Army Sgt. 1st Class Robert E. Dunham

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Army Sgt. 1st Class Robert E. Dunham, 36, of Baltimore

SFC Dunham was assigned to 1st Brigade Transition Team, and attached to the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.; died May 24, 2007 in Baghdad of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Also killed was Staff Sgt. Russell K. Shoemaker.

Baltimore native, a former honor student, killed in Iraq
The Associated Press

BALTIMORE — Sgt. 1st Class Robert Dunham, who grew up in the Park Heights community in west Baltimore, was killed in Iraq when the Humvee he was riding was hit by an explosive device near Baghdad, his family said.

Dunham, 36, had been serving in Iraq since January, according to his brother, Charles Dunham of Parkville. He lived at Fort Gordon, Ga., with his wife and five children.

“I believe he really liked what he did,” Charles Dunham told The (Baltimore) Sun. “He loved to serve. He was a giving person, real loving, and the Army was good to his family.”

Sgt. Dunham had been concerned about the danger in Iraq, particularly after a truck in a convoy he was in recently was heavily damaged by an improvised explosive device, his brother said.

The Department of Defense had not publicly confirmed Dunham’s death May 25, but family members said they were notified May 24.

Dunham graduated in 1988 from Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical High School, where he studied industrial electronics, his brother said. He was an honors student who loved playing basketball in community leagues.

He joined the Army the same year he graduated and trained at Fort Dix, N.J., to work with communications equipment. He was stationed in Germany, Kansas and Arkansas before his family settled in Georgia.

He served in Iraq during Operation Desert Storm, in Bosnia and in Somalia and had received Special Forces training before his latest tour in Iraq, his brother said.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Robert E. Dunham was killed in action on 5/24/07.





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Army Pfc. Robert H. Dembowski

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Army Pfc. Robert H. Dembowski, 20, of Ivyland, Pa.

Pfc. Dembowski was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died May 24 in Baghdad of wounds sustained when his unit came in contact with enemy forces using small-arms fire.

N.C.-based paratrooper killed in Iraq
The Associated Press

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — An 82nd Airborne Division paratrooper died of injuries sustained from enemy small-arms fire during combat operations in Baghdad, Iraq, earlier this week, the Defense Department said May 25.

Spc. Robert Dembowski, Jr., 20, of Ivyland, Pa., was a company radio transmitter with 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division.

“Spc. Dembowski was a highly dedicated paratrooper,” said Capt. Aaron King, the rear detachment commander for Dembowki’s battalion. “He was dedicated not only to his profession but also in serving this great nation.”

Dembowski, who was killed May 24, joined the Army in January 2006. He completed infantry one station unit training and the basic airborne course at Fort Benning, Ga., in April 2006.

He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, when he arrived at the 82nd Airborne in May 2006.

His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart.

Dembowski is survived by his parents, Robert Sr. and Frances Dembowski, and his sister, Janice Dembowski, all of Ivyland, Pa.

Army Pfc. Robert H. Dembowski was killed in action on 5/24/07.

Army Spc. Daniel P. Cagle

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Army Spc. Daniel P. Cagle, 22, of Carson, Calif.

Spc Cagle was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.; died May 23, 2007 in Balad, Iraq of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit in Ramadi. Also killed was Staff Sgt. Steve Butcher Jr.


Born on May 20, 1985 in Torrance, California, Daniel grew up in Del Aire, an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County near Hawthorne, California. He attended Juan De Anza Elementary and then Dana Middle School of the Wiseburn School District for K-8.

As a boy Daniel actively enjoyed school and sports – karate, roller hockey, skateboarding, and surfing.

Daniel loved to read and liked to watch the History and Discovery channels.

His favorite music included Sublime, Pennywise, Jonny Cash and anything with a good guitar lick.

Daniel loved his family and friends. Daniel lived and loved life.

Daniel enlisted in the US Army early November 2005 following a family tradition. He was assigned to A Company, 3-69 Armor Battalion, 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Georgia. He was deployed to the Al Anbar province in January 2007 where he took on the leadership responsibility of fire team lead in his squad. On May 23, 2007, Daniel was fatally wounded while conducting combat operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in Albu Obaid, Iraq.

SPC Daniel P. Cagle awards include the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, and the Combat Infantry Badge.

http://www.danielcagle.com/index.html

Army Spc. Daniel P. Cagle was killed in action on 5/23/07.

Army Staff Sgt. Steve Butcher Jr.

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Army Staff Sgt. Steve Butcher Jr., 27, of Rochester, N.Y.

