Seventeen-year-old Elias Yanez was remembered by his mother as someone who helped others and was ready to enlist in the Army to defend his country.

Since Elias was a little boy, his mother Luisana Yanez says she always knew there was something special about her son.

“He was my favorite, and everybody knows it," she said. "His brother sometimes would be like, 'Why?' But it was just always something about him because he was very stubborn, but in a way that it made you respect his opinion."

The mother of three says her son shined on the basketball court and loved music but planned to follow in the family tradition of serving in the Army.

“He's supposed to change the world. That's what he's meant to be. Like, he was born to do something great," she said.

Elias and his best friend Kane Rol

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