Carlos Lopez Jr. was still a teenager when he signed up for a two-year stint in the U.S. Army. Not long after, the Iraq War began, and he became one of the first American soldiers to be deployed there, fighting battles in Baghdad, Najaf, and Fallujah.
Five years active duty, three tours, and more than 37 months in “extreme combat environments” later, Carlos Jr. came home. But he “was not the same person,” according to his obituary.