CORPUS CHRISTI, TX, U.S.A.
U.S. ARMY
SPC, PERSIAN GULF WAR, 11M, 24TH INF DIV, 11M FIGHTING VEHICLE INF
02/27/1991, IRAQ
SPC Andy Alaniz was born November 10, 1970
SPC Alaniz graduated in 1989 from Moody High School in Corpus Christi, where he was a member of the Trojan Drama Club. He enlisted after graduation and was assigned to the 24th Infantry Division.
He married Catherine Lee of Eagle Pass in June, a few weeks before he was sent to the Persian Gulf. The couple’s first child was born on May 13, 1991.
SPC Alaniz is survived by his wife, Catherine Lee Alaniz, a daughter Andee Annette Medearis Alaniz, and his parents, Teresa and Cecilo Alaniz.
In 1991, during one of the final battles of the Gulf War, Army SPC Andy Alaniz was killed by friendly fire in Iraq.
Just moments after the battle in the Iraq desert, SGT Ken Kozakiewicz asked the name of the soldier in the body bag next to him. Learning that it was the body of his buddy Andy Alaniz, Ken Kozakiewicz cried out in agony. It was a cry heard around the world. SGT Kozakiewicz’s grief for his friend was amplified by the tragedy of PVT Andy Alaniz’s death. Killed by friendly fire, Andy Alaniz left behind his nineteen year-old pregnant wife. But Catherine Alaniz knew that her husband was surrounded by friends until the very end.
Years after the Gulf War, Catherine Alaniz-Simonds and Ken Kozakiewicz met one another.