CENTERVILLE, MA, USA
U.S. Army
SGT, TROOP B, 3D SQUADRON, 61ST CAVALRY, FORT CARSON, CO
BAGHDAD, IRAQ 01/25/2007
Alexander Henry Fuller was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts. In addition to his mother, Linda, and father, William, there were three older siblings. Alex joined sister, Katie, and brothers, Sean and Christopher.
He relocated to Centerville – a village in the town of Barnstable on Cape Cod – in the mid 1980s. He and his future wife, Anastacia (Stacey) Zinov, met at a local dance when she was 13 and he was 15. Alex spent his youth in Centerville with the Zinov family and Florida with his mother.
He considered Centerville home and attended Newton North High and Barnstable High School. He enjoyed boxing and football – and was an ardent New England Patriots fan. Alex left school before graduating to work at the Zinov family’s car dealership on Yarmouth Road in nearby Hyannis. He also worked at the local A&P supermarket.
Alex dreamed of a career as a police officer – either on the Cape or in Florida. Once he earned his GED, Alex enlisted in the Army in June of 2004. He wanted to serve his country and get experience that would prepare him for a law enforcement career after the Service.
After completing basic training, Alex and Stacey married in South Yarmouth, MA on Oct. 16, 2004. Then he went on his first deployment to South Korea. Alex was fervently devoted to his fellow soldiers of the Fort Carson, Colo.-based 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. He loved being a leader and a husband. He deployed to Iraq in October 2006.
The couple was ecstatic when they learned that Stacey was pregnant with their first child. Stacey said she had just talked to her husband a few days before his death. “I sent him pictures of my stomach, like really big, and he called. ” He was like, ‘Oh my God, you’re so beautiful … your stomach’s so big,” she said. “He was really happy. We talked about what the plans were for when he got home.”
Alex intended to come home on leave in April for the birth of their daughter. He was due to get out of the Army next October. Those plans never materialized. On 25 January 2007, an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated near his patrolling Humvee in Baghdad Iraq. The explosion killed Alex and a fellow soldier.
Hundreds of mourners gathered at St. Francis Xavier Parish in Hyannis to mark the death, and commemorate the life, of Sergeant Alexander Fuller. His duty done, Alex rests now in the Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne.