Local News

Body Of Missing Lawrence Soldier Found

LAWRENCE (WBZ) ― The father of an Army sergeant who has been missing for more than a year in Iraq said Thursday that his son's body has been found there.

Sgt. Alex Jimenez was one of three members of the 2nd Brigade of the 10th Mountain Division kidnapped during an ambush in May 2007. His father, Andy Jimenez of Lawrence, said uniformed military officials came to his home Thursday to tell him the body had been discovered.

"The wait time was a way of God to prepare us for the sorrow we are feeling," Andy Jimenez told WBZ's Jim Smith late Thursday night.

"We are very proud, because this is what Alex wanted to do -- be a soldier."

Asked what he would miss most about his son, the elder Jimenez paused for a moment before saying, "Everything. Everything."

Andy Jimenez said the community has rallied around them with support during the time his son was missing.

"I'm very grateful for all the support that I have been receiving," he said. "These months have been very long for us."

Francisco Urena of the Lawrence Department of Veteran' Services said the news has really begun to hit home for Andy. "We can tell today it really hit him...today we noticed a lot more emotions, and we continue to be here to support him."

The body of another soldier, Pfc. Byron Fouty, of Waterford, Mich., was also found. The body of the third was found in the Euphrates River.

Andy Jimenez learned of the news from one of the officers who read a letter in Spanish. It said a medical examiner in Iraq had identified the remains as his son's, and that searchers had found personal effects belonging to him.

The soldier's mother, Maria Duran, of Queens, N.Y., got a call from her sister saying military officers were waiting at her house. She came home and got the news.

"My heart sunk," she told the Eagle-Tribune through sobs. "The worry of not knowing his whereabouts was bad, but now that we know, the pain of losing my son will never end."

Andy Jimenez said the family has not been told how Alex died. The Army told them the body will be returned home within five to seven days.

Urena said the family plans to have a wake for Alex in Lawrence and in New York. The funeral and burial will take place in New York, where his wife and mother live.

Alex will be buried in a national cemetery on Long Island.

Asked if having his son's body returned will bring him closure, Andy Jimenez said, "I won't have peace for these upcoming months, but knowing that he is with us now will give us closure, and it erases that uncertainty that we had not knowing if he was alive or if he was gone."

Thursday night, Alex's father found a letter his son wrote about why he wanted to serve in the Army. It reads: "I believe that in the U.S. Army, I may reach my goals, which are being all the I can be… If I ever do get recruited, I promise to fight for the innocent who can't fight for themselves and for the USA."

(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)