SSG Maiquel Bryan Carrasco US Army
November 3, 1994 – January 1, 2022
On New Year’s Eve/Day, January 1, 2022, I lost my beautiful boy, SSG Mike Carrasco. He could not see how truly amazing, respected, valued, and loved he was, or that he wasn’t a failure and was so worthy of being loved!
My boy was 27, he had just turned 27 only a month and a half before on November 3, 2021, born in East Meadow, NY in Nassau County Medical Center. Later at the age of 3, we moved from Staten Island to Tottenville where he grew up. When 9/11 happened my boy, who always said he was going to be GI Joe when he grew up, was even more adamant about fulfilling that goal. So I supported him in his goal and bought him all the military books I could find from arms, land and water vehicles and aircrafts, along with books about every war that has been fought. He loved these books and read them and studied them, which later on in his military career helped him pass many a test and course! He called me to thank me for all of those books!
While in High school he enrolled into the MCJROTC program even though it wasn’t the Army JROTC, it was military and a starting point for him in his mind. He took that program and role seriously. He was proud. His junior year he came home with paperwork to start the procedure to go to the Army; he wanted to go in right then but his recruiter SGT Walker told him that he needed to graduate with a diploma NOT a GED or he would not let him enlist and will tell every recruiter in NY not to either. So my boy determined to be “GI Joe” did just that. He stayed in HS for 4 extra months and graduated with regent’s honors and good citizenship stars on his diploma. He was so proud, as was I!
He took his ASVAP and physical and passed, so he was off to BCT December 29, 2014. In those 7 years my son overcame many obstacles that he fought past to rise in his ranks; collapsed lung in BCT along with an eye infection, and heat stroke during Air Assault School at his first duty station at 101st Airborne at Fort Campbell. Nothing stopped him! He was 11B until 2019 when he went to AIT for ADA, his new and final MOS which in turn took him to Korea and then to Iraq/Afghanistan. He then in 2021 went on to become Master Gunner at only an E5 – which I was told is rare! Then in November 2021, he was promoted to Staff Sergeant, E6. I am beyond proud of all he had accomplished!
He started as an Infantryman, was PCS in 101st Airborne at Fort Campbell, and completed Air Assault School, then went on to graduate Air Defense Artillery School – all this in his 6 years of service. Then he became a Master Gunner as an E5 and within months of becoming a Master Gunner, he was promoted to an NCO/SSG. He accomplished all he wanted to with his hard work and dedication. His soldiers have said that he knew when to be an NCO to them and when to be someone that they can turn to when they needed support. He always wanted to be a soldier since he was a child, and he made his dream a reality.
Now as for my son’s character he was the life of any party, was such a goofball with his odd sense of humor that he made you laugh when you were feeling down. Everyone loved Mike (Bryan, as close friends and family called him) and loved being in his company.
Yet, he didn’t realize how many people’s lives he had touched and how many people he had helped without really knowing it. He was too good for this world! During Hurricane Sandy, he was out in our neighborhood warning people to leave for safety as the water from the ocean was rising. He didn’t care about himself; he wanted to do what he could for others, removing debris and walking with a flashlight up and down the streets of Tottenville as I stood by the window calling for him to come home. Then afterwards he helped the fire department gut and clean out homes that were damaged and flooded. He was always helping others even before his military career started. He cared so deeply that he would go above and beyond to help others. He was known as “The Boy with the flashlight” for helping others get to safety during Hurricane Sandy. He is truly a HERO!
Voluntarily helping neighbors evacuate when before Hurricane Sandy:
https://www.silive.com/news/2012/12/faces_of_the_storm_tottenville.html
https://www.silive.com/southshore/2013/01/faces_of_the_storm_staten_isla.html
He is a Star Child, an Indigo child. He felt everything so deeply, took everything personally, and wore his heart on his sleeve. He had no true fear, except one – he feared he was not good enough. He was very sensitive and cared so much about others, especially his friends and family. So much so that he took on their pain and suffering. He felt he was failing them and had such guilt for not being able to do/be what they needed him to be.
His commitment to the Military Animal Project: https://militaryanimalproject.com/ssgt-maiquel-bryan-carrasco/
Some tributes are here in his obituary:
https://www.tributearchive.com/obituaries/23649853/ssg-maiquel-bryan-carrasco-jr/wall
He enjoyed life to the fullest: SSG Maiquel Bryan Carrasco Jr 11/3/94-1/1/22
Places he called home: Staten Island, NY and Fort Campbell
Resting place: at home in NY
