August 25, 2004
Lance Corporal Arredondo served as Fire Team Leader during the Battalion's attack into the old cith of Najaf. As the Platoon attacked to clear a four-story hotel, it was heavily engaged by enemy machine gun and sniper fire from three different directions. Lance Corporal Arredondo returned fire exposing himself to great risk to ensure the members of his team were safe. After fearlessly exchanging fire with the enemy snipers for more than three hours, Lance Corporal Arredondo fell mortally wounded as he moved through the rooms to inspect the Marines' defensive position.
4 years ago my friends Carlos and Melida Arredondo received the news that their son, Alex who was 20 yrs old, had died while serving his second tour in Iraq. It was Carlos birthday, it is his birthday today.
Happy Birthday my friend. Life is a precious gift with moments that should be enjoyed. I’m sorry the joy of your birth will always remind me of the death of your child. A young man I never met but who has changed my life in so very many ways.
A death of a child can make parents do things they wouldn’t otherwise do. Alex’s death caused me deep pain for all who were being killed in my name. If this action has destroyed me this way - its hard to imagine how much we are going to have to do to overcome to begin the healing, to live together in peace - if we can't imagine peace and hold it inside or ourselves, we will never have peace.
His death, to me, was the straw that broke the camels back. It’s when my thoughts turned to action. I found, the way you use your time is important. We all have the same 24 hours in the day. Our greatest asset is time. We all have our job’s to do to become better humans for our survival of our children. There are so many things that need to be accomplished for the good of the people. The to do list is endless of things that need to be accomplished from making sure every vote is counted, getting people to the polls to taking care of our Vet’s when they come home and their families when of their family members died for this country. My roll in making it better for you and me is to talk about Alex and what a brave, funny, intelligent kid he was. He died a man but he was a kid to me. I talk about Alex to make people think - to educate them into paying attention what goes on other than their own lives. As I talk about Alex and hand them a copy of the first letter he sent home I ask them to please vote. I talk about Alex to most who cross my path. This country belongs to we the people and if we don’t vote we are letting others make decisions for us. Decisions that kill our children like Alex.
With Alex’s death came action for a better tomorrow.....Alex lives on through me, through his family and people who love him ....daily. He is with me often, smiling that he is being remembered. He wanted to make it better for you and me. He was a wonderful person that should have had more moments to share his beautiful smile with us.
Alex joined when he was 17 because he wanted to go to school and he knew his parents couldn’t afford to send him. Alex parents have set up scholarship fund to help other kids who have the same story as Alex. Doing this helps keeps other kids alive by giving them choices for their future.
The Alexander Arredondo Memorial Scholarship Fund
Blue Hills Regional Technical School
Joseph A. Ciccolo, Superintendent-DirectorPlease send donations to:
Blue Hills Regional Technical School
800 Randolph Street
Canton, MA 02021
Attn: Arredondo Scholarship Fund
Telephone (781) 828-5800
Email: bluehills@bluehills.org
I love you Alex, may your death bring us peace....
It begins with all of us doing our jobs to bring peace inside first before we can have it amongst us...
With tears once more...remembering Dondo
His first letter home
Mom & Dad,
Today is Sunday, January 19, 2003. I've been out at sea for three days now and I'm starting to feel better. The first two days I was completely sick from seasickness and some virus. So far everyday I come outside the skin of the ship and write letters, whale watch, (which isn't that great cause I haven't seen any but there are plenty of dolphins that swim along side the ship), watch the horizon and sunset, etc. This seams so unreal to me. I've never seen water this BLUE before, I've never looked 360 degrees around me and seen nothing but water, clouds, the sun and a Fleet of Battleships surrounding me. Tomorrow is one of my many , many training days on ship to prepare me for my mission. I will also be training a short time in Kuwait. This is hard for me to comprehend. It seems like my whole life changed in an instant. Yesterday I was in a classroom learning about trigonometry and history. I graduated, went to boot camp, went to school, graduated as a GRUNT. I was sent across the country to train. Now I'm being sent across the world to fight. Today I am in a classroom learning about Tactical Urban Combat and Nuclear, Biological and chemical warfare. In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, on my way to experience 1st hand what I am learning about. I am not afraid of dying. I am more afraid of what will happen to all the ones that I love if something happens to me. Soon enough I will be in the desert, outside in the city of Bagdad, in full combat gear, ready to carry out my mission. Wondering how this all happened so fast, Wishing I was back home going to school, dating Shelia, taking care of my family. Although I think this way now I am almost certain that if I didn't walk this path I would be wondering to myself "why didn't I make the other decision. Why didn't I walk the path of a proud warrior, a marine." Just because I wonder "what if" doesn't mean I'm not proud, it doesn't mean I feel like I made the wrong decision. It doesn't mean I have any regrets. I'm still proud to be fighting for mycountry. I feel like, If I'm not helping one way I should still do all that I can to help (OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM). I'm on a time back now. I need to send this letter in the next hour for it to get to you by Tuesday or Wednesday. I love you both very much and I wish I could keep writing but I got to go. LOVE YOU. PFC ARREDONDO/ UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS
A note to Brian his brother:
WHATS UP BRIAN, I feel so lucky to be blessed with the chance to defend my country 6 months after I joined the military. Some Marines have been in for over 20 years and still haven't seen combat. I'm also lucky to have such a wonderful family. I know how much you love me and support me and that keeps me going along with a few other things. Is Jeanette babysitting for Mom? LOVE YOU BROTHER Your Big Brother - Private First Class Arredondo USMC
The last photo of Alex. His parents found his camera with this picture in it....
Imagine Peace inside for Alex....
Alex did his job with the time give him.
Are you doing your job in the 24 hours given to you? Report the news, voting, watch the polls, counting the votes, run for office, taking care of the next person, teaching the children that we are all the same - humans, helping a kid go to school in Alex's name on this day of his death ... are you doing your job? There is much to do, we all have a job to achieve what is needed for our survival as a society in this 24 hours given to us...to achieve peace and the ultimate gift of love for all. No one person can do it alone but together... Oh my God... do you know what we have? The power is in doing your job ... today, each one of us. And when we do our jobs we have change...
Without action we cannot keep Alex and his friends, our children alive...
and with this I am Keeping Alex alive....
With much love to my friend Carlos
Happy Birthday!
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