Luis Emilio Sanchez Perez

Sargeant First Class Luis Emilio Sanchez Perez, US Army Retired, 85, passed away at his home on Monday, January 6, 2025. Born in Caguas, Puerto Rico, on 15 March 1939, he was the first of three children born to Emilio Sanchez and Gregoria Perez. Losing his father at 4 years old, Luis escaped his impoverished beginnings by joining the Army at 17 years old. SFC Sanchez was a proud Vietnam veteran of two tours in-country, September 1965 to August 1966 and June 1969 to June 1970. He was one of the first "observers" sent to Vietnam participating in the establishment of the reknown MACV, and was once wounded when his Jeep hit a landmine. Additionally, SFC Sanchez was an ardent Drill Sargeant at Fort Jackson, SC, where he trained and groomed a whole new generation of soldiers who served and protected our country carrying on his rigid standard of discipline and professionalism. He retired from the Army in 1978 after 23 years of active service, but he was re-activated 13 years later and served again during Desert Storm. Following the Army, Luis worked for Amtrak at 30th Station in Philadelphia for 23 years before completely retiring to St Cloud, Florida with his beloved wife of 61 years, Marina Garcia de Sanchez . The loss of his bride 3 months prior was more than he could bare, and Mami finally called Papa to join her. Surviving Luis are his three children; his sons, Captain, US Navy (Ret), Luis Sanchez (Cindy) of VA, Victor Sanchez (Priscilla) of Kissimmee and his daughter Marina Sanchez-Cutts (George) of PA. He is also survived by his seven grandchildren, Elizabeth (Craig) Coulter of VA, Marissa (Owen) Sensenig of PA, Sarah Sanchez of FL, JamesOwen (Emily) Cutts of PA, Samuel Cutts of PA and Sabrina and Bianca Sanchez of FL, and 5 great grandchildren Louie, Maribel, Frankie, Asher and Alani. Luis was a proud veteran who would never be caught without his "Vietnam Veteran" baseball cap and its prominent Airborne and Ranger tabs. He had a brash and difficult demeanor, but once you broke through you loved him for life. Luis was generous and loyal to both his family and friends, adored his grandchildren, as well as any neighbor child he got to know, and was an amazingly gifted Dominos player, able to count Dominos and predict players hands with deft precision. Sargeant First Class Luis E Sanchez was an 11B40 Infantryman with the 101st Airborne Division and was Ranger qualified. His decorations include Army Commendation Medal, Air Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal 4th Award, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal with a 60 Device, 4 Overseas Service Bars, Valorous Unit Award, Vietnam Civil Actions Award, Combat Infantry Badge, Presidential Unit Citation, Meritorious Unit Citation, Army Occupation Medal, and the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm.

Luis Emilio Sanchez Perez

March 15, 1939 - January 6, 2025