Master Sergeant Cristobal L. “Cris” Vallejo was born on April 28, 1982, in California and grew up in Nevada County, later making his home in Penn Valley. From a young age Cris showed boundless energy, quiet strength and a heart big enough to hold everyone who crossed his path. Family members say he was born an adventurer, and his love for his country and his desire to protect it led him to enlist in the Army right after high school, on February 15, 2001.
After basic and advanced individual training, Cris served as an infantryman with the 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry, 1st Armored Division, in Germany and deployed to Iraq in 2003. That December he attended Special Forces Assessment and Selection and was selected to become a Special Forces communications sergeant (18E). He was assigned to the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) in Colorado, where he served as an advanced ski specialist, and was later selected for an assignment with the U.S. Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where he spent most of his career. In 2018 he returned to the 10th Group to complete his service. Over two decades he deployed to Iraq, Africa and Afghanistan many times. His training included the Defense Language Course, Military Free Fall, Jumpmaster, the Advanced Sniper Course and the Advanced Land Navigation Course.
His awards include the Bronze Star Medal, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, two Joint Service Commendation Medals, two Army Commendation Medals and three Army Achievement Medals.
After his teammate, Sergeant First Class Ryan Savard, was killed in Afghanistan on October 12, 2012, Cris’s mission grew beyond the battlefield. In 2013 he co-founded the Coast X Coast Foundation, which began with a few friends riding motorcycles from San Diego to Arlington, Virginia, to raise awareness of traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress and the other invisible wounds carried by Special Operations veterans. The ride grew into a foundation whose medical programs now help more than 100 people a year, a charity born of grief, built on brotherhood and committed to healing.
After retiring, Cris devoted himself to his wife, Marcy, and their son, Van. He embraced fatherhood with joy and pride and filled their home with laughter and the best and worst dad jokes imaginable. He was an avid outdoorsman and a natural athlete who could excel at any sport, and friends say that even someone who had just met Cris felt like his best friend.
On July 2, 2023, while driving in New Mexico on his way to meet family, Cris suffered a brain hemorrhage and was killed in the resulting accident. He was 41. His loyal dog, Dale, also died. “Cris was a force that seemed capable of turning the world upon its axis, and his absence leaves a void that can never be filled,” his sister-in-law said. He is survived by his wife, Marcy; his son, Van; and his mother, Kate. His legacy lives on in the lives he touched, the foundation he built and the love he gave his family and community.
Cris was a protector, a leader, a friend to all and a man of profound purpose. He meant more to his friends and family than he could have possibly known.
Family & Teammates of MSG Cristobal L. Vallejo
Sources
- Coast X Coast Foundation: Cris Vallejo
- The Union (Grass Valley): A lifetime of service, Nevada County’s Cris Vallejo remembered
- Coast X Coast Foundation: Ryan J. Savard
- Family-provided records on file with MVF: Cris Vallejo bio
