Valencia resident Matt Madrid finished United States Army basic combat training with a distinguished honor — top in his battery.
According to his father, Donny Madrid, Matt fostered a dream of being in the military since he was a boy.
“In sixth grade, when all the graduates got to walk across the stage, they each got to say a little something,” Madrid said during a telephone interview. “Matt came across the stage and said that in the future, he’d be part of the armed forces, serving and protecting our country. Where most of his buddies were saying they were going to be in the NFL and Major League Baseball, he came across and shared that.”
Matt graduated from Valencia High School in 2024. Despite his parents wanting him to go to college, Matt joined the Army over the summer, attending boot camp at Fort Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma, and ultimately excelling among about 250 of his fellow recruits. He was recognized as a Distinguished Honor Graduate during his graduation ceremony in October at Fort Sill.
“As a family, we’re extremely proud,” Madrid said. “We all got emotional over it, but we also looked at each other and said that we weren’t surprised.”
Matt is currently at Fort Sam Houston, an Army base in San Antonio, Texas, for medic training.
