Eric Alva
Eric Alva (Staff Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps, retired)
Alva’s father, Fidelis, served in the Vietnam War, and his grandfather, also Fidelis, served in World War II and the Korean War. Alva enlisted in the Marine Corps and his unit was among the first to cross the border into Iraq for the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Three hours into the ground war, near Basra, while stepping out of his vehicle, Alva triggered a landmine. The explosion threw him 15 feet, and left him with a broken left leg, severely nerve-damaged broken right arm and a badly injured right leg that was later amputated. He was the first American wounded in the war, and the war’s first Purple Heart recipient.
Alva was also among the first warfighters Move United served from Operation Iraq Freedom, learning how to ski and scuba dive.
After 13 years of military service, Alva went back to college to finish his degree. On February 28, 2007, he joined Congressman Martin Meehan in introducing the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, a bill designed to repeal the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. With this step, he openly admitted to the military and the world that he is gay, and one that had served and proudly sacrificed for his country. Alva worked as the national spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign and its fight to repeal the military’s now defunct discriminatory LGBT policy. Since the repeal, Alva now focuses on diversity in the workplace, In 2010, he authored a book about his experience: Radical Courage: How One Marine's Sacrifice Helped Change America.
Among Alva’s awards and recognitions for his service is the 2003 Heroes and Heritage Award from La Raza, the 2004 Hero’s Among Us award from People magazine, the 2004 Patriot Award from the city of San Antonio, and the 2008 Public Citizen Award from the National Association of Social Workers.
Alva graduated with his Master’s in Social Work in 2009 and recently finished working at The University of Texas at San Antonio. He is a Move United Warfighter Ambassador and a member of Move United’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Leadership Committee.
Sports
- Scuba,
- Adaptive Skiing
