Delfin Santos Jr. - U.S. Military

Spc. Delfin M. Santos Jr., age 24, of San Jose, California, died on April 6, 2013, in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit in Zabul, Afghanistan with a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device.

He was assigned to the 5th Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armor Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Georgia.

Delfin was part of a convoy delivering school textbooks to a school in Qalat, when the convoy was struck by a car bomb. Three U.S. soldiers, a State Department civilian and a Defense Department civilian were all killed in the attack.

Delfin was born in the Pampanga province of the Philippines and moved to the Bay Area in the early 1990's to live with his father. He attended local schools in San Jose and Santa Clara before returning to the Philippines for high school and then later back to the U.S.A.

He joined the Army in December of 2006. He was following in the footsteps of his father, Delfin Sr., who had fought against the Japanese during World War II and was held as a prisoner of war in the Philippines. Delfin Jr.'s older sister, Madeleine, also joined the Army.  Delfin Jr. and Madeleine served together in Iraq in 2008.

Delfin served tours of duty in Germany and Iraq, before this last deployment to Afghanistan.

Family members stated that Delfin loved the military and was proud of serving his country. After his service was over he wanted to study psychology in order to help returned soldiers suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

They stated that Delfin is their hero. He died protecting others. They are proud of him and are deeply grieving over his death.

He will be buried beside his father in the Philippines. 

Saint Pedro Calungsod,
pray for Delfin

Delfin is survived by many loving friends and relatives including his mother; his two sisters, Madeleine and Darlene Santos; and 13 half siblings from his father's first marriage.

Pray for all who die young and in a foreign war zone.

Thank you for serving, Delfin.

Let us pray that Delfin is in heaven. Let us pray that he is at peace and is with God. Amen.