Sgt. Christopher Ramirez , 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry, 1st Division, April 16, 2004

Sgt. Christopher Ramirez did not want to go to Iraq. But loyalty to his fellow soldiers overcame his own reticence, and in the end led to a death that some have described as heroic.

"He did not want to be over there," said Cynthia Ramirez , Ramirez 's sister-in-law. "He only wanted to be there for his troops, to lead his platoon. He couldn't let his comrades down." A veteran of more than 12 years of military experience including in Kosovo and Desert Storm, he was looking forward to getting out in January of 2004 and joining the U.S. Border Patrol. On Christmas Day of 2003, he was notified that the military had extended his tour.

When he died on April 16, 2004, , the military offered only a few details, saying he was shot in an ambush. The most complete version has been offered by his family. which said it obtained the information through a letter from a fellow soldier the family did not want to identify.

According to that version, related in the McAllen, Tex. Monitor, after Ramirez and other soldiers came under heavy fire, "Chris then moved to the location of the enemy forces, acting on his heartfelt concerns for those around him."

"Chris entered the hostile trench and was mortally wounded by enemy gunfire. Because of Chris' courage, no other soldiers lost their lives in this tragic event."

Juan Castro, who served with Ramirez in Iraq in December 1990, said he saw a change in Ramirez after that conflict.

"The war made him stay in the military. He was more motivated, more disciplined. He saw what life was like over there, what type of lives the Iraqi soldiers were living, how low their morale was because Saddam Hussein was not taking care of them."

Family members said the letter lifted their spirits. Remarked his brother, Simon Ramirez , "My mother ... was proud of him before, but now she's even more proud."