SSgt Butcher was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.; died May 23, 2007 of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit in Ramadi, Iraq. Also killed was Pfc. Daniel P. Cagle.


Rochester area soldier killed in Iraq
The Associated Press

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A soldier from suburban Rochester was killed in Iraq after an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit, military officials said May 25.

Staff Sgt. Steve Butcher Jr., 27, of Penfield, N.Y. died May 23 in Ramadi.

He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

Butcher’s family and friends learned of his death May 23, according to Steve Butcher Sr.’s law firm. The soldier’s father declined to comment through his law firm.

Butcher was also survived by a six-year-old daughter.

He graduated from Penfield high school in 1997. He also attended Charles Finney School and McQuaid Jesuit High School.

Butcher’s sister, Angela told R-News that he prioritized his fellow soldiers.

“My brother wanted to do everything to ensure the safety of his men,” she said. “He felt personally responsible.”

Butcher last returned home for a visit in November, then returned for his third tour of duty in Iraq in January.

Army Staff Sgt. Steve Butcher Jr. was killed in action on 5/23/07.

Army Cpl. Victor H. Toledo Pulido

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Army Cpl. Victor H. Toledo Pulido, 22, of Hanford, Calif.

Cpl. Pulido was assigned to 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized), Fort Benning, Ga.; died May 23 in al Nahrawan, Iraq, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Also killed was Cpl. Jonathan D. Winterbottom.

Army Cpl. Victor H. Toledo-Pulido, 22, Hanford; one of two soldiers killed in blast
By Matt Lait and Hector Becerra, Times Staff Writers

Though he wasn't a U.S. citizen, Army Cpl. Victor H. Toledo-Pulido's patriotism for his adopted country was undeniable, friends and family members said.

As a teenager, the Mexican immigrant befriended servicemen while working at a restaurant on a military base in Lemoore, south of Fresno. He joined the California Army National Guard and soon decided to pursue a career in the Army.

In March, the 22-year-old resident of Hanford, east of Lemoore, was deployed to Iraq.

On May 23, he was one of two soldiers killed when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle in Nahrawan, Iraq, southeast of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized) at Ft. Benning, Ga.

Toledo-Pulido's mother, Maria Gaspar, said that she tried to dissuade her son from joining the Army but that he was determined to volunteer. "I told him I did not approve. We all told him," she said. "He was my youngest; he was my baby. And since he was born, I overprotected him. [But] he was grown up, and he wanted to mature and make his own decisions."

Growing up in the Central Valley, he was keenly aware that he was not an American citizen, but "he loved this country," his mother said. "He said, 'This is my country.' "

Toledo-Pulido was about 7 years old when a smuggler helped him and his older brother and mother cross over the mountains along the California border into the United States. He became a legal resident in 1999. Like many undocumented immigrants, he worked hard jobs at a young age. He toiled in the fields of the Central Valley with an uncle, picking grapes and other crops. Later, he took jobs as a restaurant cook.

Family members said they didn't know why, but Toledo-Pulido always showed an interest in joining the military.

Gaspar said she last saw her son in March as he and hundreds of soldiers left Ft. Benning for Iraq. He told her that no matter where he went, she would always be with him. He went over the good times and the bad times of their lives, as if paging through a family album.

"He talked like he knew something was going to happen," his mother said.

Toledo-Pulido, the father of a 1 1/2 -year-old boy, called home regularly from Iraq and spoke with his wife and other family members. "The last time we talked, we didn't say much, because we both just cried," his mother said. "He told me that he missed me and that he loved me a lot and that he was fine. I told him to take care of himself. I told him he was my baby and my little boy and that he would never stop being my baby. He said, 'Yes, Mom, I am your baby.' "

In the early morning hours of May 23, Toledo-Pulido and others in his platoon were awakened and given a mission to retrieve a military vehicle that had just been hit by an explosive. After concluding the mission, the team started driving back to their base. Minutes into the trip, their vehicle was hit by a tremendous explosion.

Army Capt. Troy Thomas, who was in the vehicle, was sent flying through the air. Miraculously, he was unscathed. But when he looked back to check on the others in the vehicle, he saw Toledo-Pulido's lifeless body slumped over the steering wheel. Another soldier was also mortally wounded in the blast.

"It is hard to explain the rush of emotion in a time like that," Thomas wrote in an e-mail to The Times. "People should not have to experience that feeling. It is because of brave human beings like Victor that war is only witnessed by a few so that the majority can live free and never experience what I felt that day."

