Army Specialist Nicholas C. Mason

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Remember Our Heroes

Army Specialist Nicholas C. Mason, 20, of King George, Virginia.

Spc. Mason died in Mosul, Iraq, when a suicide bomber entered his dining facility and detonated an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the Army National Guard's 276th Engineer Battalion, West Point, Virginia.

Spc. Mason, a 2002 graduate of King George High School, signed up for the military in 2001 while he was still in school. He attended National Guard training once a month while completing his freshman year at Virginia Tech, and planned to resume his studies after returning from Iraq in February or March.

Spc. Mason was one of two members of the Virginia Guard’s 229th Engineer Battalion killed in the Dec. 21 attack. They had deployed to Iraq last December with the 276th Engineer Battalion, based in Richmond.

Maj. Gen. Claude Williams, the Virginia Guard’s adjutant general, knelt between Mason’s flag-draped coffin and his family, and presented a Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Good Conduct Medal and the Virginia Legion of Merit.

Fellow firefighters also honored Mason, a member of the King George Volunteer Fire Department. They stood and saluted as his father received his helmet. A series of symbolic rings tolled on a silver fireman’s bell, signifying Mason’s death and that his job was complete.

Army Specialist Nicholas C. Mason was killed in action 12/21/04.

Army Sgt 1st Class Todd C. Gibbs

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Army Sgt 1st Class Todd C. Gibbs, 37, of Angelina, Texas.

Sgt Gibbs died in Khalidiyah, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated while his unit was on a dismounted patrol. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, Camp Greaves, Korea.

Gibbs, who had been in the Army for 13 years, was deployed to Iraq in August as part of the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, based at Camp Greaves, South Korea, his brother said.

“Todd was the kind of guy that would give you the shirt off his back,” Bret Gibbs said. He said friends of his brother have been calling him saying the same words.

Bret Gibbs said that his brother grew up in Lufkin, graduating from high school in 1986. He went on to earn a criminal justice degree from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville.

“After college he had a change of heart in the direction he wanted to take,” Bret Gibbs said. “He decided to enlist in the Army.”

Todd Gibbs’ wife, Melissa Gibbs, their 1-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter live in Killeen, where he had been stationed at Fort Hood prior to being sent for a year to Korea.

Army Sgt 1st Class Todd C. Gibbs was killed in action on 12/07/04.

Army Specialist David P. Mahlenbrock

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Army Specialist David P. Mahlenbrock, 20, of Maple Shade, New Jersey.

Spc. Mahlenbrock died in Kirkuk, Iraq, when he was clearing a route and an improvised explosive device detonated. He was assigned to the 65th Engineer Battalion, 25th Infantry Division (Light), Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. Died on December 3, 2004.

Spc. David Mahlenbrock was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetary. In honor of his final request, here are the lyrics to his favorite song. God bless him and his family.

Toby Keith - American Soldier

I'm just trying to be a father,
Raise a daughter and a son,
Be a lover to their mother,
Everything to everyone.
Up and at 'em bright and early,
I'm all in my business suit,
Yeah, I'm dressed for success from my head down to my boots,
I don't do it for money, there's still bills that I can't pay,
I don't do it for the glory, I just do it anyway,
Providing for our future's my responsibility,
Yeah I'm real good under pressure, being all that I can be,
And I can't call in sick on Mondays when the weekends been to strong,
I just work straight through the holidays,
And sometimes all night long.
You can bet that I stand ready when the wolf growls at the door,
Hey, I'm solid, hey I'm steady, hey I'm true down to the core,
And I will always do my duty, no matter what the price,
I've counted up the cost, I know the sacrafice,
Oh, and I don't want to die for you,
But if dyin's asked of me,
I'll bear that cross with an honor,
'Cause freedom don't come free.
I'm an american soldier, an american,
Beside my brothers and my sisters I will proudly take a stand,
When liberty's in jeopardy I will always do what's right,
I'm out here on the front lines, sleep in peace tonight.
American soldier, I'm an American,
An American,
An American Soldier

Army Specialist David P. Mahlenbrock was killed in action on 12/03/04.

Marine Lance Cpl. Adam R. Brooks

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Marine Lance Cpl. Adam R. Brooks, 20, of Manchester, New Hampshire.

Lance Cpl Brooks died as a result of enemy action in Babil Province, Iraq. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

Associated Press

MANCHESTER, N.H. — A Marine from New Hampshire has died in Iraq after a bomb exploded near his Humvee, the Department of Defense said.

Rose Marois said her son, Lance Cpl. Adam Brooks, 20, was killed Sunday while he was on patrol in Baghdad. He was stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Brooks was a newlywed and a 2003 graduate of Central High School, joining the military right after graduation.

“He wanted to further his education that way. He had all kinds of plans,” his mother said.

Marois said her son was expected home in February and wanted to become a state trooper.

“It’s awful,” she said. “Your kids aren’t supposed to die before you do.”

Brooks and his wife, Ashley, were married over Memorial Day weekend, knowing he was headed to Iraq.

“They married so that when he was in battle, he’d have something to hold onto,” said Fatima Deek, a close friend of the couple.

Those who knew Brooks at Central High School recalled his love for the Marine Corps and his enthusiasm for joining the service.

“The minute he decided what he wanted to do, there wasn’t any stopping him,” said Joy Canny, a support professional at Central.

Brooks was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force. He died in Iraq’s Babil province.

He was one of eight service members from the base killed in recent fighting in Iraq.

Marine Lance Cpl. Adam R. Brooks was killed in action on 11/28/04.

Marine Lance Cpl. Demarkus D. Brown

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Marine Lance Cpl. Demarkus D. Brown, 22, of Martinsville, Va.

LCpl Brown was assigned to 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; killed Nov. 19, 2004 by enemy action in Anbar province, Iraq.

Marine killed in Iraq was ‘outstanding young man’
By Tom Patterson
Martinsville Bulletin / Associated Press

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Lance Cpl. Demarkus D. Brown will be remembered as always having a smile on his face and proud of his service to his country.

And, of course, as “Chicken.”

Brown, 22, who was killed Nov. 19 while serving in Iraq’s Anbar province, earned his nickname as a two-sport athlete at the former Laurel Park High School, according to his wrestling coach, Curtis Gore.

“I gave him the nickname his first practice in the ninth grade,” Gore said. “Everything he did, he would just flop around like a chicken with his head cut off.”

Some people might have tried to shrug off the name, but Brown added it to his trademark grin to form an immutable identity.

“I recall that when he first introduced himself he referred to himself by his nickname, ‘Chicken.’ We would kid about that,” said former Laurel Park Principal Ben Gravely.

“No one will ever forget that he was ‘Chicken,”’ said former Laurel Park Booster Club President Ardys Winslow. “I had to look up in an annual to find out that he was Demarkus Brown.”

But Brown’s actions, not his nickname, are what people remember most about him.

“He was always a person you could turn to to make a gray day bright. He was an outstanding young man — someone you could count on,” Winslow said.

Winslow and Frank Scott, Brown’s former track coach at Laurel Park, said Brown was the type of man any mother and father would be proud to call their son.

“First of all, I’m devastated. He’s one of the finest student-athletes I had the opportunity to coach,” Scott said.

“He always wanted to please you. He’d take on any event or any challenge. Even though he was short, he took on distance running where he had to work extra hard. I can see him right now hitting the last turn on a final lap running hard to the finish. That’s the type of kid he was,” Scott said.

His inauspicious start in wrestling aside, Brown blossomed into a crowd favorite by his senior year, Gore said.

“He could constantly roll people” whenever he was on his back, Gore said, and the crowd would cheer for him to do it.

Brown also won the Ironman Wrestling Tournament his senior year, which is one of the more prestigious awards in the area, he added.

“He came out of nowhere and beat everybody,” Gore said.

Brown enlisted in the Marines after graduating from Laurel Park in 2000, and was enthusiastic about his chosen profession.

“I saw him right before he enlisted. He was very excited about joining the military,” Scott said.

“It was something he was proud to do. He always gave it his all,” Winslow said. “ ... This makes this war even more a reality. It hits our community — it hits our home. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, we were a village at Laurel Park. It’s a great loss.”

Local Marine recruiter Sgt. Kathy Perdue said Brown was the epitome of what a Marine is and loved his job.

“He chose to be in the infantry,” Perdue said. “I talked to him two weeks ago because he requested to come home to do recruiter’s assistance. He was in good spirits. He was glad to have been over there but was ready to come home.”

Brown previously had worked with Perdue as a recruiter’s assistant, she said, and he always came by the recruiter’s office when he was home.

Being a recruiter’s assistant was “a way for him to stay at home longer and talk about being a Marine,” Perdue said. “He enjoyed talking about the Marines. He came in quite often on the weekends to help me any way that he could.

“He’s definitely going to be missed,” she added. “He was the type of person you wanted to be around. He was very positive, never sad and had a great smile. He will be missed by friends, family and the Marine Corps.”

Hundreds honor Martinsville native slain in Iraq

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Hundreds of friends, relatives and former classmates turned out Sunday to remember Lance Cpl. Demarkus Brown.

“He brought hope, loyalty and friendship to all who knew him,” the Rev. William Lowery said at Brown’s funeral at Greater International Pentecostal Holiness Church. “To Lance Corporal Demarkus Brown, I say, ‘Semper Fi.”’

A machine gunner with the 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Brown, 22, was killed Nov. 19 as the result of enemy action in Iraq’s Anbar province, according to the Department of Defense. Anbar province includes the city of Fallujah, where more than 100 American soldiers have been killed in fighting since the beginning of November.

At a graveside service, a military honor guard presented Chynita Belcher with the two Purple Hearts awarded to her son posthumously for combat wounds suffered the day he died.

Brown was remembered by his coaches and teachers at Laurel Park High School, where he wrestled, ran track and cross country, played football and participated in the ROTC program before graduating in 2000.

“He always wanted to please you. He’d take on any event or any challenge. Even though he was short, he took on distance running where he had to work extra hard,” said Brown’s track coach, Frank Scott. “I can see him right now hitting the last turn on a final lap running hard to the finish. That’s the type of kid he was.”

Brown was stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C., before being deployed to Iraq in June. Family members said they feared for his safety when he left, but at his going-away party, they recalled Brown was calm and eager to serve his country.

His other medals included the Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal and the National Defense Service Medal.

“He was such an inspiration to people,” said Ardys Winslow, Laurel Park High’s former booster club president. “Demarkus will be remembered for his love, laughter and great personality.”

