Army Sgt. Carlos E. Pernell, 25, of Munford, Ala.; assigned to the 46th Engineer Battalion, Fort Rucker; killed June 6 when his camp received indirect enemy fire during combat operations in Ramadi, Iraq.
“War Casualty Hits Home: ‘Everybody Loved Him’”
Hattie J. Pernell's eyes were overtaken Thursday with a sadness no mother wants to feel, as she talked about her 25-year-old son who was killed Tuesday in an indirect fire attack in Iraq.
Army Sgt. Carlos Eugene Pernell, who enlisted shortly after graduating from Prattville High School in 2000, was building housing for Iraqis while serving his second tour in the war zone when the attack occurred in Ar Ramadi, Iraq.
He is Autauga County's first war casualty since 1968.
Flags throughout Prattville will be flown at half-staff until Pernell's funeral Thursday.
Another soldier was also killed in the attack, and three more were injured. All five soldiers were members of B Company, 46th Engineer Battalion at Ft. Rucker. Their names have not been released.
"He was working, and they got ambushed," Hattie Pernell said. "His commander said he died a hero because he put his soldiers first."
Pernell shipped off to Iraq in October 2005 for a year-long deployment. His family last saw him in March for a two-week leave.
"He was in good spirits because, he told me, he was halfway there," his mother said. "He didn't want to go (to Iraq), but that was his job."
Pernell played football for Prattville High School for four years, wearing No. 2 in front of the crowds at Stanley-Jensen Stadium.
"Carlos was part of our first team I had here as head coach in 1999," head football coach Bill Clark said. "That's a special class to me because it was my first class. He was a good boy, always had a smile on his face and was a good player for us."
Pernell called and wrote letters to his family in Prattville often.
"He would say he missed us, and he was doing good, and he couldn't wait to get home," Hattie Pernell said.
The family got word of Pernell's death around 10:25 p.m. Tuesday.
"They knocked at the door, and my daughter opened it, and I could see the uniforms," his mother said. "It felt like my heart stopped, because I knew something was wrong."
Pernell knew the dangers he faced in Iraq, but he promised his family they would see him again.
"He would call, and he'd say, 'I'm coming back one way or another. I'd prefer to walk, but I'll be home,'" Hattie Pernell said.
While stationed at Ft. Rucker, Pernell met the love of his life, Tiffanie Pernell, who was also in the Army. The two married in August 2005, not long before his deployment. Their daugher, Kassidie Pernell, is 14 months old.
"(Tiffanie) was up here with us when we got the news," Hattie Pernell said. "Oh, it was hard. I felt so sorry for her. They're so young, and they had their whole lives ahead of them."
More than anything, Pernell loved his daughter.
"His baby was his heart," Hattie Pernell said. "He called her his little pretty girl. He didn't want to go back to Iraq, but he was going to look on the positive side and go and get back to his family."
Though Pernell's mother said she never supported the war in Iraq, those feelings are even stronger now.
"I feel like it's nonsense," she said. "The Iraqis don't want them over there, and more soldiers are getting killed than when they first started out."
Pernell's father, Eugene Pernell, felt his son had good intentions in joining the military.
"I felt like that was his choice, and whatever he did, as long as it was right, I went along with him," he said. "I was proud of him as long as he was doing something that was right."
Hattie Pernell said her son planned on continuing his military service until he reached retirement.
"He said he was going to make it a career, because he could retire and still be young enough to get another job," she said. "I didn't believe him at first when he said he was going (into the military), because he used to joke a lot with a serious look on his face."
Clark admired Pernell's decision to join the military.
"That was something he was really looking at as a career," he said. "I was real proud of him."
The current football team said a prayer and had a moment of silence during practice Wednesday.
"It hit close to home," Clark said. "It always seems like it's somebody else, not somebody you know. It's just awful."
Life will never be the same for Pernell's family.
"He was my baby," Hattie Pernell said. "The only thing I can say is I'm going to miss him. He was an all-around person. He was happy and funny. Everybody loved him."
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