Thomas said he would never forget him or the American values he stood for. He said Toledo-Pulido was a "Mexican citizen voluntarily serving in our armed forces at a time when you hear more about illegal immigration on TV than the war itself."

"What does it take to prove your worth as an American?" Thomas asked. "Well, if you ask me … Victor Toledo-Pulido showed his worth by serving his nation and his family."

Toledo-Pulido's brother Yosio Toledo, 29, said he gets angry when people portray immigrants as people who just take and give nothing back. He said his brother had friends who were also immigrants going through basic training and serving in Iraq. "They judge us and say we just come to take their jobs and positions, but we also make sacrifices," he said. "Victor worked since he was little, in the fields and in restaurants. He was a Mexican, but he thought like an American. And he gave his life for this country."

Gaspar said she is proud of her son, an "immigrant who gave his life for this country, and who did so with joy."

In addition to his mother and Yosio, he is survived by his wife, Christi; his son, Isak; his stepfather, Paz Gaspar Noriega; his brother Gaston Toledo-Pulido; and his sister, Maria McGee.

Army Cpl. Victor H. Toledo Pulido was killed in action on 5/23/07.

Army Cpl. Jonathan D. Winterbottom

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Army Cpl. Jonathan D. Winterbottom, 21, of Falls Church, Va.

Cpl. Winterbottom was assigned to 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized), Fort Benning, Ga.; died May 23, 2007 in al Nahrawan, Iraq, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Also killed was Cpl. Victor H. Toledo Pulido.

FCHS Class of ‘03’s Cpl. Jonathan Winterbottom, Medic, Killed in Iraq
By Jeff Dooley

Cpl. Jonathan Winterbottom, a Class of 2003 graduate of Falls Church High School, was killed in Iraq May 23 when a roadside bomb exploded near the vehicle in which he was riding. Winterbottom was 21 years old.

Winterbottom, who was known as Jon to his friends, enlisted in the Army after graduating high school. Friends say that he originally enlisted with the intention of becoming an Army ranger, but found his true calling as a medic, as he had always wanted to help people. Genevieve Makris, a fellow class of 2003 FCHS graduate who says she had known Winterbottom since the two of them “were in diapers,” said Winterbottom most enjoyed taking care of the Iraqi children. Winterbottom, who was stationed out of Fort Benning, Ga., was on his second tour of duty in Iraq when he was killed.

In high school, Winterbottom participated actively in sports, joining the wrestling, track, cross country, football and lacrosse teams. Friends say he was unsure of what he wanted to do with his life following graduation, which led him to enlist in the Army. While in high school, Winterbottom also had to endure to loss of his mother, Evelyn, who passed away from lung cancer.

Winterbottom’s friends remembered him for his friendship and personality.

“He was probably the most unique person I’ve ever met,” Danny Omana said. Omana was also a class of 2003 FCHS graduate and a member of the “Fab Four,” the name given to the close-knit quartet of Omana, Winterbottom, Tony Hayduk and Jeff Newell. Hayduk called Winterbottom an “amazing friend,” adding that he could “depend on him for pretty much anything.” Close friend Jana Kuwano described Winterbottom as being “very funny” and having “a good head on his shoulders.”

Robert Winterbottom, Jon’s father, who described his son as a “wonderful, loving, energetic guy,” says that Jon would not want his loved ones to be sad for too long.

“If he were here to speak for himself, I’m sure he’d say ‘Don’t spend a lot of time grieving. Get on with your life. I always enjoyed life, and you should too.’”

Winterbottom leaves behind a younger sister, Sarah, 19, and a younger brother, J.J., 17.

On Friday, May 25, the day that Jonathan Winterbottom would have turned 22 years old, his friends assembled at the Winterbottom home to pay tribute to and celebrate the life of the friend and family member that they all loved. They brought cards, lit candles, exchanged stories of their favorite moments with Jon, sang “Amazing Grace” and “Happy Birthday.” Winterbottom’s father said it was “very moving” to see his son’s friends come out and show their love and support.

While his friends said that the vigil was obviously a very sad occasion, Kuwano said that there were happy times as well.

“It wasn’t just sad because we all talked about why we were there,” Kuwano said. “And why we loved him so much.”

Hayduk saw it as an opportunity to repay his loyal friend. When Hayduk turned 21, Winterbottom, who was in Iraq at the time, still managed to call and wish his buddy a happy birthday. Hayduk said that this is a prime example of the type of friend Winterbottom was.

“We all owed him something,” Hayduk said.

Winterbottom’s funeral Mass will be held at the Word of Life Assembly of God Church (5225 Backlick Rd., Springfield, Va.) on Saturday, June 2. He will be buried with his mother at the Oakwood Cemetery in Falls Church. There will also be a viewing Friday, June 1 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the National Funeral Home (7482 Lee Highway, Falls Church).

As sad as his friends are at the loss of their loyal and good friend, Winterbottom’s memory still brings joy to their lives.

“Even now, you can’t help but smile when you think about him,” said Kuwano. “Because that’s what he was always doing.”

Army Cpl. Jonathan D. Winterbottom was killed in action on 5/23/07.

Army Staff Sgt. Shannon V. Weaver

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Army Staff Sgt. Shannon V. Weaver, 28, Urich, Mo.

SSgt. Weaver was assigned to the 425th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska; died May 21, 2007 in Baghdad of wounds sustained when multiple improvised explosive devices detonated near their vehicle. Also killed were Sgt. Brian D. Ardron and Spc. Michael W. Davis.

Soldier’s widow said he was uneasy about tour in Iraq
By Robin Hice, Rome News Tribune Staff Writer

Desiree Weaver was making her way back to Fort Richardson, Alaska, earlier this week to begin preparations for her husband’s return from Iraq this July. She was in transit from her mother’s home in Missouri and had stopped in South Dakota.

Oddly, her mother called and wanted to meet her there to finish the trip with her. She agreed.

When they met at the airport, Weaver was not just greeted with a traveling companion but with the crushing news that her husband was dead.

Staff Sgt. Shannon Weaver, a Polk County native, was killed Monday by a roadside bomb in southern Baghdad.

The last message Desiree Weaver received from her husband was just before he left on the mission that took his life.

“I’m going on mission. Stay safe. I love you.”

Weaver, a 28-year-old soldier on his second tour in Iraq, was on a mission to disarm explosive devices like the one that killed him, according to his wife.

He was a combat engineer who joined the ArmyStaff Sgt. Shannon Weaver’s last message to his wife ended with “I love you.”
in 1997 and was based at Fort Richardson, Alaska, in January 2005.

“He usually did things like the demolition of bridges,” Desiree Weaver said. But this time he was to search for and disarm roadside bombs to make sure other convoys coming through the area didn’t get hit, she explained.

Weaver, who was also a squad leader, had told his wife of five years to not make a lot of plans for them when he returned because he was afraid that something might happen to him before his July break.

“He didn’t have a good feeling about this tour,” Desiree Weaver said as she thought back to his departure for this tour. His job was particularly dangerous. Volatile conditions continued to increase in the area he was working, she explained.

Weaver was an experienced soldier having served in three other tours of duty, one in the Dominican Republic, one in Kosovo in 2002 and a previous tour in Iraq.

Weaver was part of the initial push when the war started, his wife explained. “He was one of the first soldiers to cross the lines.”

The Weavers had plans to move back close to Cedartown to be near his grandparents who live in Borden Springs, Ala.

“We had bought some land in Gadsden and planned to build a house and start a family there.”

The Piedmont, Ala., High School graduate will be buried at Shiloh Baptist Church in Esom Hill, which he attended while living with his grandparents for several years.

Gammage Funeral Home has charge of the arrangements. It could take weeks before his body is returned to the states, his wife said.

Army Staff Sgt. Shannon V. Weaver was killed in action on 5/21/07.

Army Pfc. Alexander R. Varela

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Army Pfc. Alexander R. Varela, 19, of Fernley, Nev.

Pfc. Varela was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died May 19 in Baghdad of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Also killed were Staff Sgt. Christopher Moore, Sgt. Jean P. Medlin, Spc. David W. Behrle, Spc. Joseph A. Gilmore and Pfc. Travis F. Haslip.

Family mourns death of Fernley soldier

The Associated Press

FERNLEY, Nev. — The father of a Fernley soldier killed in Iraq said his son was eager to come home.

An emotional Roger Varela said he last spoke with his son, Army Pfc. Alejandro Varela, on Thursday. Two days later, 19-year-old and five others from his unit were killed when a makeshift bomb exploded near their vehicle south of Baghdad.

“I’m not ready for this. I thought I was, but I’m not,” a tearful Roger Varela said while talking with reporters Monday at Fernley City Hall.

“It’s hard to lose a son. He was my baby.”

The Pentagon on Tuesday confirmed Varela was killed on May 19. He and five others killed in the explosion were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, based at Ford Hood, Texas.

Known to his friends as Alex, Varela went to basic training last May as part of a three-year enlistment.