Marine Lance Cpl. Demarkus D. Brown was killed in action on 11/19/04.

Marine Lance Cpl. Shane E. Kielion

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Marine Lance Cpl. Shane E. Kielion, 23, of La Vista, Nebraska

Lance Cpl. Kielion was assigned 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif.; killed Nov. 15, 2004 by enemy action in Anbar province, Iraq.

Marine killed in Iraq just hours after son's birth
OMAHA (AP) — Marine Lance Cpl. Shane Kielion was killed in action in Iraq not knowing that his first child had been born just hours before.

April Kielion, the Marine's widow and high school sweetheart, gave birth to a boy in Omaha on Monday, said Kielion's old high school football coach, Jay Ball.

"She's hanging in there," Ball said. "She's a strong woman. She's got a terrific family and lots of supportive friends."

The baby was named Shane Kielion Jr., said April Kielion's father, Don Armstrong. He said his daughter was "doing as well as to be expected under the pressure."

Shane Kielion, a rifleman in the 1st Marine Division of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, was killed Monday in Al Anbar Province, the military said.

Officials at Camp Pendleton, Calif., where he was stationed, refused to comment on how he was killed. Anbar Province includes Fallujah — which American forces now control after a lengthy offensive — as well as other guerrilla strongholds.

The family is numb, said Ball. "It's time for them to do some healing," Ball said.

Kielion joined the Marines on Dec. 3, 2002, and this was his second tour in Iraq.

Ball said Kielion had come home to visit in August, and bragged about his family.

"He was excited about his baby on the way and he always told me how beautiful his wife was," Ball told KMTV News in Omaha.

He started at quarterback for Omaha South High School in 1997 and 1998. He went to Peru State College for a short time on a football scholarship, but when that didn't work out he returned to Omaha to work and joined the Marines, Ball said.

"He wanted to improve his life for his family," Ball said.

Students shower slain Marine’s son with gifts

OMAHA, Neb. — The children at St. Bernadette School last Christmas held a baby shower for the baby Jesus. This Christmas, it was a shower for another baby.

The students decided this year to focus their attention on Shane Edward Kielion Jr. —born Nov. 15, the same day hisMarine father, Shane Kielion Sr., was killed in Iraq.

On Monday, the baby’s grandfather, Roger Kielion, drove his Jeep up to the doors of St. Bernadette to receive the gifts for his first grandchild.

“I was amazed at how much the students had collected,” he said, filling the entire back seat and cargo area of the vehicle with gifts.

The gifts included disposable diapers, baby wipes, baby clothing, blankets, bedding, gift cards and certificates and more than $700, said school counselor Linda Reese, who well understands losing a loved one in war. Her brother was killed in the Korean War.

The infant’s mother, April Kielion, was equally appreciative of the children’s efforts.

“So much has happened that I’m not celebrating Christmas this year,” she said, “but my son is because of so many people.”

The Kielion family has received gifts from strangers around the country who heard of their loss, but local efforts have been especially touching, the Kielions said.

“The St. Bernadette children had so many questions about the baby that I’m planning to bring him and his mother to visit early next year,” Roger Kielion said.

— Associated Press

Marine Lance Cpl. Shane E. Kielion was killed in action on 11/15/04.

Marine Lance Cpl. Justin M. Ellsworth

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Marine Lance Cpl. Justin M. Ellsworth, 20, of Mount Pleasant, Michigan.

Lance Cpl Ellsworth died as a result of enemy action in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. He was assigned to Combat Service Support Battalion 1, Combat Service Support Group 11, 1st Force Service Support Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, California.

Ellsworth grew up in Wixom and Mount Pleasant, where he has relatives.

John Ellsworth said his son's life was "fun-filled and adventurous." "He was always up to a challenge," his father said. "He wasn't afraid to try something to see if he could do it. He was a wonderful son and brother.

"He will be a hero to the thousands of lives he touched on this earth."

Justin Ellsworth had always wanted to be a Marine, his father said, and arranged to join the Marine Corps before he graduated from Mount Pleasant High School in June 2003. Shortly after graduation he enlisted.

Ellsworth was assigned to Combat Service Support Battalion of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force.

In recent weeks, Ellsworth, who was trained in handling explosives, was part of a reconnaissance force that helped to evacuate civilians from Fallujah, his father said. "He was going into the night with a group of other soldiers to (rescue civilians)," said his father.

"He was actually saying lives. He would say he could see the look on their faces (that they were relieved to see them). That made me very proud."

The last time John Ellsworth talked with his son was on Nov. 3 when Justin Ellsworth called him on a telephone.

"He called to say `Dad I love you,'" his father said.

Besides his father, the Marine is survived by mother Tracy; who lives in Colorado, his step-mother Deborah and three brothers and a sister.

Marine Lance Cpl Justin M. Ellsworth was killed in action on 11/13/04.

Army 1st Lt. Edward D. Iwan

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Army 1st Lt. Edward D. Iwan, 28, of Albion, Neb.

Lt. Iwan was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, Vilseck, Germany; killed Nov. 12 when a rocket-propelled grenade struck his Bradley Fighting Vehicle in Fallujah, Iraq.

TheOmahaChannel -- ALBION, Neb. --

The Albion native and 28-year-old Army chaplain died Friday when his Bradley vehicle was hit by a rocket propelled grenade in the battle for Fallujah.

Iwan's parents, Donna and Kenneth Iwan, said that as a young leader in Future Farmers of America, he talked them into raising sheep. It was a whole new lifestyle for the family, but it was something Edward really wanted to do.

After high school, Iwan joined the Army, then went to college at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and joined the ROTC program. He graduated with a degree in criminal justice.

To show how optimistic Iwan was, he asked his parents to send seeds to Iraq so he could grow a garden in the middle of a war zone.

"He always wanted to see if things would grow in the desert," Kenneth Iwan said.

"This child was a gift," said Donna Iwan. "You'd always (want to) keep your gifts longer but the days were good."

Edward Iwan saw the military as a career, and after serving as an enlisted man he earned a college degree and returned to Army life as a commissioned officer.

"It was a service and dedication thing to him," said his mother, Donna Iwan. "He felt there were people in need, who needed to be helped."

Iwan, 28, of Albion, Neb., died when a grenade struck his vehicle on Nov. 12. He was stationed in Germany.

Iwan had joined the Army after graduating from high school in 1994. He served three years as an enlisted man and then studied criminal justice at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. After graduation, he rejoined the Army in December 2001 as a 2nd Lieutenant.

Iwan, who previously served in Kosovo, felt the army's goals were essentially humanitarian -- to ensure safety and peace, Donna Iwan said.

"He believed in the career of a soldier in protection and peace -- protection of the weak," she said.

Army 1st Lt. Edward D. Iwan was killed in action on 11/12/04.

Marine Sgt. Lonny D. Wells

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Marine Sgt Lonny D. Wells, 29, of Vandergrift, Pennsylvania.

Sgt Wells died as a result of enemy action in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

Sgt Wells had been in the Marine Corps for eight years and served in Kosovo, France, Spain and Germany, said his mother, Yvonne Lynn Wells. He had been in Iraq since June and was scheduled to come home in January, his family said.

Wells’ wife, Jennifer, and the couple’s 7-month-old daughter, Jade, live at the Marine base in Camp Lejeune, N.C., his family said. The 1994 graduate of Kiski Area High School also had three children — Marissa, Lonny Jr. and Daylon — from a previous marriage who live in Apollo, his mother said.

“He was a great father,” Yvonne Lynn Wells told the Valley News Dispatch of Tarentum. “He would do anything for his kids.”

His mother remembered her son as a man who loved the Dallas Cowboys, sang Kenny Rogers songs in the car and loved the Marines.

“He was committed,” she said. “He was all-military.”

Marine Sgt Lonny D. Wells was killed in action on 11/09/04.

Marine Sgt. Kelley L. Courtney

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Marine Sgt. Kelley L. Courtney, 28, of Macon, Ga.

Sgt Courtney was assigned to 3rd Intelligence Battalion, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan; killed Oct 30, 2004 by enemy action in Anbar province, Iraq.

Georgia Marine warned of ‘hornets nest’ before death
Associated Press

MACON, Ga. — A Marine from Georgia who was among eight Marines killed in Iraq outside the city of Fallujah had confided to his brother that he was entering “a hornets nest,” The Macon Telegraph reported.

Sgt. Kelley Courtney, a counterintelligence officer, had been in Iraq about six weeks when a car bomb exploded next to his truck on Saturday.

Lance Cpl. Michael P. Scarborough, 28, of Washington, Ga., also was among the Marines killed Saturday.

“Don’t tell Mom, but I’m scared,” Courtney said in his last e-mail to his older brother, Joey Fernandez, in Macon. “We are about to stir up a hornets nest here shortly and I’m going to be right in the middle of it.”

Courtney apologized for any past disagreements with his brother, the newspaper reported in its Tuesday editions.

“I thought he was homesick,” Fernandez told The Telegraph. “But he knew that he was going to die.”

Courtney, 28, and his wife, Cindy, had been sweethearts since fourth grade. They were married in 1999 and had two children, Kellie Marie, 4, and Logan, 1. They all joined him in March when he was stationed in Japan. She will return to Macon this week after a memorial service in Okinawa.

Courtney dropped out of high school and completed his GED. He worked as a tire retreader and attended Central Georgia Technical College before enlisting in 1998.

Brother Donny Courtney, 26, joined the Marines days later, their mother, Gena Courtney, said. Donny is stationed in Maryland and does not expect to serve abroad, said his father, Bob Courtney.

Courtney wrote e-mails home as he traveled to Iraq from Okinawa. He read newspapers and Christian, Jewish and Muslim holy books, concluding that major religions shared basic truths twisted by extremists.

“So are we at war with an enemy? No,” he wrote. “We are at war with false prophets and... humans spreading death and lies throughout the earth.”

Courtney was sent to Fallujah for an alliance offensive against the Iraqi insurgents. A member of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Force, he carried only a handgun as he followed a combat company from Hawaii. He was to gather information and interrogate prisoners.

Gena and Cindy Courtney e-mailed each other Saturday night after learning that Marines had been killed in Iraq.

“I said, ‘We just have to pray,’ but I started crying and I could not stop,” Gena Courtney said.

Fernandez said he never believed his brother would be among those killed.

“We think: This is our turf. That is theirs. Like it’s so different,” he said. “But it’s really just a walk across the railroad tracks.”

Marine Sgt. Kelley L. Courtney was killed in action on 10/30/04.

