Fernando A. Mendez-Aceves

Fernando Mendez-Aceves loved to take care of people. As the third of four sons, he was fiercely protective of his younger brother, Kenneth, 15. "His baby brother was his pastime," said his mother, Sandra Aceves. "They were always together." That nurturing attitude carried over to his service with a medical unit. "I know Fernando looked at their faces, and he was protecting his baby brother in all of them," his mother said. Mendez-Aceves, 27, of Ponce, Puerto Rico, was killed April 6 during an ambush in Ramadi, Iraq, while attempting to treat a fallen Marine. He was assigned to the Naval Medical Center San Diego. Born in Mexico City, Mendez-Aceves grew up in a family that moved around the globe, including countries in Africa and Southeast Asia,...