Park Named After Local Army Veteran

It was a sunny and warm Wednesday for one local Army veteran to receive a big honor.

Army Specialist Adrian Garcia now has a park named after him.

Garcia had his legs amputated in 2007 after an attack while serving in Iraq. He had only been deployed overseas for three weeks.

The park is located next to South Loop Elementary where Garcia once attended school.

It has a new playground and accessibility for the disabled.

At the ceremony, Garcia thanked his family, community and city representative Eddie Holguin who pushed for the renaming of the park.

“I don’t think it was a mistake because I don’t think there are mistakes in life. I think there’s good experiences and bad experiences, and you learn from both. I would do it all over again”, said Garcia of his time in Iraq.

Garcia is also being honored by the Ysleta High School basketball team, which he once played on.

The team’s head coach has dedicated the entire season to him.

At Wednesday’s ceremony, guests also wished Garcia a Happy Birthday as he celebrated his 24th birthday.