Army Staff Sergeant Justin Gallegos, 27, of Tucson, AZ was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, CO. He died October 2, 2009, along with seven others, in Kamdesh, Afghanistan. They were conducting combat operations when their contingency outpost came under small-arms, rocket-propelled grenades and indirect fire by hundreds of insurgents.

SSG Gallegos attended Tucson High School and, in December 2000, graduated from Aztec Middle College at the West Pima Campus. He joined the U.S. Army in May 2003. SSG Gallegos had served two previous tours of duty and had already earned two Purple Heart Medals for injuries sustained during those active combat operations. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal, his third Purple Heart and the Distinguished Service Cross, the second-highest award for valor.

At the funeral, Maj. Dan Chandler said each of the eight 4th Infantry soldiers enlisted after the terrorist Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. “They were helping to make a difference when they were taken from us,” he said.

SSG Gallegos was survived by his son, MacAidan.