Alexis Gagalac begins the most difficult journey of his young life today when he flies to Delaware to bring home the body of his twin brother.

Army Sgt. Alexander Udarbe Gagalac, 28, was killed Sunday in Hawijah, Iraq, when a rocket-propelled grenade hit the lead Humvee he was in, just hours after he called his mother, Regina, at her Wahiawa home to express his excitement about returning to Hawai'i Sept. 24 from his second combat tour in Iraq.

Just as part of Alexis died Sunday, part of Alexander will live on in the soul of his twin.

"I need to bring him back," Alexis said last night while sitting beside a shrine with photos and combat boots of his brother at the family's new Salt Lake home. "We want to see each other."

Alexander Gagalac's body is tentatively scheduled to arrive home Saturday, according to his family. His family last saw him in March when he returned home for R&R.

Alexander was looking forward to his homecoming, his mother said. "He instructed me to gather the cousins and meet him at the airport," said Regina Gagalac, a real estate broker who says her son had only seen the Salt Lake home as it was being built.

Alexander called his mother at 6:21 a.m. Saturday and before they hung up, Regina told her son, "Remember, we are here in Hawai'i for you."

The second eldest of Regina and Fabian Gagalac's four children, Alexander is remembered by his loved ones as a strong, caring person.

"He was strong-minded, always going forward and hardly ever let his guard down," sister Grace Tolentino of Mililani said. "He was more like a dad to me than an older brother."

Alexander especially enjoyed spending time with Tolentino's daughter, Jacelynn, often volunteering to baby-sit her, his sister said.

"I'll always remember the good times we had," Alexis Gagalac said.

One of Regina Gagalac's fondest memories of Alexander is him winning an art contest while attending Mililani Uka Elementary School. "He was a fine gentleman, always a loving boy for me," she said.

Regina Gagalac was baby-sitting her granddaughter Sunday when two Army officers came to her Wahiawa house at about 4 p.m.

"They knocked, I opened the door and I knew already what was wrong but was hoping it wasn't my son," Regina Gagalac said. "I was stunned, speechless. I've been crying and crying."

Alexis is also a combat veteran who served with his brother in Iraq in 2004. He said his brother re-enlisted after serving two years in Germany so he could be stationed at Schofield Barracks and be close to the family.

Alexander Gagalac, a 1997 Leilehua High graduate, served with the 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment.

"His plan was to get out of the Army, maybe take a break and go to school," Alexis Gagalac said. "I'm sure he would want me to get an education and take care of the family now.

"He was my best friend, my hero, my brother. When I first heard (he got killed), I went crazy. Part of me died but I know part of him will always be there with me."

Other survivors include an older brother, Charles. Services are pending.

Reach Rod Ohira at rohira@honoluluadvertiser.com.