His girlfriend, Alexandria Avant, a private in the Nevada Army National Guard, said Varela wanted to serve three years and then leave the military, but he had no regrets about enlisting.

“He wanted to come home,” Avant said.

Varela lived in Fernley the past seven years. His mother and other family members live in the Sacramento, Calif., area.

Before joining the Army, Alejandro Varela helped his father out in construction work in the Fernley area.

“He wanted to come back home and go back to work for me,” Roger Varela said.

“I’m not going to get any calls from him. I’m not going to be able to touch him anymore.”

Friends say he loved exploring the Nevada desert on all-terrain vehicles, and shooting trap and skeet.

“He always liked those rides to Winnemucca Lake,” about halfway between Fernley and Gerlach, said his buddy, James Palmer said.

Palmer said riding quads will be the best way to remember Varela.

“We’ll get all of his friends together,” Palmer said. “We’ll gas up the quads, and we’ll head out into the desert. That’s what he’d want us to do.”

Fernley Mayor Todd Cutler asked that flags in Fernley fly at half staff Tuesday in honor of the young soldier.

Gov. Jim Gibbons also ordered flags be flown at half-staff for the day at the Nevada State Capitol.

150 attend memorial service for Fernley soldier

The Associated Press

FERNLEY, Nev. — Another northern Nevadan has been remembered at a memorial service resulting from the war in Iraq.

Army Pfc. Alexander Varela of Fernley was memorialized on May 31 at the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Ceremony.

On May 30, it was Army Sgt. Anthony Schober who was remembered in Carson City.

When Varela died May 18, he was part of a unit looking for soldiers who might have escaped the May 12 ambush in which Schober was killed.

Varela was buried May 30 in Fair Oaks, Calif., where his mother and much of his family lives. Schober was buried May 24 in Santa Rosa, Calif., where he grew up, although he attended high school in Minden.

About 150 people attended Thursday’s service in Fernley.

Empty riding boots sat atop Varela’s four-wheeler, a reminder of the passion the 19-year-old enjoyed before his life was cut short in war.

“We have proof he loved us,” Chaplain Bill Rohrer said. “The highest and greatest example of selflessness is the American soldier.

“He was not lost to terrorism. His young life was given to a friend,” Rohrer said. “Alex did not lose his life, he gave his life.”

Rohrer introduced Varela’s girlfriend, Pfc. Alexandria Avant, 19, who is enlisted in the Nevada Army National Guard. She escorted Varela’s father, Roger, into the ceremony.

Avant read a poem titled, “My Military Soldier” which detailed the sacrifices many American soldiers make for their country. She lifted her tear-filled eyes to the crowd several times while reading the poem but was able to finish.

Varela will not be interred at the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery, but a bench in his honor will be placed on the grounds.

Army Pfc. Alexander R. Varela was killed in action on 5/19/07.

Army Pfc. Travis F. Haslip

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Army Pfc. Travis F. Haslip, 20, of Ooltewah, Tenn.

Pfc. Haslip was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died May 19 in Baghdad of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Also killed were Staff Sgt. Christopher Moore, Sgt. Jean P. Medlin, Spc. David W. Behrle, Spc. Joseph A. Gilmore and Pfc. Alexander R. Varela.

Soldier from Hamilton County killed in Iraq

The Associated Press

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — An Army private identified as being from Hamilton County was among six soldiers killed when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle in Iraq, the Department of Defense said May 22.

Pfc. Travis F. Haslip, 20, of Ooltewah was killed May 19 with five other members of the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Calvary Division, from Fort Hood, Texas, a department statement said.

Nancy Bourget, a spokeswoman at Fort Hood, said Haslip was deployed to Iraq in October after joining the military in December 2006 as an infantryman.

WDEF-TV in Chattanooga reported that Haslip only attended high school in Ooltewah for his freshman year, but he was remembered by some teachers there.

“If I could sum it up in one word he was a sweet kid, you know, he was, never caused any problem. He was quiet but he was always attentive,” biology teacher Marty Miller said.




Hundreds, including strangers, pay tribute to fallen soldier

The Associated Press

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — A fallen soldier’s funeral procession and Memorial Day burial at Chattanooga National Cemetery turned into a community tribute.

Hundreds of people, many who didn’t know Army Pfc. Travis Haslip stood along the procession route Monday.

Haslip, 20, was a laid-back person who liked to keep a low profile and would have been surprised by the outpouring of support, said Derek Blevins, a longtime friend of Haslip’s.

