What goes through someone's mind when he or she decides to take another human being's life is something we'll likely never know. It's the kind of thing you take to your grave. But the consequences of that instant of inexplicable cruelty are far-reaching. You don't just end a life, you destroy a family, devastate a community and, at times, shake up a country's psyche. And that is exactly what happened in Fort Hood, Texas, on Nov. 5.

Pvt. Francheska Velez thought she was returning to safety after having served in Iraq, where she drove fuel tankers and disarmed bombs. She had joined the Army after graduating from high school in 2006 because, according to her loved ones, she wanted to travel, get a degree and make something of herself. She planned to have a career in the Army. She was due to return home to Chicago in December, but got an early transfer to Fort Hood Army Base after becoming pregnant.

At 21 years of age, she was excited to become a mother, and her father, Juan Velez, an immigrant from Colombia, was looking forward to becoming an abuelito. But on that deadly afternoon at Fort Hood, their dreams were shattered, her future plans cut short. She was shot to death, not by an enemy combatant, but by someone whose job was to help cure the emotional and psychological scars of his fellow soldiers.

It is ironic. Pvt. Velez's father came to this country from one that has been ravaged for decades by a bloody civil war. After leaving Colombia, he established his family in Chicago and was grateful for the opportunities he has had in this country. “My daughter enlisted in the Army because it's something I also wanted to do,” he said. “She was living my dream. I wanted so much to give back to this country.” For Velez, it's hard to comprehend how after surviving a tour in Iraq and confronting real terrorists, his only daughter would lose her life to one of her own.

Maj. Libardo Caraveo had also seen his share of violence in his country of origin. He came to the United States as a teenager from one of the most dangerous cities in this hemisphere: Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. He spoke little English after crossing the border with his family into Texas, but that never held him back. He managed not only to graduate from high school with honors, but to work his way through college, earning a master's degree and eventually a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Arizona.

Caraveo was living the American dream. His career ranged from being a caseworker for special-needs children for Tucson Child Protective Services to counseling prison inmates for the Federal Bureau of Prisons. After moving to Virginia, he joined the National Guard, becoming a Medical Service Corps officer. He spent a year in Guantanamo Bay, helping to treat soldiers with stress disorders.

Maj. Caraveo was about to be deployed to Afghanistan to help troops in distress. He had arrived in Fort Hood exactly 24 hours before the deadly rampage that would take his life. His lifelong efforts to learn and grow and help others were shattered in a moment of rage. Caraveo leaves behind his wife, two children and two stepchildren, his brothers and sisters, and a community that remembers his contagious laugh and good spirit.

Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist who went on the shooting rampage at Fort Hood, did more damage than he possibly could imagine. Whatever triggered his deadly actions will be a topic of debate for years to come, and he will surely pay for the crime. But in the end, he was one of the lucky ones -- he got a second chance at life, having survived the ordeal. But the 13 victims of his attack and an unborn child never will.

***

(Maria Elena Salinas is the author of “I AM MY FATHER'S DAUGHTER: LIVING A LIFE WITHOUT SECRETS.” Reach her at www .mariaesalinas.com)

© 2009 by Maria Elena Salinas

Distributed by King Features Syndicate