Father Who Joined After Sniper Killed Son Deploys to Iraq
In a few days, Francisco Martinez will land in Iraq. When Martinez steps off the airplane, he will be in the country that took his only son, a 20-year-old skateboarder and budding graphic artist whose loss is felt every single day of his father's life. Joining the Air Force Reserve, after a 17-year break in his military service, was Martinez’s way of making sense of and coping with his son's death, a way to remember him by being around young men his age serving their nation.