Family recalls slain
isle soldier
RAMONA, Calif. » Army Spc. Ramon C. Ojeda had always seemed destined to serve in the military, family members said.
When he joined the ROTC as a high school student, "he was the only one who had perfect creases in his pants," recalled his sister, Celia St. Germain. "He always held the flag. It meant the world to him."
Ojeda, 22, was killed May 1 when his convoy came under attack in Al Amarah, Iraq. He was assigned to the 84th Engineer Battalion, 25th Infantry Division, based at Schofield Barracks.
Killed in the same attack was Staff Sgt. Oscar Vargas-Medina, 32, of Chicago. Five soldiers from the Hawaii-based division have been killed this year in Iraq, and one was killed in Afghanistan.
Born in San Diego, Ojeda grew up in the unincorporated community of Ramona as part of a close-knit family.
"He was a very lovable person," said his father, Joaquin, of Santa Ysabel. "He would hug me. He would kiss me. He would sit on his mother's lap. I'm really sorry I won't get to hold him again."
A sister, Evangelina Ojeda, of Anaheim, said her brother "used to run into the kitchen and grab my mother from behind and kiss her on the neck and fling her around in circles."
Ojeda served in the same unit as his wife, Lesliee, whom he married in October, said St. Germain. The couple's 14-month-old son, Angel, had been staying with Joaquin Ojeda.