Comrades, coaches remember fallen soldier
The Associated Press
When Conrad Alvarez and Sgt. Drew Wroblewski were in Iraq together, Alvarez heard that Wroblewski had been injured in an attack.
“He was the first person at the aid station making sure I was OK,” said Wroblewski. When Alvarez learned Wroblewski was not seriously injured, he scolded him.
“He told me never to do that again,” Wroblewski said. “He said ‘If I lost you, I don’t know what I would do. You’re my best friend, and I’ll always be there for you.”’
Alvarez, 22, of Big Spring, Texas, was killed by a roadside bomb Feb. 20 in Baghdad. He was assigned to Fort Campbell, Ky.
Wes Williams, Alvarez’s former football and track mentor, remembered him as a dedicated athlete who was a dream to coach.
“He was tough, loyal, fearless and intense,” Williams said. “He carried a sense of pride with him that you just don’t see
every day.”
Once, he broke his arm in a seven-on-seven football tournament.
“It was four or five hours before the doctor was able to get there,” said Williams. “All that time, Conrad never complained. He never wanted anyone to worry about him.”
He is survived by his wife, Maira, and daughters Alyssa and Celeste.