Jeff Calderon was a 27-year-old soldier who had just returned from Afghanistan. But, the man who survived the ravage of war could never have imagined he would fall victim to brutal violence in his own backyard. Just off Memorial Drive in the town of Bixby sits Papa Tom's, where you'll find an American flag sent from Kandahar by Jeff Calderon, U.S. Army Blackhawk Crew Chief, who shared many a war story here. "He was telling me one time, where the helicopter skid was resting on one rock and the rotors are inches from the rocks and they're being shot at and guys were crawling off the ground to get under the rotor, crawling up Jeff like he's a ladder," said Calderon's former boss, David Weisner. "For him to go off to war and come back and be killed in his own community....." Police say Calderson was shot by 51-year-old Alfredo Rodriguez. It came following an alleged argument. "From what I understand, someone was being abused, a woman was being abused by her boyfriend," Weisner says. "And, Jeff stepped in and that caused a problem. And, he paid a price that shouldn't have been paid." Calderon leaves behind so many friends who care, a nine-year-old daughter whose picture never left his wallet in Afghanistan, along with a prayer card, asking for the Lord to give his angels charge. Jeff Calderon is gone, but never forgotten. Calderon's family lives in Texas, where he will be laid to rest. Tulsa police are still looking for other suspects. They don't believe Rodriguez acted alone.
Jeff Calderon was a 27-year-old soldier who had just returned from Afghanistan. But, the man who survived the ravage of war could never have imagined he would fall victim to brutal violence in his own backyard. Just off Memorial Drive in the town of Bixby sits Papa Tom's, where you'll find an American flag sent from Kandahar by Jeff Calderon, U.S. Army Blackhawk Crew Chief, who shared many a war story here. "He was telling me one time, where the helicopter skid was resting on one rock and the rotors are inches from the rocks and they're being shot at and guys were crawling off the ground to get under the rotor, crawling up Jeff like he's a ladder," said Calderon's former boss, David Weisner. "For him to go off to war and come back and be killed in his own community....." Police say Calderson was shot by 51-year-old Alfredo Rodriguez. It came following an alleged argument. "From what I understand, someone was being abused, a woman was being abused by her boyfriend," Weisner says. "And, Jeff stepped in and that caused a problem. And, he paid a price that shouldn't have been paid." Calderon leaves behind so many friends who care, a nine-year-old daughter whose picture never left his wallet in Afghanistan, along with a prayer card, asking for the Lord to give his angels charge. Jeff Calderon is gone, but never forgotten. Calderon's family lives in Texas, where he will be laid to rest. Tulsa police are still looking for other suspects. They don't believe Rodriguez acted alone.
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