Dressed in camouflage fatigues, 6-year-old Zoey Solano learned something about the late father she never really knew when she received a medal of valor on his behalf Tuesday.
Her father, Eric Solano, was given an honorable discharge and the New Mexico Distinguished Service Medal posthumously to recognize his two tours in Iraq and two tours in Kosovo during a ceremony held at Santa Fe’s National Guard armory.
His former Army buddies paid tribute to him by sharing memories of their time together overseas.
They recalled how he was a blend of reserved, funny and enthusiastic.
How he built a reputation as a tough, reliable leader who commanded respect.
How his brash but courageous actions saved lives in a skirmish that was never supposed to happen in Kosovo, a volatile but politically sensitive region, leading to Solano being punished later instead of rewarded.
As Solano’s comrades told their stories, they each turned to Zoey and praised her father, as if to offer some missing pieces of the man who died when she was an infant.
“As much of a soldier and a father as he was, he’s a hero,” Lt. Col. Patrick Campos told Zoey. “You need to be proud of your dad, I think, because he was a great, great man.”
By all accounts, Solano was unusually resilient, which enabled him to endure and even thrive in a combat zone.
But his outward toughness hid inner wounds and turmoil that would plague him. He suffered from severe post-traumatic stress, and his demons would prove more formidable than any combat foe.
In October 2016, Solano, 32, took his own life.
Solano’s suicide wasn’t mentioned beyond one former comrade saying war can take an emotional toll on a soldier.
Anne Solano listens to stories told by her late husband’s Army friends at a ceremony for Eric Solano’s posthumous honorable discharge and award of the New Mexico Distinguished Service Medal.
Anne Solano, his widow, said before the ceremony her husband was a victim of military politics.
He was given a general discharge because the injuries he suffered in Kosovo prevented him from doing drills with his National Guard unit after he returned home, she said. The injuries were a reminder of a scuffle that high-ranking officials at the time wanted to push under the rug, she added.
With the help of former Gov. Susana Martinez, her husband received a belated Purple Heart.
A change in National Guard leadership began righting the other wrongs and giving him his due, she said, adding the recognition bestowed Tuesday on her late husband was a great honor.
“This has taken years to fix,” said Anne Solano, who also is an Army veteran. “I’ve been fighting several different battle fronts on this.”
As several people told it, Eric Solano was injured during a 2011 incident near a military camp in Kosovo.
Serbs bused in about 300 protesters to demonstrate near the camp. Then a group of what was believed to be insurgents arrived in a dump truck.
Those in the back of the truck began firing guns and tossing exploding pipe bombs to bait the American and German soldiers to fire on the civilian protesters, said Shane Lauritzen, who was a company commander at the time.
They also wielded a grappling hook to yank away the razor wire curled around the entrance into the camp, Lauritzen said. That maneuver would pull the wire violently into the German troops gathered behind it, slicing them severely and probably killing many, he said.
Eric Solano, who could drive a dump truck, rushed at it with the intention of taking it from the Serbs, Lauritzen said.
He climbed into the cab, but a dozen Serbs pulled him out, cut his rifle from his shoulder and dragged him to the back of the truck where they beat him, he said.
Solano fought them off, jumped back into the truck and drove it into the camp, Lorenzo Holguin recalled.
Most everyone was amazed at how unfazed Solano appeared after the brutal beating, Holguin said.
“There he was, smiling,” Holguin said. “That’s the type of guy he is — strong and never give up.”
Lauritzen said Solano and the rest of unit showed extraordinary restraint by not firing back at the insurgents and, in doing so, possibly prevented a war or, at the least, an international incident.
He told Zoey her father’s actions were brave and that is how he should be remembered.
“Your dad was such a hero that day; he saved so many lives,” Lauritzen said.
Zoey Solano shows her grandmother Connie Valdez-Solano the New Mexico Distinguished Service Medal she received on behalf of her late father.