Jose joined the El Salvador armed forces on February 1, 1985, and was allocated to the Marina Infantry, part of the country’s Naval force, as a driver. The other wounded soldier, 30-year-old Jose Alexander Herrera Diaz, entered the military on June 27, 1998, and was assigned to the Regiment of Knighthood as a .50cal machine gunner.
Both soldiers were immediately evacuated to the military Hospital in Baghdad. Perdomo suffered wounds to the left side of the thorax and died while being transported to the facility. Diaz received splinter fragments to his left ear and jaw.