On Friday, lawmakers and Texas Tech leaders held a special memorial for Staff Sgt. Virginia Caballero. Texas Tech ROTC students honored her family tonight in a special Veterans Day ceremony. Caballero died in 2014 after dedicating her life to protecting others.
“She was a patriot. She loved America. She loved fighting for what was right. And she died doing what she loved doing,” said Caballero’s sister Suzie Caballero-Turner.
Students started the night with the traditional ceremony of retreating of the flag. Council woman Karen Gibson and Congressman Jodey Arrington both spoke about the importance of remembering the sacrifice of veterans.
“It’s a heartwarming thing when they honor my sister,” said Caballero-Turner. “She deserves all the honor she gets. Every veteran deserves the honor they get.”
Caballero was a Texas Tech alumna and from Abernathy. She deployed to Iraq in 2003 where she earned a Purple Heart after her unit was ambushed.
“Once she completely medically was able to fight again, she fought to go back and get deployed again,” said her sister.
In 2014, on a flight home from Kuwait to surprise her family, Caballero became sick and died soon after. On Friday, Texas Tech laid a wreath in her honor.
“We appreciate that even three years later, they’re still honoring her. It just shows how much the community loves our veterans,” said Caballero-Turner.
