Pfc. Alfred H. Jairala

Alfred H. Jairala had been a security guard before he enlisted, said his sister, Jessica. He was trained to drive a Stryker. Worried family asked him to reconsider when he enlisted three years ago, she said, but he was determined. "It was something he wanted to do," Jessica said. "There was no stopping him when he wanted something." Jairala, 29, of Hialeah, Fla., was killed July 31 by an explosive in Baghdad. He was assigned to Fort Lewis. He was due home right around the time he died. When his wife called to tell his family the news, "I couldn't even understand what she was saying. I thought she was crying out of happiness," said his sister. Jairala's mother, Grace, expressed a mixture of emotion. "I'm very, very happy because everybody is saying my son is a hero; he gave his life for us. That was my son," she said. Jairala is survived by his wife, Margarita, and two young daughters, Cameron and Jasmine. When they are old enough, Jessica will talk to her nieces about their father. "I'll tell them they should be proud of their father," she said. "He defended his country and he loved his country."