Soldier who fostered prayer laid to rest
By Chris Donahue
Staff Writer
U.S. Army specialist Yoe M. Aneiros was remembered as a great soldier who brought the peace of the Lord to members of his battalion in nighttime prayer sessions.
The reflections came from fellow soldiers, relatives and clergy during a wake Sept. 16 and Mass of Christian Burial Sept. 17 in Holy Trinity Parish, Perth Amboy, for Aneiros, who was killed Sept. 7 in Sadr City, Iraq. Aneiros died on his 20th birthday.
Father Thomas F. Ryan, pastor of Holy Trinity Parish, was principal celebrant and homilist.
In his homily, offered in Spanish and then English, Father Ryan referred to a painting of the Crucifixion in the sanctuary.
“He (Aneiros) was a man who had a great future,” Father Ryan said. “Although his plans ended, his life did not. He was resurrected with Jesus.”
Bishop Emeritus Edward T. Hughes, who presided at the Mass, expressed his heartfelt sympathy to Aneiros’ family.
“He gave his full measure of devotion to the cause of liberty,” the bishop said. “Please pray for him.”
About 150 students from Perth Amboy Catholic Middle School also attended the Mass.
Aneiros was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 70th Armor Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, based out of Fort Riley, Kan., when his patrol vehicle came under attack by enemy forces using rocket-propelled grenades, according to the Department of Defense.
Near the end of the wake, several mourners offered memories of their time with Aneiros.
Staff Sgt. Jose A. Maldonado, Aneiros’ former tank commander, said, “Yoe loved the Lord. He loved God.”
“He would come to my tank every night and ask to pray. And we would,” Sgt. Maldonado said.
Staff Sgt. William H. Ruth III, who also served with Aneiros, said he didn’t like him very much at first because he was a little stubborn and cocky — like Ruth himself. But it didn’t take long to warm up to Aneiros and take a special interest in his training because he saw someone with great potential, Sgt. Ruth said.
“Yoe was one of the best,” Sgt. Ruth said. “He believed, as I and others do, there are some who are born to be guardians of liberty and freedom … for all mankind, no matter what race or religion they are.
“I came to love Yoe not just as one of my troops, but like a son,” he later added. “His goal every day was to make me proud. No matter how hard things got, he would always smile that big smile of his.”
Sgt. Ruth recounted how one morning he returned from a patrol and found Aneiros flying a kite he had made out of sticks, string and a plastic bag. Aneiros knew that Sgt. Ruth had never flown a kite and wanted him to enjoy the experience.
Sgt. Ruth also described how Aneiros’ love for his wife of two years, Alexandra, was an inspiration that eventually led him to find his own wife.
“I never saw a more loving couple,” Sgt. Ruth said. “As much as I was teaching him about war, he was teaching me about love. His love for Alex, how he would walk to get things for her…I thank him for that every day.
“Yoe, from the troopers of the ‘Lost Platoon,’ we love you and miss you.”
Aneiros wanted to become a medical doctor and the Army was going to help pay for his education, according to a relative who also spoke at the wake.
“His (Aneiros’) degree of intuition was incredible. I could tell his mind was very special,” the cousin said. “He would have been a great doctor and saved a lot of lives.”
Aneiros was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 70th Armor Regiment, 3rd Soldier killed in Iraq loved the Lord Brigade, 1st Armored Division, based out of Fort Riley, Kan., when his patrol vehicle came under attack by enemy forces using rocket-propelled grenades, according to the Department of Defense.
In addition to his wife, whose family attends Holy Trinity Parish, Aneiros is survived by his father, Manuel Aneiros, who lives in Cuba, his mother, Clara Gonzalez, his stepfather, Rafael Virella and his brothers, Yoansi Aneiros and Geover Virella, who all live in Florida.
Aneiros, a native of Havana, Cuba, lived in Newark before he enlisted in the Army two years ago.
He was buried in St. Gertrude
Cemetery, Colonia.
*The attached/referenced article was originally published in The Catholic Spirit, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Metuchen, and is protected under U.S. and international copyright law