Soldier Killed in Action Wanted to be Mission Officer

City offering his family support

MISSION - The City of Mission is mourning the loss of Army Specialist Alex Gonzalez.

The 21-year-old Mission High School graduate was the only soldier killed in an attack in Iraq yesterday. A rocket-propelled grenade hit the vehicle he was traveling in.

Gonzalez was deployed to Iraq in February. He had been injured twice before in separate attacks.

Gonzalez is the second Mission soldier killed in Iraq in the past two months. Four Mission men have died in the fighting since the war began.

"Losing any person to the war is very sad," says Aida Lerma, a spokesperson for the City of Mission. "We've lost four already here in Mission. And it seems like only yesterday. So we'll assist the family in any way we can. We're going to be at their side."

NEWSCHANNEL 5 learned the fallen soldier had close ties to Mission Police Chief Leo Longoria. He tells us Gonzalez's dream was to come home and become a police officer in his hometown.

Longoria gave us a brief statement over the phone saying, "I was real fond of him. I cared about the young man a lot. He would often visit with me and my daughter. I told him if it was his dream to be a police officer, I would do everything I could to help him achieve it. We're extremely saddened over this great loss."

NEWSCHANNEL 5 spotted flags at half-staff around the city, honoring Gonzalez.