Jul 2, 2009 7:24 pm US/Eastern
LI Man Among Last US Soldiers Killed In Iraq
EAST MEADOW, N.Y. (CBS) ―
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Jennyfer (L) and Diana Baldeosingh (R) are left with unspeakable grief and unanswered questions after learning their brother, Juan Carlos, was one of the latest soldiers killed in Iraq.
CBS
Two Long Island sisters are left with unspeakable grief and unanswered questions after learning their brother was one of the latest soldiers killed in Iraq.
It was their final communication, via text message: "So since the troops are coming out of big cities does this mean you are coming home sooner than expected?"
Then, sisters Jennyfer and Diana Baldeosingh received the gut-wrenching text message that their beloved brother, Juan Carlos, had been killed in Baghdad.
Sgt. Juan Carlos Baldeosingh was among the last four soldiers killed in Iraq, just one day before the U.S. pullback this week.
Jennyfer Baldeosingh/soldier's sister "At first it's anger," sister Jennyfer says. "Why did he go? Why him?"
The Baldeosingh family was planning Juan Carlos' welcome home party to coincide with Independence Day celebrations in their neighborhood in East Meadow. He was due to take leave in just six days.
"He was fighting for something he believed in," sister Diana says. "He said, 'I promise I'll be ok.'"
Instead of planning Juan Carlos' homecoming, now Jennyfer says the family will be making funeral arrangements.
The Hempstead native and proud graduate of Holy Trinity High School, Sgt. Baldeosingh had already served four years as a marine. He asked to be redeployed in the National Guard, and was on a mission in Baghdad when hit by a roadside bomb.
"Some of them have done two or three tours, they have families and kids, they need to be with them – not over there," Diana said. "We did our time there. It's time to come home, please."
The Baldeosingh family now is in the process of retrieving Juan Carlos' body and making funeral arrangements, right now planned for Arlington National Cemetery.
Sergeant Baldeosingh's wife and three children moved to a military base in North Carolina when he was deployed to Iraq last October.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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