SOUTH OGDEN — A Utah soldier was killed in Afghanistan on Saturday when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device, his family said.
U.S. Army Cpl. Raphael Arruda, 21, of South Ogden, was patrolling the Kandahar Province in a mine-resistant vehicle when the truck was hit by an IED, family members said. Cpl. Arruda died as a result of blunt force trauma from the blast.
Arruda would have turned 22 on July 23.
Arruda was a combat engineer, his brother Andrey Arruda said, and had been serving his first tour in Afghanistan since the fall of 2010. He was scheduled to come home in two to three months.
Arruda is the third soldier from Utah to be killed this month in Afghanistan.
On July 10, Lance Cpl. Norberto Mendez-Hernandez of Logan died while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
On July 5, Army Spc. Preston J. Suter, 22, from Sandy, was killed in Afghanistan when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device, according to the Defense Department.
Andrey Arruda, 19, is also enlisted as a specialist and combat medic and is awaiting his deployment. He said he got a call from a church leader asking him to come home and when he pulled up to the house he saw two soldiers waiting at the door.
"I already knew what happened and didn't have to hear anything," Andrey Arruda said.
Andrey Arruda said he had spoken to his brother two days earlier on Facebook.
The two were already making plans for when Raphael Arruda returned on leave.
"You wouldn't expect anything to happen in those two days," Andrey Arruda said.
Andrey Arruda said his brother liked what he did in the military and planned on studying engineering at the University of Utah after completing his service. He said his brother was the "life of the party" and had a passion for being around people.
"He always had a good attitude about everything," Andrey Arruda said. "He really hates sad moments. Now, if he was here, he'd be like 'What are you doing man? You're supposed to be partying and having fun.'"
Andrey Arruda said the death of his brother creates a whole that can't be filled, but in the wake of this family tragedy he remains dedicated to performing his duties in the military.
"We go in knowing this might happen," he said. "I try to go there to help people and if they do get harmed I want to make sure they make it back OK."
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