Sgt. 1st Class Kendra Biggs, who served in Iraq with the Army Reserve in 2004 and 2005, was on her way to do some shopping when she saw people lining up with flags outside a funeral home. She called her husband, Brack Biggs, to join her for the procession with the couple’s 10-month-old baby.

“We just wanted to let the family know that they are supported,” Kendra Biggs said.

Joey Hughes showed up wearing a Marine Corps T-shirt. Hughes was recently recalled by the Marine Corps after serving from 2002 to 2006 and has orders to report in October for deployment to Iraq.

He held a flag Monday in honor of a soldier he never met, he said, because “I think this young man deserves his proper due.”

Haslip and five other soldiers were killed May 19 in Baghdad when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle. After joining the Army in December 2005, Haslip was assigned in June 2006 to the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, at Fort Hood, Texas. Four months later, he left for Iraq.

Haslip’s friends and family remembered him as a warm person who always had a hug for his mother and a smile for his friends.

Eddie Ivester, a Vietnam veteran whose parents are buried at the cemetery, also attended the service without knowing Haslip.

“I just wanted to say thank you, ” he said.

Army Pfc. Travis F. Haslip was killed in action on 5/19/07.

Army Specialist Joseph A. Gilmore

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Army Specialist Joseph A. Gilmore, 26, of Webster, Fla.

Spc. Gilmore was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died May 19, 2007 in Baghdad of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Also killed were Staff Sgt. Christopher Moore, Sgt. Jean P. Medlin, Spc. David W. Behrle, Pfc. Travis F. Haslip and Pfc. Alexander R. Varela.

Orlando Sentinel -- Though their military schedules and assignments conflicted, brothers Sean and Joseph Gilmore tried to talk once a month.

"He was ready to come home and see his family. It was rough out there," said Sean Gilmore, an Alabama National Guard member, recalling the last chat with his brother, formerly of the small Sumter County community of Webster, about 60 miles west of Orlando.

A combat medic who met and married his wife in Sumter, Spc. Joseph Gilmore was among six soldiers killed Saturday in Iraq when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle, the Department of Defense said Tuesday.

Gilmore, 26, was the father of two children, ages 5 and 3.

"He's a hero, and I hope to someday be the man he was," his younger brother said in a phone interview from Alabama. "Everything he did was for somebody else."

One of seven boys, Joseph Gilmore was born and reared in Hartford, Ala., but relocated after high school to Bushnell, where he lived with his grandmother, Bonnie Clinton. She died in 2001.

Gilmore and five other soldiers from Fort Hood outside Killeen, Texas, died in the blast Saturday during combat operations in Baghdad.

He joined the military in August 2005, earning a marksmanship badge and other honors.

Sean Gilmore, 24, an Alabama Guard member who was furloughed from duty in Kuwait for his brother's funeral service, said his brother enlisted to make a better life for his family.

"That was his No. 1 concern," he said. "He loved his kids."

His widow, Eve Gilmore, 32, would not comment.

A MySpace page belonging to Eve Gilmore in Fort Hood, where the family resides, showed a picture of a soldier Tuesday with the caption: "R.I.P. Joseph Gilmore. Gone But Never Forgotten."

The soldiers' parents, Frank and Betty Gilmore, also could not be reached for comment.

A soldier's family needs sympathy and compassion not just now but later, too, when their friends return to their own lives, said Debbie Busch, executive director of the Gold Star Family Support Center at Fort Hood.

The center, funded by donations, provides a weekly support group, counseling and compassion for spouses, children and other family members.

Busch said the center reaches out to more than 400 families, often calling survivors as difficult dates approach -- birthdays, anniversaries and holidays.

"We try to bridge the gap and reach out to them," she said. "Believe me, often it's exactly what grieving families need."

The organization's Web site is goldstarfamilysupport.org.

Army Specialist Joseph A. Gilmore was killed in action on 5/19/07.

Army Specialist David W. Behrle

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Army Specialist David W. Behrle, 20, of Tipton, Iowa

Spc. Behrle was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died May 19, 2007 in Baghdad of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Also killed were Staff Sgt. Christopher Moore, Sgt. Jean P. Medlin, Spc. Joseph A. Gilmore, Pfc. Travis F. Haslip and Pfc. Alexander R. Varela.

Tipton loses second soldier to war in Iraq

The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa — An Army soldier from Iowa was among six soldiers killed May 19 when a bomb exploded near their vehicle in Baghdad, the military said May 22.

The Department of Defense confirmed that Spc. David W. Behrle, 20, of Tipton, died of wounds suffered in the blast.

