KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — The Department of Defense has identified four U.S. servicemembers killed when a car bomb was detonated next to their convoy.
Dr. (Lt. Col.) David E. Cabrera of Abilene, Texas; Staff Sgt. Christopher R. Newman of Shelby, N.C.; Sgt. James M. Darrough of Austin, Texas; and Sgt. Carlo F. Eugenio, of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., were among those who died Oct. 29 in Kabul, Afghanistan, in the worst loss of American life inside the city since the war began.
The attack claimed the lives of five U.S. servicemembers, eight civilians working for NATO’s International Security Assistance Force, and at least four Afghans.
Cabrera, 41, was a licensed clinical social worker and assistant professor of family medicine at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, in Bethesda, Md.
In a statement on the USU website, Navy Dr. (Capt.) Mark Stephens, chairman of the Department of Family Medicine, said, “Lt. Col. Cabrera was a soldier’s soldier. He was professionally happiest when in the field with his troops. His sense of service, love of God, family and country are an inspiration to us all.”
Cabrera also worked with military families. While acting director of the Europe Regional Medical Command’s Soldier and Family Support Services Office, he helped place mental health counselors in two Defense Department school communities in Germany
Newman, 26, was assigned to Medical Company A, Tripler Army Medical Center, Hawaii. He had been serving in Afghanistan since May, according to the news website for TV station KLHN, and was due to return home for a two-week stay next month.
Newman’s younger brother, Brent Newman, told FOX News in Charlotte that he thought his brother’s 6’-6,” 280-pound build made him invincible.
“I’m thinking, just that right there, he ain’t getting killed,” he said.
Darrough, 38, was assigned to 101st Finance Company, 101st Special Troops Battalion, 101st Sustainment Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.
He joined the Army in February 2005 and was assigned to Fort Campbell in July 2009. Among his numerous awards, Darrough had received a Bronze Star Medal, a Purple Heart, a Kuwait Liberation Medal, and the Expert Field Medical Badge and Combat Action Badge.
Eugenio, 29, was assigned to 756th Transportation Company, 224th Sustainment Brigade, California Army National Guard, Van Nuys.
He was the first California National Guard soldier killed in combat in Afghanistan and the 28th to die in the line of service since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, according to the California Guard.
Eugenio’s unit was based in Lancaster, Calif., and left for a yearlong deployment in August.
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