Marine Cpl. Brian Oliveira

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Marine Cpl. Brian Oliveira, 22, of Raynham, Mass.

Cpl Oliveira was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died Oct. 25, 2004 from injuries sustained in enemy action in Anbar province, Iraq.


Marine from Massachusetts killed in Iraq
Associated Press

BOSTON — Cpl. Brian Oliveira was killed in battle during his second deployment to Iraq, the Department of Defense said, leaving behind a 6-week-old baby boy he had met only in pictures.

“Brian was the most dedicated and proud Marine I ever met,” said Heather Bostrom, 20, a former girlfriend who remained a close friend. “It was his life.”

The Pentagon said Oliveira, 22, died Monday from injuries suffered during fighting in Iraq’s Anbar province. No further details were available.

Oliveira was a squad leader assigned to 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Pendleton, Calif. He left for his second tour of Iraq in May.

He joined the Marine Corps in January 2001 and received several medals, including the Combat Action Ribbon and the National Defense Service Medal.

Oliveira and his wife, who had made their home in San Diego, welcomed their son, Nathan, on Sept. 11. Oliveira originally was from Raynham

Oliveira’s parents, David Horseman and Lillian Oliveira, and a sister, Carolyn Horseman, all live in Fall River.

Marine Cpl. Brian Oliveira was killed in action on 10/25/04.

Army Sgt. Michael G. Owen

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Army Sgt. Michael G. Owen, 31, of Phoenix

Sgt Owen was assigned to the 9th Psychological Operations Battalion, 4th Psychological Operations Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.; killed Oct. 15 when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle in Karabilah, Iraq. Also killed was Spc. Jonathan J. Santos.


Arizona soldier killed in Iraq
Associated Press

PHOENIX — A soldier from Phoenix has become the latest service member Arizona ties to be killed in Iraq.

Sgt. Michael G. Owen, 31, died last week in a car-bomb explosion in a town near the Syrian border, the Pentagon said Monday.

Owen was killed Friday along with another psychological operations soldiers from Fort Bragg, N.C. — Spc. Jonathan J. Santos, 22, of Bellingham, Wash.

Their vehicle was attacked “while conducting vehicle-mounted loudspeaker operations with the 1st Marine Division,” according to a statement from the Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg.

Owen was the leader and Santos was a member of a three-man team. The third member was wounded in the attack, the special operations command said.

Owen and Santos were sent to Haiti last March in support of a U.S.-led interim force deployed to calm the violence that led to the ouster of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Both soldiers were deployed to Iraq in September.

Owen joined the Army in 1992 and completed the psychological operations specialist course at Fort Bragg in 2002. He is survived by his wife, Crystal, of Fayetteville, and his parents, Howard Owen and Kay Hutchinson of Arizona.

Family members said Owen had a passion for law enforcement and was living out his dreams in the Army, where he found camaraderie with other soldiers and received a real-world education.

“He took pride in everything he did and he loved his job. He got where he wanted to be because he worked hard at it,” said Glenn Owen, Michael’s father.

During his tenure in the Army, Michael Owen served in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Haiti before he was sent to Iraq six weeks ago.

Owen spoke four languages, including French and Bosnian, and met his wife of three years at Fort Bragg.

“He was quiet, he was reserved, he was modest and he was humble. He was always so respectful of anyone he came in contact with, never boasted about what he was doing,” Gary Owen said of his nephew. “We could all take lessons from him.”

Family and friends will spread Michael Owen’s ashes on the peak of Lookout Mountain in north Phoenix, a wish he expressed to his wife before heading to Iraq.

Army Sgt. Michael G. Owen was killed in action on 10/15/04.

Army Pvt. David L. Waters

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Army Pvt. David L. Waters, 19, of Auburn, Calif.

Pvt Waters was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.; killed Oct. 14, 2011 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his convoy vehicle in Baghdad.

Auburn soldier killed by explosive in Baghdad
Associated Press

AUBURN, Calif. — David Waters was a troubled teen in this former Gold Rush town before he found some direction in life by enlisting in the military early last year.

The 19-year-old soldier was killed Thursday in Baghdad when an explosive device detonated near his convoy vehicle, the Department of Defense said Saturday. Waters was assigned to the Army’s 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division, based at Fort Drum, N.Y.

Waters last returned home in September last year to mourn the death of his mother, Susan Waters, whose body was found behind some bushes in downtown Auburn, about 30 miles northeast of Sacramento. Auburn police say her killer has not been found.

“It’s been so heartbreaking,” said Debbie Waters, of Visalia, whose husband is David Waters’ cousin, speaking to the Sacramento Bee. “David had been a troubled youngster in high school. I can recall at his mom’s funeral last year, David was in his uniform and said, ‘I know my mom would be so proud to see how I’ve turned out.”’

David Waters’ aunt, Patricia Work of West Sacramento, said 42-year-old Susan Waters and her son struggled.

“David was in and out of trouble — his background wasn’t the best,” Work said. “But then he joined the service, and oh, he was so handsome in that uniform and he was so proud to be in it.”

Waters attended E.V. Cain Middle School and Placer High School in Auburn before joining the Army. Auburn Police Officer Dan Coe was a school resource officer when Waters was in school.

“He seemed to have really squared himself away in the military,” Coe said. “He was trying to make something of himself.”

Army Pvt. David L. Waters was killed in action on 10/14/04.

Army Spc. Bradley S. Beard

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Army Spc. Bradley S. Beard, 22, of Chapel Hill, N.C.

Spc. Beard was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 17th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, Camp Casey, Korea; killed Oct. 14, 2004 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle as he was doing reconnaissance for explosives at Camp Ramadi, Iraq.

Family remembers slain soldier as bright, funny
Associated Press

PITTSBORO, N.C. — Spc. Bradley S. Beard built his own computer once and entertained friends with jokes and impressions.

But the former engineering student at North Carolina State University took service to his country seriously. Beard, 22, dropped out of school a few months after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 to enlist in the Army.

He was one of three soldiers killed Thursday while hunting for explosives in Iraq when a bomb exploded near their convoy in the city of Ramadi.

He was a member of the 2nd Battalion, 17th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, a unit based at Camp Casey, South Korea.

He’d only recently requested to be moved to Iraq because “he thought it was important,” his father, Randall, said Monday.

Randall Beard and his wife, Betsy, live in Chatham County. Their dining room table was filled with pictures of their only son in camouflage uniform as friends and family gathered to remember Beard.

Beard landed in Iraq in September. While there, he was charged with escorting contractors to their jobs and monitoring radios. He later volunteered to find explosive devices in the field.

“He could have easily made the decision to be in the field and take intelligence, but he chose to be in the field and do reconnaissance work,” said George Arroyo, a longtime family friend.

Randall Beard said the job fulfilled his son.

“He was more upbeat in Iraq than he was in Korea,” he recalled. “He wanted to be there. He felt it was the right place to be and the right thing to be doing.”

Beard came home for a week in June to spend time with his family. He and his family spent one day together at Wrightsville Beach.

“It was just a day trip, but it was time we will be forever grateful for,” Randall Beard said.

At 6 foot, 3 inches and about 230 pounds, Beard was a fan of football and video games. His friend Arroyo remembers an excellent student who did well on his SAT exam, and who at age 16 was his best resource for computer advice.

In Iraq, Bradley Beard kept in touch with calls to his parents once or twice a week. The last time they heard from him was two weeks ago. They chatted for an hour and a half.

Randall Beard always knew his son was at risk.

“We knew it was a possibility; he knew it was a possibility,” Beard said. “I was broad-sided with this. I was confident he was going to come home.”

Beard was scheduled to return next September.

In addition to his parents, Beard is survived by his younger sister, Staci.

Randall Beard said his son will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Army Spc. Bradley S. Beard was killed in action on 10/14/04.

Army Pfc. James E. Prevete

Remember Our Heroes

Army Pfc. James E. Prevete, 22, of Whitestone, N.Y.

Pfc. Prevete was assigned to 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, Camp Greaves, Korea; killed Oct. 10 when his military vehicle encountered white-out conditions and the driver apparently lost control of the vehicle in Habbaniya, Iraq.

When James E. Prevete played football in high school, he wasn't embarrassed if his mom came along.

"After every good play, say, when he made a great tackle or he caused a fumble, he would raise his right hand to his mother in the stands," said Joe Licata, a teacher.

"Most players don't even want their parents there when they play, much less to acknowledge them on the field."

Prevete, 22, of New York City, died Oct. 10 when the vehicle he was riding in crashed in Habbaniya, Iraq. He was based in South Korea.

Prevete was a 2000 high school graduate who was known to study football plays before games while his buddies were goofing around.

He briefly attended Sacred Heart University and Queens College before joining the Army.

He is survived by his parents, Jean and Vincent, and sister, Laura.

"We talked online a little when he was still in Kuwait, and the one thing he always said was that no matter what happened, he didn't want us to ever forget about him," said friend David Pelaez. "I remember dropping Jimmy at the airport, and he turned to me and said, 'Just watch over my sister.'"

— Associated Press


Army Pfc. James E. Prevete was killed in action on 10/10/04.

Army Sgt. Andrew W. Brown

Remember Our Heroes

Army Sgt. Andrew W. Brown, 22, of Pleasant Mount, Pa.

Sgt Brown was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 509th Infantry, Fort Polk, La.; died Oct. 8, 2004 in Baghdad of injuries sustained Oct. 1 when his patrol vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device.

Wayne County native killed in Iraq
Associated Press

PLEASANT MOUNT, Pa. — An active-duty soldier from northeast Pennsylvania died Friday in Iraq, a week after he was injured when his patrol vehicle was struck by an explosive device, the Defense Department said.

Sgt. Andrew W. Brown, 22, of Pleasant Mount in Wayne County, had been in Iraq since June, his mother, Lourdes Brown, said Sunday night.

Brown, who died in Baghdad, was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment, based at Fort Polk, La., according to a Defense Department news release.

“I had talked to him about a week ago,” Lourdes Brown said. “He was fine.”

Military officials have given the family some information about how he died, but they were still trying to gather more details, she said.

She declined to elaborate on her son’s life, saying the news was “still very raw.”

“We’re just waiting for him to come home so we can plan his funeral,” Lourdes Brown said.

Brown, who was single, is also survived by his father, William Jr., and his brother, Kevin, she said.

Army Sgt. Andrew W. Brown was killed in action on 10/8/04.

Army Staff Sgt Darren J. Cunningham

Remember Our Heroes

Army Staff Sgt Darren J. Cunningham, 40, of Groton, Massachusetts.

