For most of his teenage life, Army Private Carlos June Paragua Jr. dreamt of serving as a soldier.

He did become one on June 23 – a day before he turned 22 years old – when he completed the Basic Infantry Course in Camp Ositio Bahian in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon.

Paragua was one of the 49 soldiers who died in a C-130 plane that crashed in Patikul, Sulu, on July 4. 

On Monday, July 12, five more remains of those who died in the plane crash, including Paragua’s, were brought to the 4th Infantry Division in Cagayan de Oro, their final stop before their bodies are sent home to their families.

Paragua’s mother Betsy recalled her son’s dedication and determination to become a soldier.

Having grown up in the hinterland village of Manila de Bugabos in Butuan City, she said, Paragua was influenced by soldiers who frequented their village because of the military campaign against the New People’s Army in the Caraga region. 

“When he was in seventh grade, he would dress up like a soldier during presentations,” Betsy said.

She said her son had tried to enlist in the Army a day before he turned 18 in 2017, but his family prevented him from doing that.

“We told him that we were sending him to college,” she said. “We really wanted to send him to college, but he argued that college was a waste of money.”

Instead of going to college, Betsy said, Paragua opted to help his family in their farm, and waited a few more years before he enlisted.

“He was a comic, and he made every day a happy day,” Betsy said.

The soldier’s father Carlos Sr. said his son knew what he wanted to be, and that he had even planned on taking the Philippine Military Academy entrance exams.

“He wanted to help us; he wanted to provide for our family,” Carlos Sr. said.

For his military graduation, the entire family came to see him in Malaybalay City, and then again on July 1, at Camp Edilberto Evangelista, the headquarters of the 4th ID.

Like most of his classmates, Paragua gave his first salary to his mother.

“He also wanted to give to us his ATM card, but we declined it,” Betsy said.

Now, his family has come to terms with the fact that Paragua is gone, barely weeks after he became a full-fledged soldier.

“My only regret is that my son, although he became a soldier, was deprived of the time to live the life as one. It was his biggest dream,” Betsy said. – Rappler.com