Hero's welcome: Las Cruces gathers to honor fallen soldier Antonio Rey Rodriguez

Bethany Brunelle-Raja
Las Cruces Sun-News

LAS CRUCES — Sgt. 1st Class Antonio Rodriguez returned to Las Cruces a hero.

Rodriguez, a Las Cruces native, was killed in an ambush in Afghanistan Feb. 8. His body was flown into the Las Cruces Airport about 1 p.m. Tuesday and then escorted by members of the Patriot Guard, Las Cruces Police Department, Doña Ana County Sheriff's Office and the Las Cruces Fire Department, to Getz Funeral Home. 

Residents lined Picacho Avenue and Solano Drive, many waving US flags and recording the procession, to show their support for an American hero.

U.S. Army soldier Antonio Rey Rodriguez, 28,  of Las Cruces, New Mexico, was killed in Afghanistan on Feb. 8, 2020.

Rodriguez, affectionately known as "Rod," was a 2009 graduate of Mayfield High School and joined the U.S. Army shortly after high school.

He was killed, along with Javier Gutierrez, 28, of San Antonio, Texas, when an Afghan in an Afghan army uniform opened fire on his squad. Six others were wounded in the attack.

A rosary for Rodriguez will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, 1240 S Espina St. The funeral mass will be at noon Friday, Feb. 21 at the cathedral.

Interment will be at Arlington National Cemetery on March 3, 2020.

Stay informed. Sign up for a subscription to the Sun-News.

Honoring a hero

Among the first places the procession passed on Picacho Avenue was Fairacres Elementary, which Rodriguez attended.

About 148 Fairacres students, grades kindergarten through fifth-grade, stood by the road to wave to the passing motorcade.

MORE:Funeral services announced for Las Cruces soldier killed in Afghanistan

Students at Fairacres Elementary School pay tribute to fallen Las Cruces soldier, SFC Antonio Rey Rodriguez, as his motorcade passes the school along Picacho Avenue on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. Rodriguez is a former student at the elementary school.

Principal Gail Estrada said it was important to honor Rodriguez.

"I can’t even say in words what it means to me, to be such a hero and to know that he was a part of our community," she said. 

Estrada continued: "At Fairacres Elementary we really practice kindness and we thought this would be a kind gesture for our entire school to go out and just honor him and remember him in a respectful way," 

Remembering Antonio 

Adrianne Telles, who grew up with Rodriguez, traveled with her mother from Austin, Texas, to pay their respects along the procession route.

"My mom and his mom were best friends growing up in Las Cruces, so we kind of grew up with each other," she said. 

MORE:Las Cruces man killed in combat remembered as one of the best

Telles remembers Rodriguez as smart and devoted to his mom.

"He joined the Army right after he graduated, so I kind of lost touch," she said. "But I would talk to Lupe (his mom) a lot about him and she never really said where she was at or what he was doing. But I always asked, 'how's Antonio,' and she'd always say, 'good, good.'" 

A motorcade procession carrying the body of SFC Antonio Rey "Rod" Rodriguez makes its way through Las Cruces to Getz Funeral Home on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020.

Telles said she and her mother heard from Guadalupe Rodriguez-Jaramillo, his mother, a few days ago, who told them via text message that she is so sad she can't breathe. 

"Those words will haunt me for the rest of my life," Telles said. 

Thoughts and prayers

Martha Benegas-Legarreta learned recently that she was related to Rodriguez family. She attended the funeral procession to honor them. 

The death of her distant cousin has impacted her in many ways, she said. 

"My father was in the military.He was a Bataan Death March survivor, so anyone in the military just stands out to me as a very special thing to me because of my father," she said. 

Benegas-Legarreta said she's keeping the family in her thoughts and prayers. 

"I too have lost a son (named) Antonio and I too know how those thoughts and prayers help us through the grieving time," she said. 

Never forgotten 

Frank Duran, who served in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom, said he was there to show respect to one of his fallen brothers. 

"This hits home. There's just no words to say how we're feeling right now other than to say we lost a brother and our hearts ache," he said. 

Las Cruces veteran Frank Duran attends a funeral procession for SFC Antonio Rey Rodriguez held Thursday, Feb. 18, 2020, in Las Cruces

Duran gifted Rodriguez's mother a T-shirt he made in Antonio's honor.

"He'll never be forgotten," he said. 

Rodriguez leaves behind a wife, Ronaleen Hill Omega-Rodriguez; parents Guadalupe Rodriguez-Jaramillo and her husband Javier D. Jaramillo; father David Hernandez and his wife Isela Hernandez; brothers Christopher James Rodriguez-Jaramillo and David "JR" Hernandez Jr.; and sister Valerie Hernandez.

Sun-News reporter Jacqueline Devine contributed to this story.

Bethany Freudenthal can be reached at bfreudenthal@lcsun-news.com, 575-541-5449 or @bethanyfreuden1 on Twitter.

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the day of the week SFC Antonio Rey Rodriguez's body was flown into Las Cruces. The correct day was Tuesday, Feb. 18.