MilitaryPress

From Angela Vega

I met Kenny in 2005 when we were juniors in high school at Poway High in San DIego, California. He was a shy and quiet guy at first, but after getting to know him, I discovered what a great, fun-loving person he was. We had Spanish class together and would talk and text on the phone during and after school. I even had the pleasure of having him as my senior prom date in 2007, the year we graduated. After high school, Kenny and I went our seperate ways, but we reconnected and were reunited again in 2009, around the time when he informed me that he had enlisted in the Army. My first thought was worry that he would be putting himself in harms way. But after, my thoughts on it turned to pride. Pride that my friend had volunteered to serve his count ry as a United States soldier. I missed him so much when he went away to Georgia for boot camp, then to Kentucky for training, but was so happy when he would come home. In the summer of 2010, he was sent on his first tour to Afghanistan. We kept in touch through Facebook messages and his parents giving me the information on him whenever they got news. I sent him care packages with chapstick, beef jerky, and rice crispy treats, what he always loved. At the end of every conversation, when he was able to say goodbye, he always ended with “I love you! I miss you! Can’t wait to see you again!” On December 12, 2010, Cpl Kenneth E. Necochea, Jr., along with five other Army soldiers, was killed by a suicide car bomber in the Kandahar province of Afghanistan. When I received the news the following Monday morning, my mind went blank. I wasn’t sure how to react. All I knew was that my best friend was gone. The days and weeks following the day I go thte news seemed to go by in a blur. I went to MCAS Miramar where his remains were to be flown in. The day after attended his open-casket memorial. That was the last time I got to see his face. And soon after, spoke at his funeral and watched as the rifle salute bid my friend farewell on a cold and rainy day at the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetary, where he now rests with his fellow heroes. I couldn’t get over how peaceful he looked the last time I saw his face silent and still, lying in front of me. He looked just like the Kenny that I knew in loved all those years ago. I had grown such strong feelings for him throughout the years I knew him. We had a special relationship, never romantic (though I wish we had, and didn’t learn until later that the crush I developed for him in high school was mutual for him), but he was my best friend, and the love of my life. I’ll never forget one of the last things he said to me before he deployed. I told him, “I love you, please stay safe”, he responded with “I love you too, Angela, don’t you worry, I’ll see you soon”. Kenny had one of the purest hearts I’d ever known. He always put himself second to those he loved. He was the heart of his wonderful family and large circle of friends. He only thought about the well-being of others, which is why he chose to enlist; to help people. Though he may be gone, I continue to carry on Kenny’s legacy of love and devotion. He was a ray of sunshine to everyone he met and an all around beautiful person, inside and out. So rest in paradise, weary soldier. Your work is done. Thank you for your service, and God bless you.