SSG Cunningham died in Baghdad, Iraq, when his unit came under mortar attack. He was assigned to the 89th Military Police Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas.

A 28-year veteran soldier, Army Staff Sergeant Darren J. Cunningham was killed in his sleep during a mortar attack in Baghdad, Iraq. The shell struck the trailer in which he was housed as part of the 545th Military Police Company of the First Cavalry Division.

Darren Cunningham, 40, of Groton joined the Army at 18 and had served in the military ever since. He was a veteran of the first Gulf War in 1991.

“Darren died doing what he wanted to do,” said his sister, Kelly Sumpter. “This was his choice.” He leaves a wife, a 12-year-old daughter and a 15-year-old son.

Cunningham was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, before being deployed to Iraq. His sister, Tracy Cunningham-Hammond, told the Lowell Sun that her brother had called home on Wednesday to say he’d be coming home in November, a month earlier than scheduled.

Cunningham-Hammond described her brother as a well-liked “clown” who loved his job with the military.

“He was the family jokester,” she said. “Just a fun-loving kind of guy, but he was always concerned about other people and made sure everyone was OK.”

She said her brother stayed in touch with his old high school friends and even befriended his first wife’s new husband, who was serving with him in Iraq.

Army Staff Sgt Darren J. Cunningham was killed in action on 09/30/04.

Army Specialist Rodney A. Jones

Remember Our Heroes

Army Spc. Rodney A. Jones, 21, of Philadelphia, PA

Spc. Jones was assigned to 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; killed Sept. 30 when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device exploded near his dismounted patrol in Baghdad.

Rodney A. Jones had a clear plan for his life: He was going to join the Army, go to college, then become a politician.

"He was going to be president one day," said Jones' sister, Felicia Devine. "He told me when he was like 16. I believe, really believe, that he would have been. He was just that smart and intelligent."

Jones, 21, of Philadelphia, died Sept. 30 in a suicide bombing in Baghdad. He was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas.

Jones read voraciously and graduated high school at 16. He wrote poetry and listened to classical music.

"He was very analytical and very intelligent," Devine said. "A lot of people thought he was really old for his age."

Devine said that when her brother learned he was going to Iraq, he started trolling the Internet to pick up some of the language. It paid off: When Jones returned home for a one-week break, he struck up a conversation in Arabic at a fast-food restaurant.

He is survived by his mother, Renee Jones, and his high school sweetheart, Terricka Willis.

"I'll get married to him in heaven," Willis said. "It'll probably be better there anyway."

— Associated Press

Army Spc. Rodney A. Jones was killed in action on 09/30/04.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Joselito O. Villanueva

Remember Our Heroes

Army Sgt. 1st Class Joselito O. Villanueva, 36, of Los Angeles

SFC Villanueva was assigned to the 9th Engineer Battalion, 1st Infantry Division, Schweinfurt, Germany; killed Sept. 27, 2004 when a sniper shot him while he was at his observation post in Balad, Iraq.

An Army sergeant who was lucky to escape alive after his Humvee rolled over an explosive device last spring saw his luck run out when he was struck by a sniper's bullet in Balad, Iraq, last week.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Joselito O. Villanueva was killed Sept. 27 during an ambush, U.S. military officials said. He was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart and Bronze Star to go with the two National Defense medals, four good conduct medals, four Army achievement medals and one Purple Heart he'd already received.

The former Los Angeles resident had narrowly avoided death during another ambush last spring when the Humvee he was riding in ran over the explosive. The blast that followed sent a piece of shrapnel the size of a half dollar through his neck.

''He's lucky it didn't kill him,'' recalled 1st Sgt. David L. Morgan.

On Monday, Villanueva, known to his colleagues as Sgt. V, was on a routine patrol when his convoy saw a truck driven by an Iraqi civilian crash. They were fired on after they stopped to help. Only Villanueva was hit.

The 36-year-old soldier was a combat engineer who worked with an armored division defusing explosives, setting up mine fields and tearing down obstacles. The 11-year Army veteran had been in Iraq since February.


Joselito O. Villanueva's sunny personality quickly endeared "Sergeant V" to many of his fellow soldiers and their families.

"Joe was a very sweet guy, and he had such a big heart," said Staff Sgt. Kenneth Robinson. "He was also sociable, and he loved hanging out at the Irish pub with all his friends. I don't think Joe realized how special he made people feel."

Villanueva, 36, of Los Angeles, was killed Sept. 27 in an ambush in Balad, Iraq.

The 11-year Army veteran was based in Germany.

Villanueva earned a Purple Heart in April when a roadside bomb exploded next to his Humvee, killing one of his soldiers. A piece of shrapnel the size of a half dollar pierced his neck.

He was a combat engineer who worked defusing explosives, setting up mine fields and tearing down obstacles.

"He was well-trained and believed deeply in what he was doing," said Sgt. Michael Anderson. "He was always there for his solders and his friends."

Villanueva is survived by his parents, Edito and Pklarita.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Joselito O. Villanueva was killed in action on 9/27/04.

Army 1st Lt. Tyler H. Brown

Remember Our Heroes

Army 1st Lt. Tyler H. Brown, 26, of Atlanta

1st Lt Brown was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, Camp Hovey, Tongduchon City, Korea; killed Sept. 14, 2004 when his unit was attacked by small-arms fire in Ramadi, Iraq.

Brent Brown said his kid brother Tyler "fell in love with politics and our political system" on a trip to Washington while the older brother worked as a summer intern for the late Sen. Paul Coverdell.

High school classmates considered Tyler H. Brown a "politician in the making."

"He was patriotic, red, white and blue to the core, and we figured he could be president someday," said Jonathan Cooper, a friend.

Brown, of Atlanta, was killed Sept. 14 when his unit came under attack in Ramadi, west of Baghdad, Iraq. He was 26.

"He died for the country he loved, doing what he wanted to do," Brent Brown said. "He became a role model to me."

Tyler Brown became student body president at Georgia Tech, where he joined the ROTC and graduated with dual degrees in management and in history, society and technology. Commissioned from the ROTC program, he was stationed in Tongduchon City, Korea. He is survived by his parents, Carey and Sally Brown. His family has established a scholarship fund in his name at Georgia Tech.

Officer praises Atlanta soldier killed in Iraq sniper fire

ATLANTA — A soldier who was killed in Iraq last week saved the lives of his men by warning them about the sniper fire while lying mortally wounded, his commanding officer said.

Army 1st Lt. Tyler Hall Brown was “an inspirational leader, both on the field of battle and off. In numerous enemy contacts, he was calm, leading his men with bravery and aplomb,” Capt. Daniel M. Gade said in e-mails to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution this week.

Brown, 26, was killed Sept. 14 in the town of Ramadi, about 70 miles east of Baghdad, when he was hit in the upper thigh and bled to death, Gade said. “He died of his wounds rather quickly,” he wrote from Iraq.

The sniper, who fired at long range, got away, Gade added.

The former Georgia Tech student body president was honored Sept. 22 in a funeral at the Cathedral of St. Philip in Atlanta. Brown will be buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery on Sept. 28.

Gade, 29, said he and Brown became friends in South Korea, where their 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, had been deployed before going to Iraq. The Army unit had been in the Middle East for only two weeks before the sniper attack.

Brown had been approved for service in the 3rd Infantry Regiment, known as the Old Guard, which patrols the Tomb of the Unknowns and serves as an escort on military burials at Arlington, but he instead chose to join his battalion in Iraq “over this prestigious assignment,” Gade said.

“Tyler was the finest officer I’ve ever known ... he loved his men, and they loved him in return,” he said.

Army 1st Lt. Tyler H. Brown was killed in action on 9/14/04.

Marine Lance Cpl. Dominic C. Brown

Remember Our Heroes

Marine Lance Cpl. Dominic C. Brown, 19, of Austin, Texas

LCpl Brown was assigned to Headquarters Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; killed Sept. 13, 2004 in a non-combat-related incident in Anbar province, Iraq.

Dominic C. Brown's last care package was to have included his favorites: John Grisham books, red licorice, Goldfish crackers and pictures from home.

"I just never got it sent," said Brigette Brown, his mother.

Brown, 19, of Austin, Texas, died Sept. 13 from non-combat injuries near Iraq’s Anbar province.

He graduated high school last year and was stationed at Camp Pendleton, Calif.

"He was loving, friendly, hard-working, energetic," his mother said. "Anything he ever did, he did 100 percent. He was a great artist. He loved art. He was great at drawing. He felt things from the heart."

Christina Srisen, 19, knew Brown since sixth grade. "There were plenty of girls who had crushes on him," she said. "He flirted all the time with all the girls. He was just a goofy person. He always made you laugh."

Staff Sgt. Jose Cansino, who attended Brown's funeral, also saw another side: "He stood out from other Marines. He was unique. He could've done something with his life."

Brown also is survived by his father, Ken, and brother Stewart.

Marine Lance Cpl. Dominic C. Brown was killed in a non-combat related incident on 9/13/04.

Army Spc. Chad H. Drake

Remember Our Heroes

Army Spc. Chad H. Drake, 23, of Garland, Texas

Spc Drake was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; killed Sept. 7, 2004 when his patrol vehicle came under attack by small-arms fire in Baghdad.


Even though he was shipping out to war, Chad H. Drake told his family not to worry.

"He said, "You have your job, and this is mine," said his wife, Randi Drake.

He was more concerned about "his girls": his wife, daughter, sister and mother.

Drake, 23, of Garland, Texas, died Sept. 7 when his patrol vehicle was hit by small-arms fire in Baghdad. He was based at Fort Hood, Texas, and left for Iraq on March 13, his 23rd birthday.

A 1999 high school graduate, his future plans included possibly becoming a teacher and coaching middle school football.

He was to receive a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for an earlier act of valor: helping rescue two pilots when his Humvee was ambushed. He got out of the vehicle and returned twice to free the driver and hatch gunner. Drake didn't realize that he had been wounded in the leg and neck until later.

He thought at the time of the ambush that the cold sensation on his neck was from the cold air of the Humvee.

"He was well-respected," his wife said. "People looked up to him." He also is survived by his daughter, Kaylee.

Army Spc. Chad H. Drake was killed in action on 9/07/04.

Army Pfc. David L. Potter

Remember Our Heroes

Army Pfc. David L. Potter, 22, of Johnson City, Tenn.

Pfc Potter was assigned to the 115th Forward Support Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died Aug. 7, 2004 of non-combat-related injuries in Baghdad.

