The late Lance Corporal Alexander Scott Arredondo, USMC most
appreciated when people would call him Alex.  When he was home on leave
he looked forward to wearing his orange baseball hat, jeans and a t-shirt
and to having people call him Alex.

He was named after his uncle Alex, his father's brother, who was also
godfather to him.  He was baptized in San Jose, Costa Rica at the same
time as his younger brother Brian in El Catedral Nacional.  He was about
four years old and wore suspenders to the service.

Carlos and his wife, Melida, looked forward to grandchildren.  Alex was very
much in love with his girlfriend, Sheila Beverley from Needham,
Massachusetts.  She even chose her university to be close to Alex' base in
San Diego, California.

Alex' best friend was Elias Contos.  His group was comprised of Arthur and
Jessica Baxter (brother and sister), Britanny and the Corey sisters (both
Sandra and Stephanie).

Alex loved and thrived at martial arts.  He studied and taught younger kids at
the New England Academy of Martial Arts in Randolph.

Alexander leaves a huge family behind.  Countless cousins, aunts and
uncles on both the maternal and paternal side of his families.  His parents
separated in 1988 and divorced in 1996.  Alex' Mom is Victoria Foley who
resides in Brewer, Maine with Alex' baby brother, Nathaniel Foley.  Alex' Dad
is Carlos Arredondo who resides in Roslindale, Massachusetts with his
wife, Melida and Alex' brother and Carlos' younger son Brian Arredondo.

The Marine Corps states as its motto, "Semper Fi."  The Arredondo family
states "Alex, semper vivi, semper fili, semper ama."
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Lcpl Alex Arredondo
Why I Live…

I am a fruitless female who has had the best of love by her
boys…her joys…
I am a woman defined by a stepson she has loved…who was
killed at war….
I am step-mama still who watches a younger brother grieve
alone, no one is allowed in…

Pictures in my mind and whispers possess me in the night…
I am kept company by the knowledge that two young men have
loved and still love me…

I still see Alex – green eyes smiling in someone else’s face…
His spirit makes me smile when I see a puppy, a ten year old,
a young man…
Memories flood me and often flow down my chin…
I see “AlexnBrian”, one word, a pair, two peas, only apart after a
fight…

I had a “sun” named Alex shine on me from the time he was
eight until twenty years, twenty days…
I had Brian and him as kids, running, screaming, making me
dizzy and jumping out windows…
I’ve seen Brian’s booboos left by ill willed hornets and the
scratches left by a bike that tossed Alex off…
I’ve slept at their feet, in their tent, them unaware, their arms
overhead as they breathed deep in slumber…

Then 1095 days ago – that world ended…
A bullet was fired from a snipers rifle into my “sun’s” skull
leaving his brains in his helmet…
His blood on a Marine named Mike who continues haunted at
the guilt over surviving that battle…

Eight hours passed before the three came towards “Dad” who
quietly painted a fence…
His birthday that day…His joy squelched by a lack of military
intelligence…
No chaplain, no glass of water, no manners…
“Lcpl. Alexander Arredondo was killed honorably at battle”
Broken glass cutting agony unleashed by their words…

Powerless, having unleashed the cruel truth, the Marines
stood in their dress blues…
In the driveway watching, talking on their cell phones…

Left mute, unable to scream…my husband and heart and best
friend set himself on fire…
A choice less painful than the grief that engulfed him…

Flames awoke this Dad from his stupor so he could scream
from his melting skin …
He screamed for Alex to be reborn and for Brian’s great loss…
He screamed over the injustice of a lost family…
He screamed over his failure as a father…

I then found my husband as he lay before me charred,
moaning, unable to breathe…
His Mother crying, wailing in Spanish, wanting to trade places
so he did not suffer…
I calmed him and begged for mercy with the Marines, with God
and with the police…

Helicopters, fire trucks, an ambulance, cami-covered officers
and cops prey on this scene…
We were now camera-fodder as I answer my husband’s
abandoned phone…
And speak to Brian, 17, watching CNN from 2000 miles
North…watching us…
Pictures taken of my mask of agony for front-page
consumption…

That day, an angel lost his earthly wings and left his family…
That day, a family died…Grief replaced the unity…
That day, a new spirit was reborn in each of us who faced the
unbearable…
Yet, our Marine was killed…

Today, I appreciate things I never noticed…
Moments others hate…
A baby crying on a crowded plane doesn’t upset me.
An angry person who takes aim at me doesn’t wound…
My tears tear me up at times, then cleanse me of the anger
that possesses my soul…

I see olive green clad troops who all resemble Alex…
I see their futures before me…fruitful lives…

I sacrifice family and friends to the work at keeping them each
alive…
I aim for their parent’s wails to stay at bay, in the distance,
going farther and farther away…

I work for what is just so no others endure flame-ridden grief…
Not metaphors…Too real…

I teach justice indiscriminately, even those with fingers in their
ears whistling tunes of intolerance…
Plant seeds of peace in each child I meet and love
unconditionally…
Just like AlexnBrian planted their love and such peaceful
memories in me…
To bloom…To germinate the soil in each soul…To flower like
the carnations on Alex’s grave…

These words are in honor of Lcpl. Alexander Scott Arredondo,
KIA 08/25/04 in An Najaf, Iraq.  My works and words are for him
and all of those killed during the Iraqi occupation.


Mélida Arredondo,
Remembering Alex Arredondo and all those
who died too young at war to aid the Iraqi people
and his own nation, the USA,
and while protecting his buddies...
08/05/84 - 08/25/04