Our walk was dedicated in honor of:
Army SSG Maiquel Bryan Carrasco Jr., Age 27 of Staten Island, NY.
Died Jan 1, 2022
This is my boy, my soldier, my first born and only son SSG Maiquel Bryan Carrasco Jr. he was born 11/03/94 and passed 01/01/22 by suicide. He was born in Nassau County Medical Center in East Meadow, NY and raised in Staten Island, NY. Since a toddler he wolf walk around saying, I’m going to be GI Joe when I grow up, and that was his goal in life, to save and protect others.
On New Year’s Eve/Day, Jan 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 Nov 3, 2021, 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 realise how many people’s lives he had touched and how many people he had helped without really knowing it.
He was a pain the ass, oh yes, he was! Yes, we fought and disagreed with many things, but he was too good for this world! And I’d do anything to fight with him again!
My son Mike Carrasco was a star child, an indigo child, an empath. He felt everything so deeply, took everything personally, and wore his heart on his sleeve. He had no fear, except the fear of not being loved or 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 and felt he was failing them and had such guilt for not being able to do/be what they needed him to be.
He meant so much to and helped so many. Yet he felt he wasn’t; he felt he was letting everyone down and that he was failing the people that mattered to him. He felt so deeply, my sensitive, loving boy, he cared so much about others that he would carry their pain and burdens as his own. He learned much about himself that made him doubt his worth, making him feel that he hurt those he loved. Little did he know it was far from the truth; he is loved and was forgiven long ago for any hurt he may have caused, that he was looked up to and greatly respected and that he did good by those he thought he was failing and hurt.
He enjoyed life to the fullest, acting a fool, not holding his tongue.
Yet we will never know why he thought and felt those things..will we?
My boy, YOU ARE Loved, YOU ARE missed, and YOU ARE enough. I only wish you knew and were here to see!
Bry, I love you and miss you dearly every single day. You are always in my thoughts. My chest hurts because my heart is gone because you, my boy, are my heart, and you’re gone. He was my heart and my pride. The only comfort I have in any of this is my hope that he knows how much I love him.
I love you, My Boy, my first born, my one and only son to the moon and back X infinity!
Nov 3, 1994 – Jan 1, 2022
4ever 27 🕊
He was so determined to go into the Army. And SG Danny Walker told him he had to graduate with a diploma,not a GED or he won’t let him in and will call every recruiter in NY and tell them not to recruit him. So he did it! I am so proud of my son Mike Carrasco he owned up to messing around in HS and had to do an extra 4 months to graduate and he did it!! He officially graduated from High school! And he received 2 seals! A gold seal for acing his regents back in Jan 2013, and a silver seal for citizenship for all he did during Hurricane Sandy!
In the 7 yrs of service he had accomplished so much, he graduated BCT even with a collapsed lung and an eye infection, he got into 11B @ 101 st Airborne at Fort Campbell, he passed Air Assault School even while suffering from heat stroke, he then changed his MOS to ADA, Air Defense Artillery, and passed, then his biggest achievement that is rarely done by an E5 was becoming a Master Gunner, he did that Feb 2021, then in Nov 2021 he was promoted to an E6 and became Staff Sergeant Maiquel Bryan Carrasco Jr. he was so happy to have achieved all he dreamed of as a little boy, he made his dream of “becoming GI Joe” come true starting from the age of 20 to 27 and only being in the Army 7 years.
We had a great 8.22 Mile walk this morning. We walked by the National Guard Armory and then stopped to visit the 9/11 Memorial. We then headed towards town and stopped to see a hand painted wall mural and then stopped in at the War Memorial Park. We then walked by Garrison Park for stopping in at the Frost Cemetery and visited 5 of our Fallen Brothers. It was an amazing walk. I want to thank everyone who honked, waved, and saluted in helping me honor this hero. We had 109 honks. Thank You
Army SSG Maiquel Bryan Carrasco Jr will not be forgotten !