Soldier killed in Iraq felt duty to serve
Associated Press

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — A Tennessee soldier who died in Iraq was carrying on a family tradition of military service, relatives said.

The Army announced the death of 22-year-old Pfc. David L. Potter of Johnson City on Monday. They released no information about Saturday’s death except that it was “non-combat related” and under investigation.

Potter was with the 115th Forward Support Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division.

“The only thing I really know is that we’ve got a lot of pride in him,” said his older brother, Carlton Potter of Sevierville.

David Potter was born in Portsmouth, N.H., but graduated from Gatlinburg-Pittman High School in Sevierville and enlisted in February 2003. He had been living in Johnson City as a sophomore art student at East Tennessee State University. He was not married.

“My father was in the Air Force, and I was in the Army,” Carlton Potter said. “He felt like he wanted to try it and do what we had done.”

David Potter originally enlisted as a reservist to pay for college, recruiter Sgt. Rusty Hicks said. But Hicks said Potter thought about it becoming a career.

Potter requested active duty, and the Army sent him to basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., followed by intelligence training at Fort Huachuca, Ariz.

“He was an asset, the way we saw it,” Hicks said. “It was good for him and good for the Army.”

Potter arrived at Fort Hood, Texas, on New Year’s Day and deployed to Iraq in March, his family said.

“He said the reason he put on his uniform was so we could sleep safely at night,” his brother said. “That’s what he said kept him going.”

Army Pfc. David L. Potter died of non-combat injuries on 8/7/04.

Marine Gunnery Sgt. Elia P. Fontecchio

Remember Our Heroes

Marine Gunnery Sgt. Elia P. Fontecchio, 30, of Milford, Mass.

GSgt Fontecchio was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif.; died Aug. 4 of injuries sustained in enemy action in Anbar province, Iraq.

When Elia P. Fontecchio returned from his first tour of duty in Iraq, he spent days figuring out how to break the news to his wife that he would be going back. When it came to his 2-year-old son, he felt there was no way to explain.

"You don't at that age. You just do what you can," he told The Associated Press in an interview in December. "Mommy bears the brunt of it."

The 30-year-old from Milford, Mass., was killed in Iraq's Anbar province on Aug. 4, two weeks before he was due to return home.

He was based at Twentynine Palms, Calif. Fontecchio's first tour gave him confidence as he approached his second departure.

"I'm very familiar with the territory and the culture now. We know some of the mistakes ... and we know how to handle them now," he said.

"He was the model Marine, the model person, the model husband, the model father," his uncle Dana Fontecchio said.

Survivors include his wife, Kinney, and son, Elia Jr.

— Associated Press

Marine Gunnery Sgt. Elia P. Fontecchio was killed in action on 08/04/04.

Army Specialist Nicholas J. Zangara

Remember Our Heroes

Army Specialist Nicholas J. Zangara, 21, of Philadelphia

Spc. Zangara was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, Schweinfurt, Germany; killed July 24 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his convoy vehicle in Tikrit, Iraq.

Philadelphia soldier killed in Iraq

Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia soldier had phoned his wife to wish her a happy birthday only hours before he was killed in Tikrit, Iraq, over the weekend, his family said.

Spc. Nicholas J. Zangara, 21, died Saturday when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle, according to the Department of Defense. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, based out of Schweinfurt, Germany.

Melanie Zangara, his wife of 16 months, said her husband phoned her at midnight in her hometown of York to wish her a happy 20th birthday.

“He stayed on the phone until 2:30 a.m. He was so full of life. He kept me on my toes every day. It was always something new with that boy. He kept surprising me,” she said.

She said her husband was a hero, but not because of the circumstances of his death.

“Dying in Iraq didn’t make him a hero,” she said Monday. “He has always been one because there was nothing he couldn’t do or accomplish.”

Zangara’s mother, Barbara Burgstahler, and his stepfather, Ed Burgstahler, live in the West Torresdale section of Philadelphia. His father, Richard Zangara, and stepmother, Bridget Zangara, live in the Briarcliffe section of nearby Darby Township, Delaware County.

Zangara enlisted in the Army in 2000 and served three years, mostly in Germany and Kosovo in the former Yugoslavia, his family said.

“The ironic thing is his enlistment was finished and he didn’t have to re-enlist,” said Ed Burgstahler, a retired Philadelphia police detective. “That’s what’s killing us. We could have provided for him, but he was newly married and he wanted to be responsible and obtain a skill and an education.”

Richard Zangara said he urged his son to re-enlist.

“After he was sent to Iraq he said to me, ‘Dad, I never used to listen to you, and when I finally did, I ended up in Iraq. I should have tried to keep my streak alive,”’ Richard Zangara said.

Nicholas Zangara was due to return to the Philadelphia area on leave in two weeks.

“He wasn’t worried about anything over there,” Richard Zangara said. “All he cared about was making sure we weren’t worrying about him here at home. The last time I talked to him was on Friday and he said to ‘quit worrying because I’m going to get out of this hellhole and be home in two weeks.”’

Army Specialist Nicholas J. Zangara was killed in action on 07/24/04.

Marine Cpl. Jeffrey D. Lawrence

Remember Our Heroes

Marine Cpl. Jeffrey D. Lawrence, 22, of Tucson, Ariz.

Cpl Lawrence was assigned to 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died July 6, 2004 from enemy action in Anbar province, Iraq.


The question wasn't what Jeffrey D. Lawrence did. It was what he didn't do.

"He did some modeling. He tried out for commercials. He was in a lot of plays at Palo Verde. He liked bull riding. He liked all sports. He was very involved," said his mother, Pataki Lawrence.

Jeffrey Lawrence, 22, of Tucson, Ariz., died July 6 when his armored vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive outside Fallujah, Iraq.

He had been stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

His family learned of the news just as they prepared to celebrate the birth of his first child. The baby, a girl, was named Cadence Freedom.

"He had the biggest heart of anybody I had ever known. He was a good brother, a good friend, a good son, good husband and I know he would have been a good daddy," said his mother.

"This wasn't supposed to happen."

Lawrence also is survived by his wife, Celeste, and father, Daniel.

— Associated Press

Marine Cpl. Jeffrey D. Lawrence was killed in action on 7/06/04.

Army Capt. Christopher S. Cash

Remember Our Heroes

Army Capt. Christopher S. Cash, 36, of Winterville, N.C.

Capt. Cash was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 120th Infantry, Army National Guard, Jacksonville, N.C.; killed June 24 when his Bradley Fighting Vehicle came under attack by small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades in Baqubah, Iraq.

By SETH HARKNESS, Portland Press Herald Writer

CAPT. CHRISTOPHER S. CASH , 36, North Carolina, North Carolina Army National Guard's 30th Heavy Separate Brigade, grew up in Old Orchard Beach, where his mother now lives, died June 24 in a small-arms attack in Baquba.

OLD ORCHARD BEACH — A 1985 Old Orchard Beach High School graduate remembered for his athletic excellence and dedication to the military died of head wounds in Iraq Thursday after being shot in an ambush. U.S. Army Capt. Christopher Cash, 36, was on patrol in Baqubah, a town 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, with fellow members of the North Carolina National Guard when Iraqi insurgents fired at their armored vehicle in the early morning attack. Another American soldier was killed and seven others were wounded in the skirmish.

Cash's mother and stepfather, Nancy and Robert Kelley of Old Orchard Beach, learned of Cash's death from friends in North Carolina shortly before an Army chaplain and a notification officer arrived at their door Thursday afternoon.

Cash and his unit, North Carolina's Army National Guard 30th Heavy Separate Brigade, went to Iraq in March to help train local police. Cash lived outside Fort Bragg, N.C., with his wife, Dawn, and their two sons, Christopher, 13, and Matthew, 11.

Nancy Kelley, her eyes red with grief as friends and family members offered support Friday afternoon, said she was comforted by the thought that her son lived the life he had envisioned.

"The only consolation we have right now is, he died doing what he wanted to do," she told U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud, D-Maine, one of several politicians who called to offer condolences.

Cash moved to Old Orchard Beach from Rhode Island when he was 8 years old and grew up in the two-story red house on Cascade Road where his mother and stepfather still live. On Friday, four American flags and a strip of red, white and blue bunting flapped in the breeze outside the home.

Cash excelled in track and field and cross-country at Old Orchard Beach High. He won several state titles in track events, and qualified for the Junior National Olympics in 1984.

A fellow runner from those days recalled his friend as a person with a powerful and contagious drive to excel.

"He was very competitive. He made us all better because we all tried to outdo one another," said Joe Kline, 37, a pharmaceuticals salesman and Army reservist from Old Orchard Beach.

Kline said he never pegged his high school buddy for a military career but, in retrospect, said Cash showed a talent for leadership among his high school peers that helped explain his rise from private to captain.

"He took charge of a situation and made it fun," Kline said. "He always came up with an idea."

Mark Snow, a former track coach, said Cash could have excelled at any sport.

"He was an outstanding student and he was an outstanding athlete," Snow said. "He excelled in whatever he did. He was nothing but a class act."

Just five days before Cash died, Snow got a letter from him describing how proud he was to be serving the country.

"He was one of the best of the best," said Snow. "He was a Ranger and he loved doing that."

Cash enlisted in the Army in 1987 while on vacation in Texas. If his entry into the military was somewhat impulsive, his commitment was not.

He completed four years in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg as an Army Ranger and continued his 17-year military career in the Army National Guard.

After leaving active duty, Cash earned a bachelor's degree in fitness education and a master's degree in exercise physiology. He ran a large fitness facility in Greenville, N.C., and recently took up a new hobby that seemed ideal for someone with his energy and determination - running marathons.

In many ways his career mirrored that of his stepfather, who served in the Army in the late 1960s and managed health spas in California before starting a career as a food broker in Maine.

Kelley said she supported her son's decision to live a military life. She said Cash fully believed in what he was doing in Iraq. Kelley, who recently knitted red, white and blue scarves for her son's wife and other women at Fort Bragg, said she and her husband feel the same, despite the death of her only son.

"I'm just sad for his kids and sad for the wonderful life he would have lived, because he was only 36," she said.

Army Capt. Christopher S. Cash was killed in action on 06/24/04.

Marine Lance Cpl. Pedro Contreras

Remember Our Heroes

Marine Lance Cpl. Pedro Contreras, 27, of Harris, Texas

LCpl Contreras was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; killed June 21, 2004 by hostile fire in Anbar province, Iraq.

Texas Marine killed in Iraq
Associated Press

WASHINGTON — A 27-year-old Marine from the Houston area was killed by hostile fire in Iraq.

