'He was so proud of being a soldier': Aurora salutes solider killed in Afghanistan

Olivia Guzman Villalon says no words can describe what she's gone through since losing her son, Miguel.

“I really don't have anything to say,” she said. “Miguel has said it all on his own. He earned everything that he did. He was so proud of being a soldier.”

U.S. Army Spc. Miguel Villalon, 21, was killed earlier this month by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. He was a former student of Waldo Middle School in Aurora and East Aurora High School.

Family, friends and the Aurora community gathered Wednesday to say goodbye during a memorial ceremony in the East Aurora High School auditorium. Villalon was buried last Saturday in his family's hometown of Brownsville, Texas.

Those who spoke of Villalon on Wednesday described him as a kind and thoughtful young man.

“He was such a positive person,” said Vincent DeLao, a friend who participated with Villalon in East Aurora's Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps.

DeLao talked about how they had a commander one year who always made them do pushups.

“Miguel was one of those guys that would just look and say, ‘It's not that bad,'” DeLao said. “He was a very positive person, no matter what happened.”

Lt. Lauren Carthan, East Aurora's senior Naval Science instructor, said Villalon was an active cadet who was “heavily involved in the success of the unit.” She said he was a member of three different teams — drill team, color guard and physical training.

“He performed in various color guard events, competed in drill competitions and brought home many physical training trophies,” Carthan said.

Carthan said Villalon worked hard to ensure the success of the teams, including in early morning and after-school practices.

“Very few students, or even adults, have this level of commitment to a craft,” Carthan said. “Miguel was the kind of student that did.”

DeLao said his friend did whatever it took to get a job done.

One time Villalon waited until the last moment to get his hair cut for color guard — so he shaved his head.

“He showed up and Chief (Kevin) Meadows looked at him and said, ‘What in the world gave you that idea?'” said DeLao, adding that Villalon responded, “Do I look good?”

It was one of the lighter moments in an otherwise somber ceremony that included music, poetry, presentations and a slideshow of photographs of Villalon with his friends and family.

Villalon joined the Army in 2018 to be a combat engineer.

“He never told anyone he was going to join the Army,” DeLao said. “And when he did, it was the best thing in the world to find out that my best buddy was going to be a combat engineer.”

Villalon was killed during his first deployment to Afghanistan. He and a second soldier, Staff Sgt. Ian McLaughlin of Virginia, died Jan. 11 when their vehicle struck a bomb in the southern Afghanistan province of Kandahar.

They were assigned to the 307th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division based in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Mayor Richard Irvin called Villalon a hero for our country, our community and our hearts.

“As a soldier, you volunteer,” said Irvin, an Army veteran. “You stand up. You raise your hand. You put yourself in harm's way.”

And while he and other veterans in the auditorium served and gave some, Irvin said, Villalon “served and gave all.”

“He paid the ultimate price and made the supreme sacrifice,” said Irvin, adding that Villalon and his family will never be forgotten in Aurora.

At the end of the program, members of East Aurora's Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps joined Villalon's mother on stage as Frank Sinatra's “My Way” played in the background.

Moments earlier, Olivia Guzman Villalon advised the students to “do what you have to do for you — not for anyone else.”

“Because that's what Miguel did,” she said. “Miguel was so proud and so happy to do what he was doing. And I'm so proud of him for everything that he accomplished.”