Operation Iraqi Freedom – Captured May 12, 2007 Spc. Alex R. Jimenez, Pvt. Byron W. Fouty

During the search for there missing unit comrades two other servicemen gave their lives in trying to find their buddies members of the Army’s 10th Mountain Division. PFC. Matthew A. Bean was shot in the head May 19, 2007 during a door-to-door search for the three captured U.S. Soldiers ( Private Joseph Anzack, SSG Alex Jimenez, and SPC Byron Fouty ) in the Sunni Triangle of Death. Matthew underwent surgery in Germany and was flown to Walter Reed Medical Center on May 23. His parents were with him in Germany and in Maryland. Matthew died on May 31, 2007. SGT. Justin D. Wisniewski, 22, died Saturday, May 19, 2007 in Lutfiyah, Iraq, from wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit.

On July 9, 2008, remains were found near the city of Jurf es Sakhr, Iraq, which were believed to belong to SSG Alex Jimenez, and SPC Byron Fouty. Upon official examination, these remains were positively identified. Their official date of death is July 8, 2008.

On May 12, 2007 while on a patrol in Mahmoudiya, Delta Company, 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division, was ambushed. This area is 20 miles southwest of Baghdad and is known as the ‘triangle of death’. Four Soldiers were killed in the ambush: Sgt. 1st Class James D. Connell Jr., 40, of Lake City, TN.; Pfc. Daniel W. Courneya, 19, of Nashville, MI.; Pfc. Christopher E. Murphy, 21, of Lynchburg, VA.; and Sgt. Anthony J. Schober, 23, of Reno, NV.; and three soldiers were captured. Private Joseph Anzack, SSG Alex Jimenez, and SPC Byron Fouty. On May 24, 2007 Private Joseph Anzack of Torrance, CA. body was found in the Euphrates River south of Baghdad. SSG Alex Jimenez, 25, of Lawrence MA.; and SPC Byron Fouty 19, of Waterford, MI. were subsequently classified as Prisoners of War – Missing in Action.

Jimenez and Fouty were part of a patrol of seven Americans and an Iraqi army interpreter when they were attacked by insurgents. At the time, the area in and around Mahmudiyah was a stronghold of al-Qaida in Iraq. A quick-reaction force dispatched to the scene found five soldiers killed in action and three missing.

Coalition forces launched a massive search of the area. Thousands of U.S. and Iraqi service members participated in the initial search, and U.S. service members never stopped trying to find the men.

Iraqi police found the remains of a third soldier missing in the ambush – Pfc. Joseph J. Anzack Jr. – on May 23, 2007.

The search for Jimenez and Fouty continued until 10 days ago, when coalition special operations forces captured an individual suspected of knowing where the soldiers were buried. The suspect's information led investigators to the soldiers' remains July 8. U.S. medical examiners made the identification July 9.

Their Mom's

Jessica, 24, has posted an online tribute, saying she'll spend the rest of her life remembering her brother.

"We have spent the last two years without him, the last two Christmases, the last two Thanksgivings," she wrote. "Now we will spend the rest of our lives without him."

With that, she also left these words from her brother: "If I don't make it out of this place, remember that I will always be your soldier. All you have to do is look to the sky and say my name and I will be there.

"I will protect you and watch over you."

On this day, February 17, 2009, we render honors to these gallant Soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice for Our Freedom.

The Old Post Chapel at Fort Myer was the starting place for the final honors for Spc. Alex R. Jimenez and Pvt. Byron W. Fouty which would end in adjacent Arlington National Cemetery.

The Old Post Chapel, located at Fort Myer, Virginia (immediately adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery).

Army Lt. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, Multinational Corps Iraq commander, called it a difficult and sad day for the families and the Army. "It is also a time in which each of these courageous families can finally bring to closure the loss of their loved ones."

"Every combat death is a tragedy, but this has been especially difficult for the families of these two 10th Mountain soldiers because of our not knowing for over a year of their whereabouts," said Army Maj. Gen. Michael L. Oates, commander of Multinational Division Center and the 10th Mountain Division. "We take solace in the fact that they are finally home."