USFallen.org's video: Fallen Homecoming Army SPC Alexis V Maldonado 2010

Alexis Maldonado enlisted in the Army a year after he became a father. His son, Isaiah, just turned two. Alexis became a combat engineer, one of the soldiers who travel dangerous roads, seeking to protect the lives of others while risking their own. The unit, in which he served, the 510th Clearance Company of the 20th Engineer Battalion, saw tragedy before they even deployed. Theirs was one of the units attacked during readiness processing at Fort Hood last November, and engineers Alexis had trained with were killed or wounded before the unit ever left American soil. Once deployed to Afghanistan, his service was remarkable. Alexis's unit was stationed at Forward Operating Base Ramrod, and they cleared roads of IEDs to protect soldiers and civilians alike. Alexis completed more than one hundred missions of this extremely dangerous duty, usually driving or manning the machine gun position which serves as the eyes of the vehicle. After his service in the Army, Alexis Maldonado hoped to study auto mechanics at Universal Technical Institute, near home in Dallas, Texas. He wanted to be a mechanic. He loved music, and was a dedicated weight-lifter. Alexis died of wounds he suffered when his convoy was ambushed in Zhari Province, Afghanistan. Alexis is mourned, remembered, and loved by many, including his parents and step-parents, Jesse, Alicia, Linda, and Keith, his fiancée, Baronica, his son, Isaiah, his brothers, Brad and Sergio, and his sister, Aleksi.