Three more Fort Lewis soldiers were killed Thursday in a bombing on the streets of Baghdad, the Department of Defense said.

They were from the same Stryker infantry battalion – the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment – that lost three soldiers in a similar attack last Tuesday.

The military identified the three most recent soldiers killed as:

 • Staff Sgt. Fernando Santos, 29, of San Antonio.

 • Spc. Cristian Rojas-Gallego, 24, of Loganville, Ga.

 • Spc. Eric D. Salinas, 25, of Houston.

The three were killed when an insurgent bomb detonated near their vehicle, the Pentagon said in a news release Sunday.

U.S. military officials in Iraq said 11 other soldiers were wounded in the strike. Four suffered minor injuries and returned to duty. There was no information Monday about the status of the other seven.

The battalion is part of the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, now in its 14th month in Iraq and scheduled to return home next month.

While most of the brigade has moved northeast of the capital to Baqouba for Operation Arrowhead Ripper, the 2-3 Infantry has remained behind in Baghdad serving as a reaction force for commanders in the capital.

Until last week’s attacks, the battalion had lost six soldiers during the current deployment.

Thursday’s deadly attack followed a similar bombing last Tuesday, when three of the battalion’s soldiers were killed and six wounded. The blast claimed Spc. Zachariah J. Gonzalez, 23, of Indiana, Pfc. Charles T. Heinlein, Jr., 23, of Hemlock, Mich., and Pfc. Alfred H. Jairala, 29, of Hialeah, Fla.

A memorial ceremony for all six soldiers has been scheduled for Aug. 15 at the Fort Lewis main post chapel.

Santos was a father of three and also helped his wife, Adonia, raise her son from a previous relationship. Their youngest was born in February, when the soldier was home on leave, family members told the San Antonio Express-News.

Santos joined the Army in 1997 and served at Fort Campbell, Ky., and in Korea before arriving at Fort Lewis in October 2000. He deployed to Iraq in 2003-04, also with the 2-3 Infantry.

His widow said he took his job as a squad leader seriously and worked hard to take care of his soldiers.

“He schooled them on finances and parenting and marriage and investment,” Adonia Santos told the Express-News. “He wanted them to be OK when they got out, like you would your own child. Everybody wanted to be him. He was really funny, quirky. He made everybody laugh. He was strong.

“He was the best thing that ever happened to me,” she said. “He was always, always wanting to make me happy.”

Fort Lewis officials said Salinas enlisted in 2004 and arrived at the post the following January after training at Fort Benning, Ga.

His aunt, Gracie DeLeon of Houston, told his hometown paper he leaves behind a 4-year-old son.

“He wanted to fight for our country,” she told the Valley Morning Star in Harlingen, Texas. “He wanted to see the world, see different people and different cultures. It was something he always wanted to do.”

DeLeon said her nephew was a soccer and basketball fan and loved to dance.

“He was the clown of the family,” she told the Star. “He was always coming out with silly things to do to entertain us. He was a great person.”

Rojas-Gallego joined the Marine Corps at 19 and served three combat tours in Iraq before leaving the Corps in 2005, his brother, Eduardo, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

He returned to the service – this time, the Army – in July 2006 when he and his wife Megan learned they were expecting their third child. After leaving the Marines he hadn’t been able to make enough money to support his family, his brother said.

Fort Lewis officials said Rojas-Gallego reported to the post in September 2006 and was later sent to Iraq with replacements for the 3rd Brigade.

Michael Gilbert: 253-597-8921

mike.gilbert@thenewstribune.com

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