Army Private First Class and native Bronxite Jonathan Caceres is coming home from active duty in Iraq for 18 days in February – just enough time to marry his fiancée Serena Ramirez at the Inn at Fox Hallow on Long Island on Feb. 17.

Ramirez, 23, and Caceres, 22, both grew up in the northwest Bronx. They met four years ago when they were counselors at the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center in Norwood.

While working at the community center, they were both assigned to help children after school at PS 20 on Webster Avenue. After spending five days a week working together for nearly a year, the two began dating.

Caceres asked Ramirez to marry him on the night he first returned from basic training this past August.

Since then, they have been doing all they can to share their lives from so far away. “His constant calls, e-mails, and mail keep me optimistic and has helped the time go by,” Ramirez said. “In his words, as long as I hold his hand, we’ll both get through this.”

Caceres enlisted in the Army last Independence Day and was deployed to Iraq in September. After the wedding, Caceres will be sent back to Iraq until his troop is scheduled to return home next December.

In the meantime, Ramirez wants to make their wedding day as special as possible. “The planning process was hard because I wanted this day to be his as much as it was mine,” Ramirez said. “Overall, his absence does hurt.”  

Ramirez attended Herbert H. Lehman High School and received her B.A. in communications from the College of New Rochelle. She teaches fourth grade at PS 56 in Norwood and is working toward her Masters Degree in literacy at New Rochelle. She plans to begin working toward a second Masters Degree, in English as a Second Language, this summer.

Caceres attended Christopher Columbus High School and earned an Associate Degree in criminal justice from Monroe College. After his term with the Army ends in 2010, he hopes to pursue a career in criminal justice.

 The bride is the daughter of Mary and Louis Ramirez of Norwood, and the groom is the son of Mary Carasquillo and Juan Caceres of New Rochelle. The bridal party includes Steven Caceres as the best man and Caitlin Marie Ramirez as the maid of honor.