Major Ed Caraveo

It is odd how tragic events occur and we often accept the big picture as what it is and do not pay attention to the fine details. Tonight I was on a web site and ran across a tribute to the fallen in the Fort Hood Shooting incident on November 5th 2009. I scrolled through the names and one name of a fallen soldier jumped out at me and grabbed my heart in a sad and shocking way.

Libardo Eduardo Caraveo, Major US Army Reserve- murdered by a fanatic at a Soldier Readiness Station at Fort Hood, Texas. Ed was my roommate for two weeks in July of 2009. We attended Captains Career Course for the Army at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas and roomed together. Both majors and we have last names that end in "C". We shared a dual dorm room and a bathroom and were with several other excellent soldiers.

We walked in the evenings, studied together for exams and ate many meals together. He was a bright man with a mature insight into life. I very much enjoyed his company and his focus on what mattered. He spoke of his service at Guantanamo Bay and how much he missed his beautiful wife. He told me he was going to be deployed in the fall. I never dreamed to where. He was laid to rest in Arlington Cemetery with full military honors.

I cannot imagine the stress of losing a loved one as a soldier, especially in such a random act of violence. I often thought of what would occur if I died in my two deployments to Iraq. Flying at night over Baghdad looking out the back of a Chinook with a gunner and the city light below. I resigned myself that one stinger missile and I could be gone. I knew my life was often in the hands of fate and that my soul belonged to a loving God who would welcome me home with open arms. Sitting in my trailer on FOB Echo with mortars hitting regularly was another of those times when it was not in my control whether I was lucky or not. When it is our time, it is our time. I resolved that dying in uniform, for a noble cause-even if it is repairing teeth of foreign soldiers was good enough. Once the fear of death subsides-then living is easier and then one tends to worry about those who struggle with what is happening. Ed was the man to volunteer to make people feel better. I am sure he would have made a difference in Afghanistan or Iraq. He made a difference in two weeks with me and was a most pleasant man.

God bless you Major Caraveo- and bless your family too. Your life is an example of courage and strength. I only wish I had paid attention to your loss sooner. It was opportunity to understand more deeply the loss of a great man sooner and pay my respects.