Army 2nd Lt. Charles R. Rubado

Died August 29, 2005 serving during Operation Iraqi Freedom

23, of Clearwater, Fla.; assigned to the 1st Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colo., killed Aug. 29 when his M1A2 Abrams tank came under attack by enemy forces using small arms fire in Tal Afar, Iraq,

Coolheaded officer killed in Tal Afar, Iraq

Associated Press

When David White was an ROTC cadet, he got a lesson in how calm and cool fellow soldier Charles R. Rubado really was.

“I remember on a field training exercise, I had an accidental discharge of my weapon. It was a blank, right at his face,” recalled White.

“Instead of jumping on me like most, he took me aside and said, ‘Hey, White. That’s not how we do it.’ He was definitely a good guy.”

Rubado, 23, of Clearwater, Fla., was killed Aug. 29 by small-arms fire in Tal Afar. He was based at Fort Carson.

“The thing that struck me the most was his quietness and focus. He was not easily excitable, very mature and calm — more so than most cadets at his level,” said Maj. Chip Seifert.

Charlie graduated Florida Southern College in 2004, was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and a criminology major. He played soccer in high school and loved being in the water.

He is survived by his wife, Mary-Anne.

“He did everything right, he was truly perfect,” said Matt Rubado, Charlie’s cousin.

“He had a path. He graduated from college and went in the military. He was married. He was just plain happy.”