<p>Mourners filled the Union Missionary Baptist Church in Clanton on Saturday for Army Staff Sgt. George T. Alexander Jr.'s funeral.</p><p>The 34-year-old Chilton County native from Killeen, Texas, died last Saturday in San Antonio of wounds suffered Oct. 17 in a blast in Samarra, 60 miles north of the Iraqi capital.</p><p>Alexander, a 1989 graduate of Chilton County High School, was assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division of Fort Benning, Ga.</p><p>At the services on Liberty Street, a close friend and former classmate, Greg DeJarnett, called Alexander a hero, who "stood for something and didn't fall for anything."</p><p>Representing the Army, Jefferson Varner Junior of Clanton said Alexander was "the backbone of the Army."</p><p>It's people like Alexander, he said, "that help make all of us free."</p><p>Alexander had eight tours to the Middle East, including serving in Desert Storm.</p>
