Local man dies in Iraq
FAMILY REPORTS EMOTIONAL ISSUES

Army Specialist Travis M. Virgadamo, 19, died of a non-combat related injury in Taji, Iraq, Thursday, Aug. 30.

The soldiers who notified Virgadamo's family about his death reportedly said he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

According to the U.S. Department of Defense, the circumstances of Virgadamo's death are under investigation.

"I don't know what happened, and I may never know what happened," Katie O'Brien, Virgadamo's grandmother, said Tuesday.

One thing of which she is certain, however, is that Virgadamo was not in any condition to be sent to a war zone, where he transported ammunition.

O'Brien said her grandson, who had wanted to be either a soldier or a police officer since he was 4 years old, was having psychiatric problems about which the Army was aware when it sent him back into combat.

She added that Virgadamo was already having emotional issues in training, prior to being assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry, 3rd Infantry Division.

During his training, O'Brien said, Virgadamo was sent to anger management therapy and being sent to the Middle East did nothing to alleviate his issues.

While on his last leave in July, O'Brien said Virgadamo told her he had been seeing a psychiatrist and a therapist while in Baghdad and Kuwait and was put on Prozac.

"They sent him back even though they knew he was having issues and was not stable and was not military material," O'Brien said.

When her grandson visited her on leave last July, O'Brien said Virgadamo told her about "really close incidents with his life" that happened while he was in Kuwait.

"He was just scared," O'Brien said. "He'd had some really close calls before he came home and was talking about going AWOL [absent without leave]"

O'Brien said she "threw a fit" when she found out her grandson was on Prozac and told him to ask to have his medication switched when he returned to his unit.

O'Brien had spoken to Virgadamo only two days before finding out about his death.
She has since requested all of his medical records from the Army.

Virgadamo enlisted in the Army when he was 17. His father, Roger Virgadamo of the Philippines, had promised that if he got good grades in high school he could join the service.

When he came back from training, he saw a prayer poster put up for him at the Taco Bell here, and O'Brien said "he was very proud."
He was born in Victorville, Calif., but moved to Las Vegas in 1993.

His mother, Jackie Juliano of Pahrump, and O'Brien raised Virgadamo together here after his mother and father divorced.

"He was like my child," O'Brien said. "He said he wanted to live in Pahrump when he came home. He said, 'I want to be close to you, grandma.'"
Virgadamo also bought a new car while on leave, which O'Brien said is still sitting in her driveway.

She said she talked with Virgadamo at length about his fears and encouraged him to pray, even discussing his future plans for working at Nellis Air Force Base.

"He was a very smart young man who had lots of dreams and lots of plans," O'Brien said.
But Virgadamo also told his grandmother that if he died, he wanted to buried in Las Vegas, which O'Brien said will be done. Details about the services were pending as of press time.

Virgadamo is believed to be the first Nevadan supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom to die of a self-inflicted wound.