By Alex Ginsberg
Growing up in Ridgewood, Spec. Wilfredo Perez Jr. enjoyed playing handball in the local parks with his neighborhood friends. Even after he moved to Norwalk, Conn., in the early 1990s, he often returned to those streets to play a game, friends and relatives said.
But no one could have predicted that Perez's last game of handball would come 6,000 miles away in a desert nation struggling to recover from the ravages of war.
Perez was killed July 26 in a grenade attack while guarding a children's hospital in Ba'qubah, Iraq, about 40 miles northeast of Baghdad, the Army said. Spec. Jonathan Barnes, 21, of Missouri and Sgt. Daniel Methvin, 22, of Texas also died in the attack and four others were wounded. All were with the 1st Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 4th Infantry Division based at Fort Hood, Texas.
Perez, a 24-year-old mortarman, was buried Friday at Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn following a funeral mass at St. Matthias Roman Catholic Church in Ridgewood.
He was posthumously awarded two Bronze Stars for meritorious service and the Purple Heart for his sacrifice, honors given exclusively to soldiers in combat.
In an interview, Norwalk mayor Alex Knopp said the town was offering all the support it could to Perez's bereaved family.
“Willy Perez, Jr. is one of Norwalk's most gallant sons,” he said. “And we are here to show our respect for his honorable life and brave death.” He was accompanied to the funeral by Norwalk Police Chief Harry Rilling and state Rep. Bob Duff (D-Norwalk). A representative of U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) was also present.
Perez was the third Connecticut resident to die in Iraq.
Knopp said it was a “very trying time” for Perez's Connecticut family, father Wilfredo, Sr., stepmother Victoria Roos and step-grandparents Fred and Margaret Roos, all friends of the mayor.
Deputy Mayor Carol Robles-Roman spoke on behalf of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, lauding Perez's quick rise from private first class to specialist in just 18 months.
“Our city and this country owe Spec. Wilfredo Perez more than we can ever say,” she said.
At Perez's wake in Middle Village last Thursday, his sister Lisa, 25, remembered her brother as a devoted son who did his best to split time between his separated parents, and an enthusiastic soldier eager to do his part in Iraq.
“He was excited,” she recalled. “He really wanted to go.”
Pito Acevedo, a family friend, said Perez sent frequent letters and called whenever he could. They young soldier was often telling his friends and relatives hair-raising stories of going without food and water for days on end because of supply problems.
Perez grew up in Ridgewood but moved to Norwalk with his father when he was in the sixth grade, his sister said. He returned to attend John Adams HS in Ozone Park, but dropped out. He enlisted in the Army only 18 months ago after earning his GED.
Lisa Perez said her brother was technically a Connecticut resident, but his true home was always Queens.
“He tried to share himself between his two families,” she said.
Acevedo recalled handball games at parks from Farmer's Oval to Juniper Valley Park and early morning meals at the end of long nights out partying.
Lisa Perez said her brother took his love of handball along on his military assignment, teaching the game to Iraqi children who he said stared, fixated, at the American men in uniform.
Perez is survived by his parents, Wilfredo, Sr. and Ann, sisters Lisa and Leila and brother Joseph.
Reach reporter Alex Ginsberg by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 157.
