Loveland soldier killed in Afghanistan fighting

LOVELAND, Colorado — An Army sergeant from Colorado became the third soldier from the 101st Airborne to be killed in Afghanistan in a week.

Sgt. Isaac Palomarez, 26, of Loveland, Colo., was killed Friday in the Kapisa Province. The Department of Defense says Palomarez’s patrol encountered an improvised explosive device and came under small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire.

His mother said he borrowed a cell phone days earlier to call and wish her a happy Mother’s Day.

“He just had a few minutes, so he called to say hello to us. He said he wanted to wish us all a happy Mother’s Day,” Elma Palomarez told the Fort Collins Coloradoan on Saturday.

Palomarez was a member of the 101st Airborne Division’s Fourth Brigade Combat Team at Fort Campbell, an Army post on the Kentucky-Tennessee line.

Two other soldiers from the Fourth Brigade, Spc. Jeremy R. Gullett, 22, of Greenup, Ky., and Staff Sgt. Kevin C. Roberts, 25, of Farmington, N.M., died in a bombing Wednesday in Afghanistan’s Sabari District.

This was the second tour of duty for Palomarez, who previously served in Iraq. He was deployed to Afghanistan in March.

“He was actually looking forward to it,” Elma Palomarez said. “He was doing his job willingly.”

Isaac Palomarez graduated from Loveland High School in 2001.