The Zapata family in Edinburg is slowing healing from the loss of their soldier son Sgt. Mark Anthony Zapata.
Daniel Zapata, an army vet, remembers the terrorist attacks and the letter he wrote to his son Mark immediately after.
“I wrote him a letter and said prepare for war son.”
The 27 year old had come home to visit his family in July of 2004 and then returned to Iraq.
A week later, he was killed.
“One insurgent snuck up and shot him and then ran off.”
Mark’s parents surround themselves with pictures and mementos of his.
His mother Ninfa carries his picture close to her hear on a dog tag shaped necklace that she wears every day, even if it's been 7 years since he died.
They struggle still to find peace.
Their wish is for all troops to come home before another family has to suffer the way they did.
They will spend 9-11 at his gravesite in Edinburg quietly paying tribute to him and the other service members who have died in the war that followed the terrorist attacks.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKGBT