Nov 6, 2009 4:31 pm US/Central
Slain Soldier Was Excited About Becoming A Mother
Pfc. Francheska Velez Was One Of 13 People Slain At Fort Hood, Texas
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
-
-
Pfc. Francheska Velez, 21, was among the soldiers killed at the massacre at Fort Hood. She was pregnant at the time.
Facebook
Pfc. Francheska Velez, 21, survived the tough streets of Chicago's West Side, where she grew up and a tour of duty in Iraq, only to lose her life in a place that should have been safe: Fort Hood, Texas.
She was one of the soldiers killed in Thursday's massacre at Fort Hood. Her family told CBS 2's Derrick Blakley that irony only added to the pain her family is enduring.
"She was a very wonderful person, very brave. Very kind-hearted. She didn't deserve to lose her life. She had a lot to live for," said Jennifer Arzuaga, Velez's cousin.
A heartbroken cousin, a grieving grandfather; they were among the flurry of loved ones who gathered on the porch of Francheska Velez's West Side home on Friday.
"She came on back on Aug. 20 because of her birthday. She gave us a surprise," said her father, Juan Guillermo Velez. That was the last time he saw his daughter.
Her father said it had been his dream to serve in the military and his daughter had fulfilled his dream. Juan Velez said he had encouraged Francheska to stay in the military and she was considering making it a career.
"She was a very happy girl and sweet," her father said, his eyes red from crying. "She had the spirit of a child."
Margarita Montero, Velez's aunt, said the loss was a bigger shock because it happened on a military base.
"Yes, of course," she said. "I think she was back from Iraq from a week ago, and look what happened."
Her father likened Francheska's death on U.S. soil, after serving her country, to a slap in the face. He clutched pictures of his daughter as he spoke on a family porch.
"What makes me upset the most is she didn't die in Iraq," Juan Velez said through a translator. "She didn't die from a terrorist. She died by one of her own here on a base."
Francheska Velez returned from Iraq because she was three months pregnant and by all accounts, excited about becoming a mother. She was scheduled to begin maternity leave next month.
Now, because of shooting suspect
Nidal Malik Hasaan, the Velez family was planning a funeral. But family members said they bear no ill will toward the Army psychiatrist who apparently claimed Francheska's life.
"I'm not angry at the person; apparently, I guess, none of us are angry," said Herbie Mojica, Velez's uncle. "But there should have been a red flag. He wanted a discharge for a reason. They should have just let him go."
Montero said, "We have anger, but we won't hold any hatred against this person because there's a God. God will take care of it."
A friend of Francheska's, Sasha Ramos, described her as a fun-loving person who wrote poetry and loved dancing.
"She was like my sister," Ramos, 21, said. "She was the most fun and happy person you could know. She never did anything wrong to anybody."
Ramos, who also served briefly in the military, couldn't reconcile that her friend was killed in this country -- just after leaving a war zone.
"It makes it a lot harder," she said. "This is not something a soldier expects -- to have someone in our uniform go start shooting at us."
Francheska Velez took part in ROTC at Kelvin Park High School and joined the Army as soon as she could after graduating in 2006. Her family was still working with the Army on funeral arrangements on Friday.
Twelve other people were killed in the attack,
including 21-year-old Michael Pearson of Bolingbrook. Pearson was shot three times and died in surgery Thursday night. He was expecting to be deployed to Iraq in January after a trip home to Bolingbrook for the holidays.
Hasan was in a coma on Friday, shot four times after he opened fire at Fort Hood.
Military officials said they are still piecing together what may have pushed Hasan, an Army psychiatrist trained to help soldiers in distress, to turn on his comrades. There were also reports that some of the victims might have died in friendly fire.
CBS 2's Kristyn Hartman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Jewish Celebrities
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