Lance Cpl. Pedro Contreras, who was from Harris County, died Monday in an attack in Ramadi, an insurgent stronghold 60 miles west of Baghdad, the Defense Department announced Tuesday. Officials did not say if Contreras was among the four U.S. Marines gunned down Monday by insurgents there.

Contreras was a rifleman assigned to 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Contreras joined the Marine Corps on May 7, 2001, and earned several honors, including the National Defense Service Medal and the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.

The attack is under investigation.

Mourners recall fallen Marine’s devotion, service

HOUSTON — Lance Cpl. Pedro Contreras, who had hoped to return from Iraq by September, was remembered by mourners as a dedicated Marine and a devoted son.

Hundreds gathered at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church on Tuesday for services in honor of Contreras, 27, of Jacinto City. He died June 21 from wounds suffered in hostile fire in Anbar province, Iraq.

“We are going to miss him so much,” childhood friend Eli Aguilar told the Houston Chronicle after the service. “He was the light of the house. He cheered everyone up.”

Marines in dress-blue uniforms carried the fallen man’s coffin, draped with an American flag, into the church as relatives and friends watched silently.

“Pedro felt the call to serve,” said the Rev. Timothy Gray of Our Lady of Guadalupe, adding Contreras took his first Communion at the church and that he had volunteered as an altar server. “Not just his family or his neighborhood, but the entire nation.”

The Galena Park High School graduate was the 17th Houston-area soldier to be killed in the Iraq war. He was sent to Iraq in March.

After Communion for family members, one church member read a letter Contreras had written before he left for Iraq. The letter, written in Spanish and sent to his family, expressed Contreras’ gratitude to his parents for raising him.

Contreras wrote that if he returned from Iraq, they should thank God, but if he never came home, he said not to be sad because he would be in a better place.

He joined the Marine Corps on May 7, 2001, and was a rifleman assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Contreras earned several honors in his military career, including the National Defense Service Medal and the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, according to the Defense Department. Contreras’ mother was presented with his Purple Heart at Tuesday’s service.

Marine Lance Cpl. Pedro Contreras was killed in action on 6/21/04.

Army Sgt. Humberto F. Timoteo

Remember Our Heroes

Army Sgt. Humberto F. Timoteo, 25, of Newark, New Jersey.

Sgt Timoteo died in Baghdad, Iraq, when his vehicle hit an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the Army National Guard's Battery A, 3rd Battalion, 112th Field Artillery, Morristown, New Jersey.

Timoteo’s wife, Army Sgt. Silvia Timoteo, said Tuesday that the risk of death is something anyone assumes on joining the military.

Though she said she is heartbroken, Silvia Timoteo said she believes in what her husband was doing. She is mother of a 3-year-old son and is getting an emergency transfer back to the U.S. from Korea, where she had been stationed.

“All these soldiers were dedicated to the service of their country and the state,” said Lt. Col. Robert Schofield, commander of the battalion.

Newark Mayor Sharpe James told The Star-Ledger of Newark that Timoteo had emigrated with his family from Portugal and grew up in the city’s Ironbound section.

“He served and fought to protect our liberties and values and he sacrificed his life for them,” James told the newspaper. “He is a hero in every sense of the word.”

Timoteo joined the military in 1996 and trained as a field artilleryman at Fort Sill, Okla., according to DoD records.

Army Sgt Humberto F. Timoteo was killed in action on 06/05/04.

Army Sgt. Aaron C. Elandt

Remember Our Heroes

Army Sgt. Aaron C. Elandt, 23, of Lowell, Mich.

Sgt. Elandt was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Division, Baumholder, Germany; killed May 30 when his vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in Musayyib, Iraq.

Michigan soldier killed in Iraq

Associated Press

PORT HOPE, Mich. — A Michigan man was killed in a land mine blast in Iraq, the Department of Defense and his family said.

Sgt. Aaron Elandt, 23, of Port Hope, died Sunday evening when the Humvee he was in struck a land mine while responding to a mortar attack, his brother Matt Elandt said. The explosion happened in Musayyib, Iraq, south of Baghdad.

“My favorite word for him was irreverent,” his mother, Linda Elandt, told the Detroit Free Press for a Wednesday story. “He did his own thing.”

Elandt was a cavalry scout with the 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Division and had been in Iraq for about 14 months. Lt. Col. Diane Battaglia, with the Army Public Affairs office, said Elandt’s death will be investigated, as is the case with every soldier’s death in Iraq.

The youngest of four children, he joined the military in 2000 after graduating from Harbor Beach High School in 1999.

He followed a family tradition started by his father, Paul Elandt, who served two years in Vietnam. His older sister and two older brothers also served in the Army.

Paul Elandt, 58, said he encouraged his son to travel and broaden his horizons.

“Linda said, ‘I can’t stand another one in the military.’ I told them get out of Huron County and see a bit of the world,” he said.

Harbor Beach Community Schools Superintendent Ron Kraft called Elandt “a courageous young man” dedicated to serving his country.

“He was a solid young man as a student and as a citizen,” Kraft told the Huron Daily Tribune of Bad Axe. “Our prayers and condolences go to his family during this very trying time.”

At the bar in the Port Hope Hotel, residents of the tiny community in Michigan’s Thumb mourned the death of one of their own.

Jim Hunley, 56, of Port Hope, said his son graduated from high school with Elandt.

“I’m just shocked, but that’s what he wanted to do and he gave it his all. He was a good kid. He never got into trouble. He just said, ‘It’s my time to go and serve my country,”’ Hunley said.

Army Sgt. Aaron C. Elandt was killed in action on 05/30/04.

Army Pfc. Joseph A. Jeffries

Remember Our Heroes

Army Pfc. Joseph A. Jeffries, 21, of Beaverton, Ore.

Pfc Jeffries was assigned to the 329th Psychological Operations Company, Army Reserve, Portland, Ore.; killed May 29, 2004 when his vehicle hit a land mine in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Jeffries was the first son of Oregon to die while serving in Afghanistan. He was born in Portland and graduated from Sunset High School. He joined the Army Reserve in 2002. The following year he was sent to Bosnia. When he returned, he married Betsy Fiddler - a co-worker at a day care center. At the time of his death, Betsy was expecting their first child.

Jeffries loved his wife, racing cars, basketball, skiing and had always wanted to be an "Army Guy." He raced his cars at the River City Speedway in St Helens, Oregon with his father. When his father received word of his death, he was 'covered in grease' preparing a car to race as his son's proxy.

His father said that Jeffries felt that the Afghan civilians wanted the soldiers there and were volunteering important information. "In Afghanistan, he felt we were making a difference, and he was glad he was there. And, from a father's standpont, I'm glad we had that discussion."

Joseph Jefferies was survived by his wife, Betsy, his father, Mark Jeffries, his mother, Linda Lock, sisters Heidi and Terri Jeffries, and grandparents Betty and Rick Smith.

Pictures of his service are here: http://www.iraqwarheroes.com/joseph_jeffries/index.htm

Joseph Jeffries was buried with honors at Willamette National Cemetery. At the River City Speedway, he was honored with a memorial race.

Betsy Jeffries was five months pregnant when her husband, Joseph Jeffries was killed in Afghanistan.

"Numbness, denial" are the words she used to describe her feelings when she was told her husband had been killed in action. "I still live in denial," she said. "I didn't want to believe it - still don't."

She said the Gold Star Wives helps her to cope with her loss. "I live next door to another Gold Star wife," Jefferies noted. "It's good to have her there and to be able to talk to these other women. I can go online and write how I feel, and people will tell me that I'm normal. I don't need to stress out about what stage I'm at, because all of it is normal. Knowing that I'm not weird, or wrong, it's just normal. I'm not odd for feeling or doing or anything."

Jefferies said being a member of the Gold Star Wives makes her feel sane. She advises other young widows to seek out the organization. "And find someone, especially your own age," she said. "For me being married five months is different from someone who has been married for 15 years. They grieve for something they've lost. I grieve for something that I never had and I long to have - wish I could have had."

"His main goal in life was to have a family," Jefferies said, as she fought back tears. "He just wanted to be a dad. That's all he wanted. His main goal was to provide for his children.

"After we found out that we were pregnant, he was going to switch over to active duty to finish out his five years from the reserves," she said. "After that, he was thinking about being a firefighter or a policeman."

Army Pfc. Joseph A. Jeffries was killed in action on 5/29/04.

Army Staff Sgt. Jeremy R. Horton

Remember Our Heroes

Army Staff Sgt. Jeremy R. Horton, 24, of Erie, Pa.

SSgt Horton was assigned to Company B, 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Division, Baumholder, Germany; killed May 21, 2004 by an improvised explosive device near Iskandariyah, Iraq.

Pennsylvania soldier killed in Iraq
Associated Press

PITTSBURGH — A soldier from Erie, Penn., whose tour was extended last year, was killed in Iraq by a roadside bomb, according to his family.

Staff Sgt. Jeremy R. Horton, 24, died Friday near Iskandariyah, Iraq. Defense officials did not release further details, but relatives said Horton apparently was killed when his convoy was stopped for another roadside bomb.

Horton reportedly stepped from his vehicle and a second bomb went off, killing him and wounding three other soldiers, said his uncle, Rich Wittenburg, 54, of Erie. Horton died from shrapnel in his head, Wittenburg said.

Horton joined the Army right out of high school, hoping to get money for college, but ended up finding his place in the military. He was a member of Company B, 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Division, based in Baumholder, Germany.

“He certainly loved his family and loved his country and loved being in the military. It was what he wanted to do. We need more like him,” Wittenburg said.

Horton played both the saxophone and drums in high school and played in bands where he was stationed, his uncle said.

Horton is survived by his wife, Christie, whom he married shortly after joining the Army.

Army Staff Sgt. Jeremy R. Horton was killed in action on 5/21/04.

Army Spc. Michael C. Campbell

Remember Our Heroes

Army Spc. Michael C. Campbell, 34, of Marshfield, Mo.

Spc Campbell was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, Schweinfurt, Germany; killed May 19 when his convoy hit an improvised explosive device in Samarra, Iraq.

In the months after the 2001 terror attacks, Michael C. Campbell drove trucks hauling debris from what used to be the World Trade Center.

"That really played hard on him," said Donna Gann, who with her husband took in Campbell during his high school years in the mid-1980s.

The lack of blood relation to the Ganns didn't matter, said their daughter, Sherry Wilson, "He was our brother and my mom's son," she said.

