Staff Sgt. Edgar A. Heredia

Staff Sgt. Edgar A. Heredia, 28, of Houston died June 26 while supporting combat operations in Farah province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Marine Special Operations Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command.

Heredia had served a tour in Iraq during his 10 years in the Marines. He was assigned to the 2nd Marine Special Operations Battalion at Camp Lejeune, N.C. Brother Sam Heredia and father Alejandro Heredia were at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Tuesday, where the Marine's remains were sent. A Marine Corps honor guard will meet the family at noon today when they arrive at Hobby Airport. Heredia enlisted in the Marines after graduating from Taylor High School, in the Alief Independent School District, in 1998. He planned to make it a career, Sam Heredia said. "We have a loyalty to this country, and we feel as though we have to repay it," he said. "He chose the Marines, and I went into Border Patrol." As a Marine, Heredia worked in reconnaissance, served as a sniper, and recently became a reconnaissance team leader, Sam Heredia said. "He loved his job. He loved doing what he did," he said. "As a family, we are very proud of him. He's our hero." As a child, Edgar Heredia often insisted on joining his brother and his friends when they were deep into GI Joe war game "scenarios." One time, Sam Heredia recalled, he had kept his younger brother out of their game, but he was lurking close by. At the height of the imaginary attack, Edgar Heredia showed up with his toy tanks and yelled: "My friends will help you." Even as a little boy, he always watched out for those he loved, Sam Heredia said. The men he served with could certainly count on him, he added. "He was the most loyal person I knew, and his priority was backing up his friends," Sam Heredia said. "Even though he's my little brother, I looked up to him."