Nicanor Alvarez was a prankster at heart. Once, he sent a video home announcing he wouldn't be returning from the military for two years, while all along he was hiding in his car just outside the house. Alvarez, 22, of San Bernardino, Calif., was killed Aug. 21 in an explosion in Anbar Province. He was stationed at Camp Pendleton, Calif. His family's grief was deepened when relatives learned that Alvarez, who was to return home in October, planned to deliver yet another surprise. "He got married," said his sister Daisy Gonzalez. "He was going to tell us as a surprise when he got back." Alvarez had his serious side, too. Cornelio Gonzalez said his younger brother would jump out of bed in the middle of the night to give a ride home to a stranded loved one, and listen in earnest to someone's problems. Even when he toiled making pizzas in high school, he showed a penchant for doing things right. "He would make them perfectly round," said another brother, Ismael Gonzalez. Alvarez is survived by his wife, Sandra.
Nicanor Alvarez was a prankster at heart. Once, he sent a video home announcing he wouldn't be returning from the military for two years, while all along he was hiding in his car just outside the house. Alvarez, 22, of San Bernardino, Calif., was killed Aug. 21 in an explosion in Anbar Province. He was stationed at Camp Pendleton, Calif. His family's grief was deepened when relatives learned that Alvarez, who was to return home in October, planned to deliver yet another surprise. "He got married," said his sister Daisy Gonzalez. "He was going to tell us as a surprise when he got back." Alvarez had his serious side, too. Cornelio Gonzalez said his younger brother would jump out of bed in the middle of the night to give a ride home to a stranded loved one, and listen in earnest to someone's problems. Even when he toiled making pizzas in high school, he showed a penchant for doing things right. "He would make them perfectly round," said another brother, Ismael Gonzalez. Alvarez is survived by his wife, Sandra.
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