The Mendoza Family

U.S. MARINE CORPORAL NEFTALI MENDOZA

U.S. Marine Corporal Neftali “Nef” Mendoza was born and raised in Houston, Texas. He joined the United States Marine Corps at age 18 and served four years, including a six-month deployment to Libya for Operation Odyssey Lightning in 2016. He completed his enlistment in 2018 and enrolled in college with hopes of becoming a police officer.

After a run with his dog in November of 2018, Nef collapsed in front of his girlfriend, Alexis Mendoza. She rushed him to the nearest emergency center where he was immediately life-flighted to Methodist Hospital in Houston. He went through five major surgeries, including the amputation of his left leg above the knee. He was fully sedated for three weeks and spent two months in the ICU. His collapse had been caused by the rupturing of his aorta from untreated hypertension, PTSD and other non-combat trauma related to his military service.

For his four years of military service, Mendoza was recognized with numerous awards including a Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Navy Unit Commendation Award and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.

Nef and Alexis recently moved to the Dallas - Ft Worth area after getting married in July 2020. After attending Adaptive Training Foundation (ATF) Hyper Training Camp, Nef took the opportunity to become part of the nonprofit to help other veterans and civilians get back on their feet and help achieve their physical goals.  The family has two children.

The family loves being outside with their dogs, swimming, bike riding, and taking walks. Nef runs workouts at Adaptive Training Foundation and encourages others to join him in the path of a physically fit lifestyle and being a community.

Operation Finally Home is proud to partner with Normandy Homes in providing U.S. Marine Corporal Neftali Mendoza and his family with a mortgage-free home in Celina, Texas.