A Navy and National Guard veteran from Marshfield, Mo., Spc. Campbell, 34, deployed to Iraq with the Army. He was killed May 19 by a roadside bomb in Samarra.

The decision to serve in Iraq wasn't easy for Campbell, Wilson said.

"He made sure it was OK with the family and that everybody was all right with it," she said. "We didn't like it, but we supported him 100 percent."

Campbell last spoke to his family after Mother's Day and thanked Gann for sending packages with candies and cookies, which he shared with fellow soldiers and Iraqi children.

Army Spc. Michael C. Campbell was killed in action on 5/19/04.

North Dakota Army National Guard Spc. Philip D. Brown

Remember Our Heroes

North Dakota Army National Guard Spc. Philip D. Brown, 21, of Jamestown, N.D.

Spc. Brown was assigned to Company B, 141st Engineer Combat Battalion, Army National Guard, Jamestown, N.D.; died May 8, 2004 in Balad, Iraq, from injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device went off west of Samarra, Iraq.

Jamestown remembers slain soldier
Associated Press

JAMESTOWN, N.D. — The father of soldier who died of wounds suffered in Iraq says he’s grateful for the hundreds of people who have stopped by to offer sympathy and tell stories about his son’s life.

“It helps us take away the pain,” said Richard Brown.

Philip Brown, 21, was a specialist with the North Dakota National Guard’s 141st Engineer Combat Battalion. He and Spc. James Holmes, 28, of East Grand Forks, Minn., another member of the 141st, died May 8 of wounds suffered in separate attacks.

Richard Brown said his son’s body had been returned to the United States on May 9.

Holmes’ family lives in Arizona. His funeral is tentatively scheduled for 2 p.m. Monday in National Memorial Cemetery in Phoenix, said Patty Fusco, a close friend and a spokeswoman for the family.

Jamestown Mayor Charlie Kourajian said he would order flags in Jamestown at half-staff from the time Brown’s body arrives home until after the funeral.

“Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to the family,” he said. “We certainly are thinking about them.”

On Monday, the Brown’s home was filled with friends and family. The yard and inside of the home were decorated with photos, flags and other reminders of his life.

“My son is a brave, strong, courageous man who believed in duty, honor and country more than I can express,” Diedra Brown said.

“We’re sorry that God took him away from us but we don’t question why things happen,” the elder Brown said, in tears. “And we are grateful to have had him on this earth for 21 years and four months.”

Philip Brown was injured by a bomb while on foot patrol, officials said.

“The wounds were just too much for his strong young body to overcome,” his father said.

Jamestown High School Principal Larry Ukestad and Bill Nold, assistant principal, said Brown played football, basketball and baseball. He also was the disc jockey for some school dances.

“He enjoyed life in general,” Ukestad said.

“He had kind of a magnetism, charisma about him,” Nold said.

Many people knew him from Jack Brown Stadium, which is named after his grandfather.

“He was always a fixture,” Nold said. “If it wasn’t chasing a fly ball it was selling a hot dog.”

Jamestown College students wore yellow ribbons and observed a moment of silence to remember Brown on the weekend of their commencement.

“We unfortunately lost a terrific student,” College President Bob Badal said at Sunday’s ceremony.

North Dakota Army National Guard Spc. Philip D. Brown was killed in action on 5/8/04.

Marine Cpl. Jeffrey G. Green

Remember Our Heroes

Marine Cpl. Jeffrey G. Green, 20, of Dallas

Cpl Green was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, at Camp Pendleton, Calif.; found dead in the Euphrates River on May 5, 2004 in Anbar province, Iraq. The cause is under investigation.

Jeffrey Green was so focused on becoming a Marine in high school that he helped talk another student into joining the service instead of the seminary.

"I think his whole outlook was to a future with the Marines," said his grandmother, Virginia Green.

"He liked the excitement and loved the training."

Green, 20, of Irving, Texas, was found dead May 5, 2004 in Iraq’s Anbar province after he tried to swim across the Euphrates River on a covert operation. He was based at Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Green was an avid "Star Wars" fan who enjoyed camping, fast cars and motorcycles. He was a Boy Scout who achieved Life Scout rank.

Though he was excited about the military, Nancy DeStefano, who was Green's adviser in high school, said she believes the inquisitive boy had other motives as well. "I think the military was a place for him to continue this search for himself," she said.

He is survived by his parents, Richard and Wendy Green.

Marine Cpl. Jeffrey G. Green was killed in action on 5/5/04.

Army Pfc. Jesse R. Buryj

Remember Our Heroes

Army Pfc. Jesse R. Buryj, 21, of Canton, Ohio

Pfc. Buryj was assigned to the 66th Military Police Company, Fort Lewis, Wash.; killed May 5, 2004 when his military vehicle was struck by a dump truck whose driver had been shot while trying to run through a control point in Karbala, Iraq.

Associated Press

CANTON, Ohio — An Ohio soldier killed in Iraq died while heroically trying to stop an attack on an Army checkpoint, family members said.

Jesse Buryj, 21, of Canton, fired more than 400 rounds at a dump truck trying to crash the checkpoint near Karbala. He shot the driver of the truck, which then crashed into the Humvee in which he was riding, an Army sergeant told his mother, Peggy Buryj, on Wednesday morning.

“Everyone was fine, but Jesse’s stomach was hurting him,” she was told. “They took him to a hospital where they found he had massive internal injuries, and he died on the operating table.”

His mother said Army representatives were expected to tell her more Thursday.

Buryj was a soldier with the 66th MP Company at Fort Lewis, Wash., in October when he married his high school sweetheart, Amber Tichenor.

“They were just married a few months and he had to leave,” she said.

Buryj was a member of the Canton City Police Youth Corps before he joined the Army during his senior year.

“He told the Army, ‘If I can’t be an MP (military police officer) and a paratrooper, I’m not going,”’ she recalled. “He went to jump school and he got his wings.”

His mother said he wanted to be a military police officer so he could become a Canton police officer.

“That’s all he wanted — to be a Canton police officer. But he couldn’t be a Canton police officer until he was 21. So he joined the Army,” she said, adding that to her, “My son was a police officer — always.”

Ohio soldier remembered for his bravery, compassion

CANTON, Ohio — Pfc. Jesse Buryj was remembered at his funeral Saturday for his life-saving bravery and friendly, caring personality.

Buryj, 21, of Canton, died May 5. He was credited with saving at least three lives when he fired more than 400 rounds at a dump truck trying to crash a checkpoint near Karbala, the military and family members have said.

An Army sergeant said Buryj shot the driver of the truck, which then crashed into his Humvee, said Peggy Buryj, the soldier’s mother. He later died of injuries from the crash.

Buryj was with the 66th Military Police Company at Fort Lewis, Wash., and was one of 24 Ohioans who have been killed in Iraq.

“He is a soldier. He is too young to be gone,” Gen. Dennis Moran told about 250 mourners inside Eleventh Street Church of God.

“As a military police officer, his first job was to serve and protect” fellow soldiers, Moran said. “He trusted his life to those soldiers as they trusted theirs to him.”

Moran presented Buryj’s family with his medals — the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

Matthew Beadoin, who was best man at Buryj’s wedding, gave the eulogy and said Buryj was “the bravest person, friend and soldier” he had ever known.

The Canton McKinley High School graduate enlisted in the Army out of high school because he was too young to be a Canton police officer, which remained his career goal. Buryj married his high school sweetheart, Amber Tichenor, in October.

Outside the church, people waited in the rain with flags and signs to show their support for Buryj’s family. Among them were family and friends of Cpl. Andrew Brownfield, of nearby Akron, who was killed in Iraq on March 18.

“We’re here to support this family,” said Brownfield’s mother, Melody Roop. “They’re going through what we went through, and we’re here for them.”

A few minutes later, she and her family burst into tears when the song “You Raise Me Up” blared from the church’s loudspeakers across the street. The same song was played at her son’s funeral.

— Associated Press

Army Pfc. Jesse R. Buryj was killed in action on 05/05/04.

Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Robert B. Jenkins

Remember Our Heroes

Remember Our Heroes

Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Robert B. Jenkins, 35, of Stuart, Florida.

Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Jenkins died in the Al Anbar Province as a result of hostile fire. He was assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 14, Jacksonville, Florida.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Robert B. Jenkins received Navy commendations for his Reserve work on a hospital in Orlando, Fla., and for building schools in Haiti. He belonged to a Seabee unit based in Jacksonville, Fla. Jenkins and his wife bought a home in Stuart a little more than a year ago and were trying to start a family.

Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Robert B. Jenkins was killed in action 05/02/04.

Army Pfc. Jeremy L. Drexler

Remember Our Heroes

Army Pfc. Jeremy L. Drexler, 23, of Topeka, Kansas.

Pfc Drexler died in Baghdad, Iraq, when his convoy vehicle hit an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to 91st Engineer Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

For Deborah Drexler, the moment she and husband Karl feared most since her son Jeremy was deployed to Iraq came on May 2: An Army major in full dress uniform, accompanied by a chaplain, was at the door of their Topeka home.

“Jeremy was trained to be a fighter and he died a fighter,” Deborah Drexler said. “He felt it was his duty.”

“Jeremy was the kindest fellow who ever lived,” Deborah Drexler said. “He was a very giving person, goodhearted. He would give the shirt off his back if it would help somebody. He was the finest young man you could ever meet.”

Drexler graduated from Washburn Rural High School in 1999, enlisting in the Army three years later. The school’s principal, Bill Edwards, said Drexler was an intelligent young man who “marched to the tune of a different drummer.”

“He was fearless,” Edwards said. “He was not afraid to stand up to somebody bigger than him if he felt he had been wronged.”

Edwards said Drexler didn’t dress like other students, wore his hair differently and occasionally got into trouble that resulted in a few visits to the principal’s office. But he also spent an hour each day at the middle school serving as a teacher’s aide in German class, Edwards said, and knew early on that he wanted to be in the military.

“Sometimes people would look at him and think he was unusual,” the principal said. “He surprised people by how caring and loyal he was.”

Deborah Drexler, whose father was a military chaplain, said her son knew she didn’t want him to go to Iraq, but he felt it was his duty. “He knew how much I loved him and cared for him and didn’t want him to go,” she said.

She said she last spoke with her son about a month before he died, when she sent a care package that included shampoo, soap and snacks. She encouraged others to send similar care packages to the troops.

“Jeremy hated it over there,” Deborah Drexler said. “The Iraqi people were being rude to him, and it was hot and uncomfortable for the soldiers. His main goal was to get in there and help people and try to make life more comfortable for them.”

