A product of the Bronx NY, Paredes was raised attending catholic schools for both elementary and high school. A staple of his upbringing has been a strong sense of community and high value for human life. Paredes has been involved in many community service efforts such as Sunday school education and youth groups. His strong values for life and community have put him at odds with the current War in Iraq. "I don't want to be a part of a ship that's taking 3,000 Marines over there, knowing a hundred or more of them won't come back," he said. "I can't sleep at night knowing that's what I do for a living." The current war in Iraq has claimed the lives of over 1000 young Americans servicemen as well approximately half a million Iraqi civilians. Meanwhile servicemen continue to be placed in harms way and are put in situations that have them question the humanity of their actions as in the case of Camilo Mejia. Furthermore, our government is yet to provide justifiable cause for the war. The case made to the American people and the United Nations was centered around a clear and present threat of weapons of mass destruction. To date, our military activities are probably the largest cause of mass destruction in Iraq thus bringing about dissent from many sources including Petty Officer Third Class Pablo Paredes.
Pablo Paredes joined the US Navy in 2000. he was a young man with enthusiasm for life and a desire to experience the world; thus joining the Navy seemed to be a positive move. When asked if he ever considered that he might be called upon to participate in war, Pablo says "never in a million years did I imagine we would go to war with somebody who had done nothing to us."
