Edwin Andino killed by roadside bomb

CULPEPER -- A 23-year-old soldier from Culpeper County died Sunday while responding to a mortar attack against a U.S. Army camp in Baghdad, his family said.

Pfc. Edwin Anthony Andino Jr. was a 2001 graduate of Madison County High School and the only son of Cathy Jean Andino of Reva, and Edwin Anthony Andino of New York City.

The Department of Defense had not yet released information to the public about Andino's death. But a relative of Andino's said the Army told the family that Andino and several other soldiers were killed around 6:30 a.m. when their Humvee hit an improvised explosive device.

Andino's uncle, Dean Settle, said Andino, of the 1st Battalion 77th Armored Division, had just been promoted to private first class after excelling in his training weeks before. He had been in Iraq only 30 days and had joined the Army a year ago. He was stationed in Germany before heading to Iraq.

Prior to his promotion, Andino was awarded the Army Achievement Medal. He received a posthumous Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for valor.

"He believed in what he was doing, and we supported him that way," Settle said. "We're very proud of him."

Chad Robison, Andino's best friend, said Andino, known as E.J., joined the Army to make his family proud. He was working construction at the time and believed the military would open those doors for him, said Robison, 29.

"He made this decision and everybody was proud of him," Robison said. "He believed in why we were there. Even though me and some of my other friends would disagree, he still believed in the reason why he was going. That's what made him a hero to me."

The two became friends when Andino auditioned for Robison's heavy metal band. Andino was an avid guitar player and especially enjoyed heavy metal music, his friend said.

Jennifer Driggers, 23, said her life will be forever changed by Andino's death. Driggers was Andino's girlfriend for three years and said they had talked about becoming engaged.

"He was my life," she said. "He was my soul."

When he told her he wanted to join the Army, she said, she helped him study every night before he took his test. Driggers said she admired Andino's devotion to his country, his honesty and the way he always protected her.

When he came home on leave, she said, "everybody who knew E.J. . . . could just see how much he had grown as a person; how much of a man he had become and how he definitely took pride in what he was doing. He wanted to make sure he got the opportunity to go over to Iraq. That is all he wanted to do."

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