Little brothers can be quite the burdensome bunch, especially when you have two younger ones that look up to you for advice. I have two brothers I adore and would move Heaven and Earth just to make things easier for them if I could. I’m positive you feel the same way about yours. Today, I’d like to take a moment to celebrate one of my two brother’s greatest accomplishments. At a point in time, our country had suffered one of the biggest threats to our nation on 9-11, my brother, Alvin Luna, decided to finish graduating high school and join the military.

My little brother is an incredibly talented artist with big dreams of seeing his creations come to life on the big screen. The college he wanted to go to was beyond our financial means, so he took the excuse of receiving money for school if he joined the military and the fact that the nation was still struggling to win the war as a reason to join our Armed Forces. Although we greatly feared him being shipped off to war, we were extremely proud of the choice he made and prayed every day for a safe journey. My brother always excelled at anything he put his mind to and finished basic training just like we thought he would.

After a bit working on base, we received the call we were all dreading. My brother’s squadron was chosen to go overseas to join their brethren on the front lines of the war in Iraq. This was a tumultuous time for our family. Phone calls were minimal, and postcards were few and far in-between. However, we prayed hard every day for everyone’s safe return from the war. He experienced things there that no one should ever have to face. The brief conversations we did get to have with him showed us the difference this battle had on his psyche. None of that stopped him from doing his job and doing it right.

Then we received a call.

When you have a loved one in the military, everyone knows of the dreaded call. This phone call is about these soldiers either being hurt or worse--dying. We were blessed it was only the former rather than the latter. During one of his operations, my brother’s military vehicle ran over an I.E.D (Improvised Explosive Device), which detonated and harmed the soldiers impacted. My brother included. However, regardless of the shrapnel buried in his body, my brother got treated for his wounds and sent back to work.

We couldn’t be more proud of his dedication.

He served for 15 months in Baiji, Iraq. During his time in the military, my brother earned several badges and honors. To name a few, he earned his Air Assault Badge, Expert Infantry Badge, which signifies he got medical training and could assist his fellow soldiers, and the Expert Scout Sniper Badge. My brother made it back home safe to us to enjoy a small leave around July 2009, almost a year or so left in his military contract. We thought he was untouchable. We thought that God watched over him and no man could break this faith.

Then our family received another phone call.

This phone call came from the youngest sibling. Alvin went on a quick motorcycle joyride with a friend of his. The girl didn’t have a helmet, so he courteously gave her his. He’s ridden his bike several times before and never had any incidents or accidents. On July 4th, 2009, my brother was hit by a distracted driver making an illegal left turn. His motorcycle flew over the vehicle, ejecting both bike passengers. He was in I.C.U for several weeks. It would take this writer an entirely separate article to explain the life-threatening wounds he had, and what we all went through as we watched him struggle to survive.

But, survive he did.

He was in a coma for 30 days. During those 30 days, his body and spirit fought to heal and overcome the wounds that were more than willing to take over his life. When he finally woke up on that final day, he couldn’t do much but move his eyes and register that we were in the room and that he was alive. The struggle to see such a strong man go through this hell all over again was hard to bare. Our faith was shaken quite a bit during this time. But, for him to go through what he went through and survived, we know God had a lot to do with it.

My brother is more than just a Veteran’s Day Hero. My brother is my hero, my children’s hero, my parent’s hero, his fiancée’s hero, his children’s hero… I can go on and on. Alvin Luna Jr. fought in a war to keep us free and then fought in a battle with himself. Although little brothers can be quite the pain, they can also manage to do great things. I, fortunately, had two siblings join the military whom I’m very proud of. One became a proud Marine and the other a soldier in the U.S. Army. These two young men dared to fight wars to keep us safe. They also re-instilled our wavering faith.

My brother is our true hero.