Cpl. Juan M. Alcantara

Juan M. Alcantara was due back in the U.S. this fall, and he and his fiancee Sayanora Lopez planned to move to North Carolina in January. In his final text message, Alcantara delicately pressed his fiancee to learn how to drive so she would be ready for their new life in the South. "I love u and u better tell me some news about the driver's permit when I get back," he texted. "Love u and bye." Alcantara, 22, of New York City, was killed Aug. 6 by an explosive in Baqubah. He was assigned to Fort Lewis. "He was a nice, quiet child," said his mother, Maria Alcantara. "He used to like to play basketball and football. He was never in trouble. He never did anything wrong." After his service, he planned to go to college and join the NYPD, where his sister, Fredelinda Pena, is now a rookie. "To protect and serve" was in his blood. After his fiancee gave birth June 29 to their daughter, Jaylani, Alcantara told her, "My life was completed, but you completed my life even more when you conceived our baby," she said. "His love was true," Lopez said.