirre, 21, died Sunday in Baghdad from injuries suffered when his patrol encountered enemy forces.
He was an Army medic assigned to the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment,
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division based at Fort Hood.

Spc. Aguirre blogged about his experiences in Iraq on his MySpage page. Since his death, his page on the social networking Web site
has turned into an online memorial where friends and others have posted messages about him.

Spc. Aguirre was born in Dec. 11, 1984, in San Antonio. His family later moved to Carrollton, where Spc. Aguirre met his best friend,
Joseph Posenecker, at a church gathering.

Mr. Posenecker described Spc. Aguirre as a leader and a responsible person.

“Always keeping us in line,” Mr. Posenecker said of his friend. “Very outgoing and always wanted to be kind of the best at everything.”

Family members said Spc. Aguirre had an adventurous spirit. He enjoyed rock climbing so much so that he volunteered
at Stoneworks Climbing Gym in Carrollton so he could climb for free. He later became a rock climbing instructor at the gym.

Spc. Aguirre also was passionate about being a Boy Scout, said his mother, Mary Laureana Aguirre.
He designated the Boy Scouts as one of his life insurance beneficiaries, his parents said.

“Boy Scouts presented him with structured adventures and learning along with teaching him leadership skills,
responsibility, integrity and loyalty that he embraced with such happiness,” Mrs. Aguirre said.

Funeral services are pending.

E-mail malanis@dallasnews.com

**********************

Cpl. Nathaniel A. Aguirre, 21, wanted to study architecture at Texas A&M University, said Sgt. Richard Etter.
Aguirre's fellow soldiers nicknamed him "Care Bear," Etter said.

**********************

BACK