Alfred Ortiz, 91 has returned home.

Born – September 26th, 1928. Passed – June 13th, 2020.

Alfred Ortiz was born to Ramón and Isabel Ortiz, in El Paso Texas. He was the youngest of four children. He had two brothers, Luís and Ramón, and a sister, Guadalupe. He grew up in a family that was very poor in money, but abundant in love.

Growing up in the foothills of the Franklin Mountains, surrounded by cacti and rattlesnakes, Alfred Ortiz led a very interesting and adventurous childhood. With one shot from his trusty slingshot, he could hit a rattlesnake from 50 paces away. He was also very adept at running down the mountain at a full gallop, avoiding the cacti along the way, unlike his unfortunate cousin Willy, who had many painful encounters with numerous sadistic succulents.

He and his brothers were often out pursuing unique adventures to the region, such as attempting to reenact the Wright Brothers’ first flight by strapping Al to the top of a very large homemade kite – it was unsuccessful. Or, when they attempted to navigate the South El Paso canal systems by putting him inside of a tin washtub – once again, they were not successful. Despite the many misadventures, Al developed a variety of skills that would ultimately prove to be very useful in the not so distant future.

Always a patriot, Al was a very enthusiastic member of his local Boy Scout troop. Unfortunately, despite his extreme enthusiasm, the troop scoutmaster’s departure led to it folding before Al was able to achieve the rank of Eagle, something which bothered him into his adult life.

On the date of October 26th, 1950, Al received the call to serve his country. Heeding the call, he left his home in El Paso, and reported to Camp Polk, Louisiana, for basic training.

He served in the 179th Regiment, Company E, and 45th Infantry Division. He was assigned to a Regimental Combat Team, when the Division received orders to go to Korea in December of 1951.

The Division landed at Inchon and proceeded north. Once in Korea he spent his entire time there on the front line. He rapidly rose in rank from Private to Master Sergeant and commanded 1st Platoon, Easy Company. Most of the action in which he was involved was up and down the Chiron Valley just south of Pyongyang, with a heavy concentration of fighting on and around Hills 155 and 266, later known as Old Baldy and Pork Chop respectively, where he was wounded several times and treated at M.A.S.H. After Al received a wound that almost severed his left arm, he was evacuated and spent almost a year in five different hospitals. He was medically discharged in May, 1953.

Besides multiple Purple Hearts, he was awarded the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, the Korea Campaign Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the Japanese Occupation Medal, the American Defense Medal, the Division Commendation Medal with Cluster, the Korea Commendation Medal, and the Republic of Korea Medal.

With the help of the GI Bill, he went to the University of Texas at El Paso, where he graduated with honors. As transformative as many of his classes were, it was perhaps his time spent in the library that proved to have the longest lasting impact on his life. Being of the era before internet, e-mail, and cell phones existed, when people had to go to an actual library to do their research, one fateful day he happened to enter the library with a classmate and spotted a beautiful woman across the aisles. He then turned to his classmate and said, “Who is she? I want to meet her.” Man of action that he was, he went over right then and there and introduced himself. And the rest is history. Al and Val were married on July 4th, 1957. From that day forward, he would always jokingly say that, “This was the day the country had gained its independence, and he had lost his own.”

Al received a BA Degree in 1956. He went to Washington, DC, to complete studies prior to entering the Foreign Service and received a Master’s Degree in 1960 from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He spent many years in the federal government and in the field of education in Research & Development as a Professor of Economics and Languages. He retired in 1991.

Al and Val settled in Vienna, VA where they raised four children: Veronica, Loretta, Mark, and Bernadette. He was very active in church activities and in the Knights of Columbus where he achieved the rank of Faithful Navigator. He devoted much time supporting various military organizations, especially the Military Order of the Purple Heart, where he was Commander for the Department of Virginia from 2001 - 2002. He also served on various community boards including the United Way of America, the Virginia Mental Health Association, the Georgetown Children’s Home, the Boy Scouts of America, Senior Citizens of America, the League of United Latin American Citizens, and the American GI Forum.

Besides his aforementioned wife and children, Al is survived by his son-in-law, Richard Corbett, and by his grandchildren Eric, Nathan, and Alex.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered on Monday, June 22, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. at All Saints Catholic Church, 9300 Stonewall Road, Manassas. Graveside and interment services will immediately follow at 1:00 p.m. in Quantico National Cemetery, Triangle, VA.

Memorial contributions may take the form of a donation to Washington DC VA Fisher House located at: 50 Irving St., NW Washington, DC 20422.

Checks should be made out to:
DCVAMC Fisher House
In memory of Alfred Ortiz (GPF 1189)

Checks should be mailed to:
DCVAMC Fisher House
Attn: Stacey Childs
50 Irving St. NW
Washington, DC 20310


Please sign the guestbook at www.bakerpostfh.com.

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