All six soldiers killed in the explosion were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, based at Fort Hood, Texas.

Behrle is Tipton’s second Iraq casualty. Iowa Army National Guard Sgt. Aaron Siskel, 22, died Nov. 29, 2003, when his convoy was ambushed in Iraq.

Behrle, who graduated in 2005 from Tipton High School, was senior class president.

“He was definitely set on being in the Army,” said a friend, Scott Woode, 20, of Tipton. “He said it felt right. That it was something he needed to do.”

Behrle was the son of Dixie Pelzer, of Tipton, and John Behrle, who lives in Nebraska.

“This is very sad. David was such a good kid, as Aaron was. We are just kind of like, ‘Why Tipton?’ ” said Richard Grimoskas, superintendent of the Tipton Community School District.

Mark Weaver, a Vietnam veteran who is commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2537 in Tipton, said people in town were stunned to learn of the young soldier’s death. Behrle’s grandfather, Kenny Jedlicka, is active in the local American Legion post.

“It’s a great loss to the community. It’s a big shock for a town as small as this one to have lost our second soldier,” Weaver said.

Behrle participated in football, golf and wrestling for the Tipton High School Tigers. He had just visited the school a month or two ago while he was home on leave and had chatted with some former teachers, school officials said.

“David was a great kid, an absolutely wonderful kid. Your typical Iowa kid — very involved and everybody liked him,” Grimoskas said.

Mourners honor sacrifice of Tipton soldier

The Associated Press

TIPTON, Iowa — Funeral services were held May 29 for Army Spc. David Behrle, the second soldier from this eastern Iowa town to die in Iraq.

Hundreds of mourners packed into the Tipton Middle School gymnasium to honor the 20-year-old, who was described as a likable person who was active in school activities.

Behrle, who was Tipton High School’s senior class president and commencement speaker two years ago, was among six soldiers killed May 19 in a roadside explosion near Baghdad. All were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, based at Fort Hood, Texas.

Behrle, who enlisted in the Army in June 2005 and went to Iraq in October, was buried in the Woodbridge Cemetery in Buchanan, about six miles west of Tipton.

Behrle received posthumous awards of the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Good Conduct Medal, and Combat Infantryman’s Badge. His school also retired his high school football jersey, which carried the number 65.

His former coaches and teachers described Behrle as a soft-spoken teenager who came prepared, asked questions and worked hard in sports and school.

“Dave was positive, kind, generous and a lot of fun,” said Dick Grimoskas, Tipton’s school superintendent.

The service ended with a montage of photos of Behrle growing up and in the military.

“The war may have taken your body from us but not your heart and soul,” the soldier’s family said in a statement that was read at the funeral.

Tipton, a town of about 3,155 people 30 miles northeast of Iowa City, saw its first hometown soldier die in Iraq on Nov. 29, 2003, when Spc. Aaron J. Sissel, 22, was shot in Hadithah by enemy fire.

Army Specialist David W. Behrle was killed in action on 5/19/07.

Army Sgt. Jean P. Medlin

Remember Our Heroes

Army Sgt. Jean P. Medlin, 27, of Pelham, Ala.

Sgt. Medlin was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died May 19, 2007 in Baghdad of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Also killed were Staff Sgt. Christopher Moore, Spc. David W. Behrle, Spc. Joseph A. Gilmore, Pfc. Travis F. Haslip and Pfc. Alexander R. Varela.

Ala. soldier among 6 killed in roadside bombing in Iraq

The Associated Press

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Sgt. Jean Paul Medlin finished a stint in the Marines and then felt compelled to join the military again after the U.S. invaded Iraq, opting for the Army this time.

On May 19, the 27-year-old soldier from Trussville was among six U.S. troops killed in a roadside bombing in Baghdad.

Medlin, who had been a Marine sniper, was a skilled soldier and would have survived the bombing had he not been in a vehicle, said father Ronnie Medlin.

“If he had been on foot it never would have happened; he was smart tactically,” his father told The Birmingham News in a story May 23.

Tommy Tyler met Medlin in the second grade and the two later served together as Marines. After the service, Medlin moved to Pelham and enrolled in Jefferson State Community College, Tyler said. But Medlin decided to return to the military, joining the Army after fighting began in Iraq.

“He just couldn’t take it anymore; he had to go,” Tyler said. “He wanted to fight for his country on the front lines.” Medlin went to Iraq in October with members of the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, from Fort Hood, Texas.

