It was an emotional day at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport Friday afternoon, where the body of a Valley Marine was returned home.

Staff Sergeant Maximo Flores was killed in an overseas mid-air collision last December.

"Right away when they told me, I knew what it was. I knew. It's just the greatest fear," said Flores' father, Maximo Flores Sr.

Flores, who died at the age of 27, enlisted in the Marines a decade ago.

"Just feels like it's something that happens in the movies. It's not real," said Flores Sr.

Flores Sr. said his son was destined to serve, and always wanted to follow in his father's footsteps and become a Marine.


"He loved it," said Flores Sr. "He took me aboard. We toured his aircraft when he was stationed in Miramar, California."

Flores Jr. will be buried Saturday at 9:00 a.m. at the Sunset Funeral Cemetery in Surprise.