By Yadira Betances
Staff Writer
July 24, 2008 09:19 am LAWRENCE — A horse-drawn carriage will carry the flag-draped coffin of Army Staff Sgt. Alex Jimenez through city streets as part of a final farewell from his adopted hometown of Lawrence. "I wanted Alex to come home so all those who gave us so much support can offer their last goodbye," Jimenez's father, Ramon "Andy" Jimenez, said yesterday. Alex Jimenez was missing in action since May 12, 2007, when he was captured in an ambush west of Mahmudiyah, Iraq. Spc. Byron Fouty of Waterford, Mich., and Pfc. Joseph Anzack Jr., of Torrance, Calif., also were captured. Anzack's body was recovered from the Euphrates River. But the remains of Jimenez and Fouty were not recovered until 14 months later on July 8, west of Jurf As Sukhr in Iraq. The coffin is scheduled to arrive tomorrow morning at Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford and be escorted by motorcade to St. Mary of the Assumption Church, 300 Haverhill St., where a wake is planned from 4 to 8 p.m. The motorcade made up of state police, Lawrence police and members of the Patriot Guard Riders and Rolling Thunder, will travel through city streets and pass by Andy Jimenez's home on Albion Street, before arriving at St. Mary for the wake. On Saturday at 11 a.m., two Clydesdales will pull the carriage with the coffin from the Diaz Healey Funeral Home at 107 S. Broadway over the Duck Bridge to the corner of South Union and Essex streets and then to St. Mary for a memorial Mass at noon. Jimenez's mother, Maria Duran, and his brothers, Andy, 20, and Bryant, 16, of Queens, N.Y., along with other relatives will attend. Fifteen soldiers from Fort Drum, N.Y., will serve as pallbearers and honor guard. One of them is the late soldier's best friend, Sean Gopaul. "This is bittersweet. I wanted him to come home, but not like this," Gopaul said yesterday. "It's a great honor and respect to serve at the funeral, but it will be hard." "This brings closure to these 14 long months that they've had," said Lawrence Veterans Services Director Francisco Urena. "We can't do enough to commemorate Alex or any other soldier who have put their lives on the line," said Urena, a Marine veteran of the Iraq war. "It won't replace Alex, but it will help us remember the men and women like him who sacrifice their lives on a daily basis," Urena said. The Rev. Jorge Reyes, pastor at St. Mary, will celebrate the Saturday service. "Now the healing process starts for them, although the pain of losing him will always be there," Reyes said. "At least they are now at ease and don't have to wonder if he's being tortured, if he is dead or alive." The elder Jimenez's faith in finding his son never wavered. In fact, Reyes recalls the balding man praying in front of the Blessed Sacrament in the evenings, hosting vigils at his home. "We all felt the family's pain because it mobilized the community," Reyes said. The Augustinian priest said now the focus is on offering support for family members. "God also suffers such losses," Reyes said. "He does not want this to happen, but it's part of life that we have to face and we must keep strong for these moments of pain." Born in New York, Alex Jimenez lived in Lawrence from 8 to 13, when he moved to the Dominican Republic with his mother. He returned to Lawrence after graduating from high school in the island country. He attended the Leahy School and played baseball with the Prospect Hill Little League. He attended St. Mary, where he received First Communion. Mayor Michael Sullivan said Clear Channel, the outdoor advertising agency, is working on a billboard that will feature Jimenez's photograph in his Army uniform and an American flag in the background and the phrase "We will never forget." The billboard, to be placed at a yet to be determined intersection, will be up within a week and will remain there for up to 45 days, Sullivan said. Pending City Council approval, Sullivan also said a brick on a memorial walkway at Veterans Memorial Stadium, next to Lawrence High School, will be engraved with Jimenez's name. In addition, Sullivan also wants to have a plaque with the photos of Jimenez and another Lawrence Iraqi casualty, Pierre Raymond who died in 2005, displayed at the high school stadium and also name part of the new field built by Central Catholic on Holly Street named after Jimenez. "It's an honor for us to play a role and reflect on a person who spent his youth in Lawrence and has given his life for us," Sullivan said. "That is the highest honor one can imagine and it allows the city to show our appreciation for what he has done for Lawrence and the nation." After services in Lawrence, Jimenez's remains will be taken to New York, where his family plans a memorial Mass at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Queens. Interment will be in Long Island National Cemetery, Farmingdale, N.Y. Jimenez and Fouty also have been remembered at memorial services in Fort Drum, N.Y., where they were members of the 10th Mountain Division, 2nd Brigade Combat Team. In Baghdad, fellow soldiers honored them with a 21-gun salute.
A city remembers Staff Sgt. Alex Jimenez Friday From Hanscom Air Force Base, a motorcade will travel north on Route 93 and exit at Howe Street in Methuen, at 11 a.m., escorted by Massachusetts State Police, Lawrence police and members of the Patriot Guard Riders and Rolling Thunder. The motorcade will travel over the Howe Street Bridge, which has been decorated in honor of Jimenez with U.S. and military flags, as well as purple and black mourning ribbons. It continues along Jackson Street into Lawrence, stopping on Albion Street, where Jimenez's father, Andy, lives. It then continues back on Jackson.Street and onto Essex Street, ending at.St. Mary of the Assumption Church, 300 Haverhill St. Public viewing will be from 4 to 8 p.m.. Saturday Two Clydesdale horses will pull a carriage carrying the flag draped coffin of Staff Sgt. Alex Jimenez beginning at 11 a.m. from the Diaz Healey Funeral Home to the corner of South Union and Essex streets, and then to St. Mary of the Assumption Church, 300 Haverhill St., for a memorial Mass at noon.
—
Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.