July 7, 2003

Alex Coreas

Alex Alberto Cornejo Coreas, a U.S. marine who served in Afghanistan, was determined to see the birth of his son.

In December 2002, Coreas learned he had gastric cancer. Doctors removed his stomach, appendix and part of his esophagus, but they were too late -- the cancer had metastasized.

Last April, Coreas was lying in a hospice bed, struggling for life, when his father-in-law was killed in a car accident. By sheer force of will, Coreas left the hospital to attend the funeral. When he returned, his condition worsened.

What worried Coreas most was missing the birth of his child. The baby wasn't due until July 3, but the doctors thought it would be safe to induce his wife Shawna on June 18. When she went into labor, Coreas sat by the delivery table. Although he was barely conscious and couldn't speak, he managed to cut the umbilical cord and hold the newborn before returning to his hospital bed.

On June 25, six days after the birth of his son, Coreas died. He was 34.

Posted on July 7, 2003 9:09 PM

Tributes

Some men know what's really important.

Posted by Keith R. Wood on August 20, 2005 12:21 AM

Terrific blog! MarlaX

Posted by MarlaX on April 26, 2006 9:40 AM

A fighter indeed! A very touching story of a brave man.

Karla Coreas

Posted by Karla Coreas on October 26, 2006 9:37 AM

My name is Raic Raicevic I'm trying to find a friend that went to Wakefield High School Arlington Virginia with me he was my best freind.Than we lost contact after 2000.His name was Alex Cornejo and he was in Gulf War 1,he was a marine.Please if anyone has info or a picture,I would like to know if it is him.There are a lot of Cornejo's.My e-mail is rale29@yahoo.com

Posted by raic raicevic on November 28, 2007 3:49 AM

I was a USMC Range Officer in Camp Pendleton, CA and Sgt Cornejo worked for me as a marksmanship coach when he was diagnosed with cancer. After speaking with the doctor, I knew it was really bad. But when I asked Sgt Cornejo if he wanted to tell the other Marines or did he want me to, he replied, "It's not that big of a deal sir." What a warrior, all the way to the end. I see him every day in a photo on my wall, standing proud amongst the men of Bravo Range, Edson Range MCRD SD. He is truly missed.

Posted by clint on September 20, 2008 6:03 PM
Post a tribute









Remember personal info?


NOTE: Tributes with fake e-mail addresses may be removed. At the discretion of the site's editor, people leaving inappropriate comments will be banned from posting in this forum.