Soldier's remains returning to Lawrence for funeral Mass

A poster of Staff Sergeant Alex Jimenez hung in St. Mary of the Assumption Church in January 2007, when he was missing. (jodi hilton/globe file photo)

The remains of a Lawrence soldier who was missing in Iraq for 14 months will be returned to the city tomorrow for a wake and funeral service, military officials said yesterday.

Staff Sergeant Alex R. Jimenez, a member of the Army's 10th Mountain Division, was listed as missing in action on May 12, 2007. He was captured after his convoy was ambushed as it traveled west of Mahmudiyah, the military said in a statement.

Four soldiers and an Iraqi translator were killed in the attack. Jimenez was captured along with two other men. The body of Private First Class Joseph J. Anzack Jr., 20, of Torrance, Calif., was discovered in a river 11 days later. The bodies of Jimenez and Specialist Byron J. Fouty of Waterford, Mich., were found west of Jurf As Sukhr on July 8.

Jimenez's family had agonized over his possible fate while the Army searched for the two soldiers. The family's hopes were dashed earlier this month when they learned Jimenez's remains had been found.

A wake will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. tomorrow, and a funeral Mass is scheduled for noon Saturday, both in St. Mary of the Assumption Church, 205 Hampshire St., Lawrence.

A second service will be held on Aug. 2 in Long Island, N.Y., where Ramirez's mother lives, before he is buried in Long Island National Cemetery in Farmingdale, N.Y., said Major Lisa Ahaesy, a Massachusetts National Guard spokeswoman.