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Sgt. Elijah John Miles Rao, a Lake Oswego resident who graduated from West Linn High School in 2001, became the 21st person from Oregon to die in the current hostilities in Afghanistan on Saturday, Dec. 5.
Rao, 26, was killed when when his convoy stopped at the site of a previous explosion. When Rao stepped out of the truck, another IED detonated nearby.
He leaves behind his wife Leah and their 21-month-old daughter, Eliana. Also surviving are his father, Frank Rao of Portland; mother, Sharon Hauerken, and stepfather, Don Hauerken of Vancouver; brother Gabriel Rao, 23, of Portland; and sister, Cicily Ulrich, 28, of Wilsonville.
When Rao told his mother he had enlisted in the Army, about two years after the 9/11 attacks, he said: "Mom, someone has to do something about this."
Rao was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo. He worked as a meteorological equipment repairman, served two tours in Iraq, then in June deployed to Afghanistan.
His death came just weeks before he was due for a leave at the end of January and six months before his tour was to end in May.
"He was kind and tenderhearted from the moment he was born," his mother said. "He was gentle, quiet and never had a bad thing to say about anyone."
"He was the perfect son," she added. "I know people say that at times like this, but I tell you, with Elijah, he was like this."
