The roar of jet engines Thursday outside the Indiana National Guard hangar at the Gary/Chicago International Airport signaled that U.S. Army Cpl. Joseph Hernandez -- son, husband, father -- had come home.
Hernandez, 24, died a week ago today in Afghanistan's Zabul province when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. The Hammond resident was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment in Hohenfels, Germany, before being deployed to Afghanistan.
As an arctic west wind blew across the airfield, seven members of the Indiana National Guard carried his flag-draped silver casket from the Falcon 20 jet into the hangar, where family and friends waited. The Patriot Guard Riders formed a corridor of American flags inside the building that saluted the fallen soldier.
During a brief service, Maj. Jim Staggers, chaplain of the Indiana National Guard, read Psalm 46 and offered a prayer, then talked privately with the corporal's widow, Alison Hernandez, and other relatives.
Embracing her husband's casket, Alison Hernandez sobbed, flanked by her mother, Lillie Meadows, and father, Robert Gordon.
Carried in the arms of family members, the couple's two young sons, Jacob and Noah, patted the American flag atop their father's coffin.
Joseph Hernandez's mother, Elva, joined her grandchildren at the bier before the honor guard carried the casket to a waiting hearse.
Joseph Hernandez also is survived by his father, Jessie Hernandez; two brothers, Jesse and Jason Hernandez; his grandparents, Josephine and Salvador Pompa, and numerous other relatives.
A motorcade of law enforcement officers and the Patriot Guard Riders escorted the body of Hernandez to Kish Funeral Home, 10000 Calumet Ave., in Munster.
Hernandez played soccer at Mount Carmel High School in Chicago before his graduation in 2003. He also was an altar server and cantor at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Hammond, where a Mass of Christian burial will be Saturday.
Prior to his overseas assignment, Hernandez served as part of the honor guard at military funerals at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. He will be buried there.
