Gov. Mitch Daniels and Indiana National Guard Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. R. Martin Umbarger were officially notified of the deaths of two Indiana National Guard Soldiers in Afghanistan.
The fallen are members of the 713th Engineer Company, headquartered in Valparaiso, and were assigned to clear military supply and combat routes.
Spc. Nicholas Andrew Taylor of Berne and Spc. Sergio Eduardo Perez of Crown Pointe were killed during a complex attack that included rocket propelled grenade fire and small arms fire in the Kandahar Province during a mounted route clearance patrol on Monday.
“Every such loss is a heartbreak,” Daniels said in a press release. “We are hit with special severity here because of the casualties this heroic unit has already endured. No Guard unit in my memory has been assigned a more dangerous mission than the 713th, and here again we see the incredible risks these citizen-soldiers volunteer to run for the rest of us.”
Taylor was born Oct. 10, 1991, in Decatur, the son of Timothy Ray and Stephania Dawn Taylor. He graduated from South Adams High School in May 2010. Later that year, he enlisted in the Indiana Army National Guard and set off for basic training and 12B (Combat Engineer) MOS training at Ft. Leonard Wood, Mo. He returned to Ft. Leonard Wood in April of 2011 to attend the Route/Reconnaissance Clearance Operations Course in preparation for deployment to Afghanistan with the 713th Engineer Company (Sapper). While deployed he was promoted to the rank of Specialist (E4) in April 2012.
Perez was born to Sergio E. Perez Sr. and Veronica Orozko in Crown Point on May 10, 1991.
He graduated from Lake Central High School in May 2010. Later that year, he enlisted in the Indiana Army National Guard and set off for basic training and 12B (Combat Engineer) MOS training at Ft. Leonard Wood, Mo. Perez returned to Ft. Leonard Wood in April of 2011 to attend the Route/Reconnaissance Clearance Operations Course in preparation for deployment to Afghanistan with the 713th Engineer Company (Sapper). While deployed he was promoted to the rank of Specialist (E4) in April 2012.
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