Drexler was posthumously promoted to Private First Class on May 2, 2004.

Army Pfc Jeremy L. Drexler was killed in action on 05/02/04.

Army Sgt. Ryan M. Campbell

Remember Our Heroes

Army Sgt. Ryan M. Campbell, 25, of Kirksville, Mo.

Sgt Campbell was assigned to 4th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Armored Division, Baumholder, Germany; one of eight soldiers killed April 29, 2004 by a car bomb as his unit was doing a dismounted improvised-explosive device-sweep in Baghdad.

Memorial service for Kirksville soldier killed in Iraq
Associated Press

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. — Friends and family gathered May 7 for a memorial service honoring a soldier from northeast Missouri who was killed in Iraq.

Sgt. Ryan M. Campbell, 25, of Kirksville, was among eight killed April 29 in a car bombing in Iraq, the Department of Defense said.

Campbell was a member of the Army’s 4th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Armored Division.

The soldiers were removing roadside bombs from a highway south of Baghdad. Campbell’s mother, Mary Ann MacCombie of Kirksville, said the unit intercepted a station wagon crammed with 500 pounds of ammunition, and the driver detonated an explosive.

Friends and family recalled Campbell as someone who cared about his soldiers as well as the Iraqi people, and that he had a special love for children.

Campbell was stationed in Germany before he was sent to Iraq. He originally had been expected to return to the United States in April, but his duty in Iraq was extended three months.

“He’s supposed to be home now,” said MacCombie, recalling that her son called twice the day before he died. “His last words were, ‘I’ll be back in July.”’

Campbell is also survived by his father, Mark Campbell.

Army Sgt. Ryan M. Campbell was killed in action on 4/29/04.

New York Army National Guard Pfc. Nathan P. Brown

Remember Our Heroes

New York Army National Guard Pfc. Nathan P. Brown, 21, of South Glens Falls, N.Y.

Pfc Brown was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry, 1st Armored Division, Army National Guard, Glens Falls, N.Y.; killed April 11, 2004 when his patrol was ambushed in Samarra, Iraq.

New York guardsman remembered with full honors
By Kirstan Conley
Associated Press

GLENS FALLS, N.Y. — An American flag and Rick Brown’s face were reflected in the windows of St. Alphonsus Church here Tuesday.

Brown stared straight ahead as the flag was draped over the silver casket of his 21-year-old son, who was killed while serving in Iraq.

About 1,000 people waited inside the church to follow the fresh-faced New York Army National Guardsmen, who eventually would lead Nathan Brown’s body along the banks of the Hudson River to his plot in the Saratoga National Cemetery.

Brown, who attended South Glens Falls High School, died April 11 when a rocket-propelled grenade hit his Humvee in Samarra, Iraq, about 60 miles north of Baghdad. The attack also injured friends from Brown’s hometown who served with him in the Army National Guard’s 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry, based in Glens Falls.

Bishop Howard Hubbard of Albany noted how Brown’s death came on Easter Sunday, the same day people in the young soldier’s hometown celebrated the resurrection of Christ. The Christian faith, Hubbard said, is one of paradox: death brings life and suffering brings glory.

Members of Brown’s battalion carried his casket. Men in dress uniforms retired from battles dating back to World War II flushed as they strained to hold back tears.

Brown planned to get married and enroll in Adirondack Community College when he returned. Staff Sgt. Arthur Coon gave a eulogy, saying he was proud to recruit Brown. He said the military sent Brown a defective backpack, then a second one to replace it.

“He arrived to say his final goodbye and gave me the backpack,” Coon said. “It seemed like a simple gesture. He gave me the new one and kept the damaged one.”

Coon said he wants people to remember Brown’s generosity and positive attitude. He said a planned arsenal in Glens Falls should be named in Brown’s honor.

Brown’s friends, Robert Havens and Joe Nassivera, embraced after breaking down in tears as they tried to put in words what their friendship with Brown meant. Friends recalled Brown building forts, playing along the river and causing mischief.

Brown was buried with full military honors. Shots echoed across rolling green hills and cornfields as a seven-member rifle team fired its salute.

The soldier also received a special honor when members of the 3rd Battalion, 142nd Aviation Regiment of the New York Army National Guard flew five UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters from Albany International Airport to the service in a Missing Man Formation.

Maj. Gen. Thomas Maguire, a two-star general and the state’s highest-ranking National Guard officer, presented the family with a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart and a New York State Medal of Valor. The state Senate approved a resolution honoring Brown’s memory.

“What can I say and what can I do to mend the heartbreak of the family?” asked state Sen. Elizabeth Little of Warren County. “At a time when words seem very inadequate, I think the only thing we can do is through our presence and through our actions here today in this resolution and through our thoughts and prayers express our sorrow and sympathy to family and our gratitude.”

New York Army National Guard Pfc. Nathan P. Brown was killed in action on 4/11/04.

Army Spc. Isaac Michael Nieves

Remember Our Heroes

Army Spc. Isaac Michael Nieves, 20, of Unadilla, N.Y.

Spc Nieves was assigned to the Army’s 82nd Engineer Battalion, 1st Infantry Division, Bamberg, Germany; killed April 8, 2004 when individuals using an improvised explosive devise and small-arms fire attacked his combat patrol in Bani Saad, Iraq.

Fallen 20-year-old soldier remembered as a hero
By John Kekis
Associated Press

SIDNEY N.Y. — Gil Nieves smiled at the thought of how his big brother might have reacted.

“Isaac would have been crying if he were here seeing all these people,” Gil said Tuesday.

Instead, tears flowed from the eyes of many of the more than 300 people who attended a memorial mass for Spc. Isaac Michael Nieves. He was killed April 8 while on combat patrol in Bani Saad, Iraq.

“He was my brother and role model,” said Gil, a 19-year-old plebe at West Point. “Those memories will never fade away.”

Nieves, of Unadilla, was assigned to the 82nd Engineer Battalion, 1st Infantry Division, in Bamberg, Germany. He was supposed to be rotated back to Fort Hood, Texas in December and wanted to come home. Instead, the Army invoked a stop-loss program aimed at keeping the number of U.S. forces overseas steady.

Nieves, 20, was sent to Iraq in February. He was patrolling about 25 miles northeast of Baghdad when his detachment came under fire from small arms and a homemade bomb.

“At West Point, we live by three words — duty, honor, country. Until recently, those words were without much meaning,” Gil said. “Isaac lived by my motto and gave the ultimate sacrifice. I can only hope to be half the leader.”

Nieves was awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, National Defense Service Medal and the Go To War On Terrorism Medal posthumously.

“These are our heroes,” Rev. Gordon Polenz said in his homily. “Isaac brings it close to us. I’m sure he’d do it again.”

Nieves, one of Gilbert and Maria Nieves’ 10 children, dreamed of being an architectural engineer. But his family has a strong history of military service, so he enlisted after graduating from Sidney High School in 2001, where he played football, ran track, and captained the wrestling team.

“He was an altar boy in this church with his brother, and they weren’t the most pious altar boys. There were times I had to speak to them,” Polenz said with a smile. “There is no age that is old enough to die, but we have to be prepared for it. We hope Isaac kept a twinkle in his eye. Now his spirit is free.”

“I never thought I’d live to see the day I would be giving this speech,” Nieves’ sister, Maria, said. “But as long as that flag stands strong, his memory will live on forever. I love you little man.”

Gil was one of six pallbearers who slowly pushed the flag-draped casket carrying his brother the short distance from the funeral home to the church. Family members followed in a solemn procession.

“I’m a military man myself,” said Isaac’s father, who served five months in Vietnam. “I guess I’m not mourning him no more. I’m just celebrating his legacy.”

“I’m doing OK,” said Isaac’s 10-year-old brother, Kevin. “I’m stronger than before. I’m proud of him now.”

American flags decorated several porches and freshly tied yellow ribbons hugged every tree trunk along Main Street in Sidney, a poignant reminder of what happens in war.

“It’s a trying time for the whole community,” said 59-year-old James Barnhart, owner of the funeral home that handled the arrangements for Nieves. “We had seven die in Vietnam, and this brings a lot of that memory back.”

Nieves is survived by his wife, Amy. He will be buried Wednesday at Saratoga National Cemetery in Schuylerville, N.Y.

Upstate soldier killed in Iraq
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — A 20-year-old soldier from upstate New York was among those killed in fighting this week in Iraq, according to the Defense Department.

Spc. Isaac Michael Nieves, of Unadilla, was patrolling Bani Saad, about 25 miles northeast of Baghdad, when his detachment came under fire from small arms and a homemade bomb, the Department of Defense reported Saturday.

Nieves died Thursday, becoming the first service member from the Southern Tier to die in action since President Bush began military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. He was assigned to the 82nd Engineer Battalion, 1st Infantry Division, in Bamberg, Germany.

His wife returned from a trip out of town and her parents met her to break the news.

“I opened my mouth to say something and all that came out were these horrid screams,” she said.

Amy Nieves met her husband in 1995, when they were in fifth grade. Their older sisters conspired to get them together, and he asked her to a dance.

They went even though she had the flu. She spent most of the night in the bathroom and didn’t dance until the party was over.

“He grabbed me and started dancing,” she said. “I said, ‘You can’t dance without music.”’ He sang “Stand by Me” in her ear.

Soon after graduating from high school in 2001, Nieves proposed.

He wanted to be an architectural engineering, but his family has a strong history of military service. His father is a Vietnam veteran; his brother-in-law Daniel Wayman is an Air Force senior airman. His younger brother, 19-year-old Gil, is a cadet at West Point.

When he got out of the Army, he was going to go to college, maybe to become a biology teacher.

“He wished he had gone to college and done things differently,” Amy Nieves said.

Still, he was proud of his work as a demolitions expert. Combat engineers are often ahead of other units, clearing the way of minefields and building bridges. And they’re often the last units to leave, blowing up the bridges and laying minefields to protect retreating troops.

Isaac Nieves was supposed to be rotated back to Fort Hood in Texas in December and wanted to come home. Instead, the Army invoked a stop-loss program and kept him in Bamberg, Germany, with the 1st Infantry Division. Then it sent him to Iraq. That was last month.

Nieves and her husband’s family — Gilbert and Maria Nieves of Unadilla and their nine surviving children — have met with U.S. Army officials to begin the process of bringing Isaac’s body home to a funeral, but arrangements are incomplete.

— Associated Press

Army Spc. Isaac Michael Nieves was killed in action on 04/08/04.