Valley family recounts grieving process for fallen soldier
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A Mission family honored a fallen soldier and loved one at a Friday Veterans Day event.
Idalia Gonzalez said she still remembers the day she found out her son — Army specialist Alex D. Gonzalez — wasn't coming home after he was killed in action while deployed din Iraq in 2008.
"[It was] the most horrible day to see those soldiers at the door,” Idalia recalled. “I just could not imagine it was for that but since I’ve seen the movies, I knew already what it was about, and I just went crazy that day."
Idalia said she felt left behind by the military after burying her son.
“I didn't receive anything, anything at all,” Idalia said. “No kind of insurance, no kind of help or nothing."
Although specialist Gonzalez didn't have a wife or child, his family wished they had more support.
“Counseling would have helped us tremendously,” Idalia’s daughter — Audrey Gonzalez — said. “Just because a soldier is gone, the family isn't gone. The family is still here suffering, and we need that help."
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