Friends, family share stories of Alex Jimenez

By Yadira Betances
Staff Writer

July 13, 2008 12:56 am

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LAWRENCE — Ramon "Andy" Jimenez said he wanted his son to come back home so those who did not know him could find out who he really was.

Instead of knowing him as Alex Jimenez the soldier, they would know him as his father did, as a caring, loving, generous and level-headed young man who was always there to lend a hand.

But he will not be coming home alive. On Wednesday, 14 months after he went missing during operations in Iraq, the remains of Jimenez, 26, and Pvt. Byron Fouty, 19, of Waterford, Mich., were recovered at a site near Jurf as-Sakhr, just south of Baghdad.

Now, it is up to his friends and family to tell the stories of his life, and to make sure he is remembered.

Those stories have been coming to the fore over the past few days, as news of Jimenez's death has spread.

His mother, Maria Duran of Queens, N.Y., said she heard from a man last week who had been touched by her son's kindness.

Jimenez — then a teenager — was living in the Dominican Republic when he saw the man get hit by a motorcycle. Jimenez reached out to the older gentleman, took him to the hospital, stayed with him until he was discharged, and then took him home.

When the man called Duran last week, he was wailing about her son's death.

"He said, 'Alex saved my life. I had never seen a young man like him.'"

Longtime family friend Ana Alcantara said Jimenez was a good role model who often told youngsters to listen to their parents and stay on the right path.

"He was a born leader and very disciplined," Alcantara said.

Alcantara and Benny Espaillat, who knew him for about six years, said Jimenez was also very spiritual. He not only prayed in the morning, but stopped whatever he was doing at 6 p.m. to pray the Rosary, as is customary in the Dominican Republic.

"He never forgot his roots and his religion," Alcantara said. "That tradition was never lost."

Jimenez was good friends with Alcantara's son, Ramon. Several days after Jimenez's capture, Ramon and his wife, Darcie, had a baby boy, whom they named Damar Alex.

"When we were looking for a middle name, Alex was the perfect one," Darcie said. "It represents bravery and strength and the hero that Ramon thinks so fondly of."

Espaillat, owner of Berkeley Shoes/Zapatos Aqui in Methuen, said he also admired Jimenez's selflessness. Jimenez worked construction with his father at Espaillat's mill building, and at lunchtime shared his meal with others.

His eyes red, and with tears rolling down his face, Andy Jimenez spoke of how he placed his infant son on his belly and spent hours talking and playing with him. He also remembers the boy's wide smile as he taught him to ride a bike.

Alex Jimenez would later do the same for his two younger brothers, Bryant and Andy.

Duran said Alex was very close with his brothers, now 16 and 20, and often called them from Iraq.

"If they were sleeping, he would tell me, 'Wake them up, I want to hear their voice.' He always told them to study and get a degree and become somebody."

Both Bryant and Andy took their brother's disappearance, and now his death, extremely hard. At a press conference at their home in Queens, N.Y., last week, Andy started to thank residents for their support and then broke down in tears. Bryant wiped away a tear running from under his dark sunglasses.

"I looked up to him, and he's not with me right now," Bryant said in an interview last year.

"He was an ideal brother," added his older brother, Javier. "He was honest, giving, and always looked after all of us."

Alex Jimenez was born at Flushing Hospital in New York, April 4, 1982.

His mother moved to Lawrence when he was 5, and they lived at various addresses on Berkeley, Abbott and Kendrick streets.

Anthony Fritschy, 22, of Lawrence knew Jimenez when the two played in the Prospect Hill Little League.

"He was an average kid who had a great time playing baseball," Fritschy said. "It kills me to drive by and see his picture."

Jimenez attended the Leahy and Oliver schools until eighth grade, when Duran moved back to the Dominican Republic. He completed high school there, concentrating in computer science.

But thoughts of joining the military were always in the back of his mind.

When he was 7 years old, Jimenez started expressing his interest for the Army, his parents said. He liked to dress in fatigues, play with green plastic Army men and watch movies about the military.

When he graduated from high school, Jimenez told his mom he wanted to enlist. He even wrote a letter from the Dominican Republic to Army officials in New Jersey, expressing his desire to serve.

His cousin Jose Peralta, who lived with him for a time, said Jimenez would stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning reading manuals and pamphlets about the Army.

Jimenez's parents have many memories of their son's life in Lawrence. Andy Jimenez has several plastic storage boxes full of photographs of Alex and his five other sons.

Among the mementos is Alex's Little League baseball card from 1994, which shows him holding a bat. On the back of the card is his personal information: age, 12; height, 4 feet; throws, right; position, center, right and left field; favorite pro player, Joe Carter; and favorite team, Toronto Blue Jays.

As a youngster, he admired Michael Jordan, which was evident in a photograph from the third grade at the Leahy School. Jimenez's face is seen peeking out of a Jordan cutout, with the words written in his childlike handwriting, "Alex Jordan #23"

Andy Jimenez also has his son's YMCA membership card from 1999 and a photograph of him posing on the altar at St. Mary Church after receiving his First Communion. There are also photos of an older Alex sporting a goatee.

"Every picture tells a story, and there are so many stories to tell," Jimenez said.

Those stories will continue to be told in the days to come, as his loved ones digest the news of his death and prepare for his burial.

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