Not even his mother’s soft bedside singing could wake Sgt. Alessandro “Alex” Carbonaro, 28, as he lay unconscious in a German hospital.

Gilda Carbonaro’s only child died in her arms, surrounded by family — his death the result a roadside bomb that ripped apart the Humvee in which he was riding. It was May 10, 2006, and two other Marines were badly injured.

“He was horrifically burned and almost unconscious, lying on the sand,” said his mother. “But he wasn’t asking for his family; he was asking for his friends. His last words were to see if his men were all right.”

Barely four weeks after her son left for a second tour in Iraq, Gilda Carbonaro, of Bethesda, was teaching her fifth-grade class at St. Albans School in Washington, D.C., when a chaplain walked through her door.

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“I knew it wasn’t good news,” she said.

“Something had happened to Alex.”

Although Gilda and Fulvio Carbonaro had envisioned their son attending college, Alex surprised them by announcing his intention to join the Marines.

“I wanted him to go to college,” his mother said, “but he needed to reach [for] his own achievements.”

For Alex, one tour wasn’t enough, and he returned to Iraq as part of an elite special-operations team.

“The training was extensive, and he was constantly in difficult situations,” said Gilda, who added that Alex — known in the Marines for his leadership and dedication — went back to Iraq for his own peace of mind.

“He didn’t want his friends to return to Iraq without him,” Gilda said. “He was almost motherly. But we need to think of his sacrifice. Maryland needs to remember this was my son.”

lduffy@baltimoreexaminer.com