Army Spc. Bangayan was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Bangayan was killed by a major blow to the head when his convoy was ambushed by the enemy who used an improvised explosive device (IED), small arms fire, and a rocket-propelled grenade. Solomon was born in the north Philippines and raised by his grandparents and his older sister after his mother moved to the United States in 1986. He was described as a shy, quiet child, who never complained and always tried to do the right thing. When he finished his studies in the Philippines to become a mechanic, he applied for a position in the Philippine military, but was rejected because at 5 feet 7 inches, he was 2 inches too short. He moved to Vermont and lived briefly in Jay with his mother. He obtained a permanent residency visa and shortly after joined the Army. When he visited the family for Thanksgiving, he warned them that he was leaving for Iraq and that he might not be back. He later told them in a phone conversation that it had become more dangerous in Iraq and difficult to spot the enemy. Fellow soldiers describe him as a good soldier and was always around if someone needed help. He wanted to go to nursing school and had been just weeks away from finishing his military service. Solomon was buried in a small cemetery on a wooded hill, a few hundred meters from his home in Barangay San Francisco Norte. His remains were laid to rest in what is now the finest niche in the village cemetery. The niche is finished in gleaming marble tile.
Army Spc. Bangayan was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Bangayan was killed by a major blow to the head when his convoy was ambushed by the enemy who used an improvised explosive device (IED), small arms fire, and a rocket-propelled grenade. Solomon was born in the north Philippines and raised by his grandparents and his older sister after his mother moved to the United States in 1986. He was described as a shy, quiet child, who never complained and always tried to do the right thing. When he finished his studies in the Philippines to become a mechanic, he applied for a position in the Philippine military, but was rejected because at 5 feet 7 inches, he was 2 inches too short. He moved to Vermont and lived briefly in Jay with his mother. He obtained a permanent residency visa and shortly after joined the Army. When he visited the family for Thanksgiving, he warned them that he was leaving for Iraq and that he might not be back. He later told them in a phone conversation that it had become more dangerous in Iraq and difficult to spot the enemy. Fellow soldiers describe him as a good soldier and was always around if someone needed help. He wanted to go to nursing school and had been just weeks away from finishing his military service. Solomon was buried in a small cemetery on a wooded hill, a few hundred meters from his home in Barangay San Francisco Norte. His remains were laid to rest in what is now the finest niche in the village cemetery. The niche is finished in gleaming marble tile.
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