Sons and Daughters of the Valley,
Sacrifice of Honor

HARLINGEN — The body of Army Spc. Eric Domingo Salinas, killed in Iraq last week, is expected to be returned here early today. Family members planned to accompany Salinas’ body from Houston as he made a last trip to his childhood...... Full story

HARLINGEN — A soldier who was born in Harlingen and raised in Primera has been killed in Iraq by a roadside bomb, his aunt said Sunday. Army Spc. Eric Domingo Salinas, 26, was killed Thursday while on patrol in Baghdad, his aunt, Gracie...... Full story

MERCEDES — After nearly three years, Ernest Galvan said he still wants to know why the U.S. Army withheld findings that show a helicopter pilot’s misconduct led to his son’s death in Afghanistan. For four months, the Army told him...... Full story

McALLEN — There were two sides to Juan Campos. The reserved, gentle man was serious and honorable, a “mama’s boy,” always playing by the rules and making sure he did the right thing. But the Juan Campos his family and close friends saw...... Full story

SAN JUAN-- As a boy in Mercedes, Daniel Galvan dreamed of flying Army aircraft. Thursday, the Army sergeant was on a Black Hawk helicopter when it crashed in Afghanistan two days after his 30th birthday. "As a young child, he would draw...... Full story

HARLINGEN — Two Army soldiers from the Rio Grande Valley have been killed this week in Iraq, military officials and the soldiers’ families said. Staff Sgt. Hector Leija, 27, died Wednesday in Baghdad of wounds suffered during combat,...... Full story

HARLINGEN — Two Army soldiers from the Rio Grande Valley have been killed this week in Iraq, military officials and the soldiers’ families said. Staff Sgt. Hector Leija, 27, died Wednesday in Baghdad of wounds suffered during combat,...... Full story

Rio Hondo — Representatives from the Army, Marine Corps and several veterans’ groups saluted family members and others gathered to honor a South Texas soldier who died when the military vehicle he was riding in overturned in Afghanistan....... Full story

SAN BENITO, Texas — The family of California-based Marine Pfc. Juan G. Garza was informed April 8 that he was killed in Iraq that same day. Garza was killed by a sniper as he patrolled an airport in Baghdad. He was sent overseas on Dec. 27....... Full story

LAGUNA VISTA, Texas — Pvt. Rey D. Cuervo always knew he wanted to be a soldier and he warned his family of the risks he faced as he went off to war in Iraq, his mother remembered. Cuervo, 24, of Laguna Vista, was killed Sunday in Baghdad when...... Full story

WESLACO, Texas — The letter from Sgt. Juan Calderon Jr. reached his father two days before military officials came to the faded clapboard house to tell him the 26-year-old Marine had died in Iraq. In the letter that arrived Saturday, Calderon...... Full story

WESLACO, Texas— The first Texas National Guard member to die in combat in more than 50 years was buried Sept. 18 with a 21-gun salute and string of medals and honors including a Bronze Star, Purple Heart and a posthumous promotion to sergeant....... Full story

Dustin Sekula was skilled at ranching and loved roping steers. He even used his high school lunch period to practice roping on a fake steer. Still, he turned down an agriculture scholarship to college to join the Marines. "Give it to somebody that...... Full story

EDINBURG, Texas — Hundreds of people attended funeral services Wednesday for Spc. Mark Zapata, who died Aug. 15 when his M-1 tank came under fire in the southern Shiite Muslim city of Najaf, Iraq. Zapata, 27, was the third soldier from this...... Full story

A 21-year-old Marine from South Texas was killed by an explosion during combat operations in Iraq, the Department of Defense announced Tuesday. Lance Cpl. Benito A. Ramirez, of Edinburg was killed Sunday while conducting combat operations against...... Full story