They were there on a peacekeeping mission, on a piece of land riddled with conflict for generations.
Staff Sergeant Guadalupe Chapa, Sergeant Michael Cantu, Specialist James Burkett and Specialist Jose Romo were in a Humvee in the Sinai Peninsula in September.
Members of the Texas National Guard, the four were serving in the Multinational Force and Observers, an international coalition set up to keep the peace between Egypt and Israel.
On that day, they were called to respond to a vehicle that hit and improvised explosive device (IED). The four of them knew the danger. Cantu, an Infantryman for 11 years, had received a Purple Heart in Iraq when he was in a vehicle hit by an IED.