Jeff Hendrix, a former teammate of Medlin’s, said Medlin seemed to prefer military service to civilian life.

“He seemed happy being around his family and all, but he didn’t seem as happy,” Hendrix said.

He put all of his heart into his military service, Medlin’s sister, Silvia Medlin, said.

During his military career, Medlin obtained several medals, including the Kosovo Campaign Medal with Bronze Service Star, the Global War on Terror (Service) Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon and the NATO Medal.

Funeral arrangements had not been made as of May 22, but Medlin will likely receive a Marine send-off.

“He died as an Army soldier, but he always said he wanted to be remembered as a Marine,” Tyler said.

Army Sgt. Jean P. Medlin was killed in action on 5/19/07.

Army Staff Sgt. Christopher Moore

Remember Our Heroes

Army Staff Sgt. Christopher Moore, 28, of Alpaugh, Calif.

SSgt. Moore was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died May 19, 2007 in Baghdad of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Also killed were Sgt. Jean P. Medlin, Spc. David W. Behrle, Spc. Joseph A. Gilmore, Pfc. Travis F. Haslip and Pfc. Alexander R. Varela.

Soldier joined military to get out of small Calif. town

By The Associated Press

ALPAUGH, Calif. — The day after he graduated from high school in 1996, Christopher Moore joined the Army.

He wanted to get out of this small town north of Bakersfield and figured the best way was by entering the military.

Moore 28, was killed in Baghdad with five other soldiers on May 19 when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle while on patrol. Moore, a staff sergeant, was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas.

On Tuesday, Moore was buried next to his best friend, Dustin Mills, from the Army, at a cemetery in Kennedale, Texas. Mills was killed in a car crash in 1997.

“He always wanted to serve his country,” said his mother, Martha. “He died doing the job he loved to do.”

Moore served three tours in the Middle East after completing basic training at Fort Benning in Georgia. He was first assigned to the 101st Airborne Division where he earned his air assault badge. Moore was then deployed to Kuwait where he guarded Patriot missile sites.

After coming home, he was assigned to Fort Benning and was later stationed with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C.

Moore left the military for a short time, but returned and re-enlisted. He was sent on his first tour of Iraq in April 2004. He did a second tour this past October — this time as a commander of a Bradley fighting vehicle.

Moore’s ex-wife, Kindell Mills, said the two met because her brother — Moore’s best friend — had become close during basic training. The couple had three daughters, Ashlyn, 9; Kalyn, 7; and Taylor, 4.

“Chris was my best friend,” she said. “And there is not another person in this world that could come close to the type of father he was to my children.”

Family and friends said Moore spent his last weekend in the United States taking visiting family members to an amusement park and volunteering to help paint the home of an elderly woman he never met. He later played paintball.

In addition to his ex-wife, daughters and mother, Moore is survived by a brother, Robert; two sisters, Misty Collins and Nancy Ince; his grandparents; and numerous other relatives.

Army Staff Sgt. Christopher Moore was killed in action on 5/19/07.

Army Sgt. Jason A. Schumann

Remember Our Heroes

Army Sgt. Jason A. Schumann, 23, of Hawley, Minn.

Sgt. Schumann was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Polk, La.; died May 19, 2007 in Diwaniyah, Iraq, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.

Hawley soldier killed in Iraq
The Associated Press

HAWLEY, Minn. — Jason Schumann is remembered by his high school principal as a delightful young man who always had a smile on his face.

The 23-year-old Army sergeant was killed May 19 when a bomb exploded near his vehicle in Ad Diwaniyah, Iraq, about 100 miles west of Baghdad, the Defense Department said May 22.

Schumann, of Hawley, was the 60th person with strong Minnesota ties who have died in connection with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Hawley High School Principal Mike Martin called his former student a “delightful young man in every regard,” known by some as “Tuba” for the instrument he played in the high school band.

“He was an extremely happy student, kind of a free spirit of sorts, but in a very good sort of way,” Martin said. “We just thoroughly enjoyed him as a student.”

His family’s pastor, the Rev. Tom Olson of Solem Lutheran Church, said Schumann’s unit was escorting a convoy to the Baghdad airport when it was attacked. Schumann was on his second tour of duty in Iraq, Olson said.

Schumann’s wife, Laura, and son, Joe, who will be 2 years old next month, were staying in her native England while he was deployed. They are expected in Hawley on May 24, Olson said.

His father and stepmother, Jim and Sherry Schumann, live in Rollag, 13 miles south of Hawley. His mother and stepfather, Candie Glisson and Russell Toth, live in Fargo, N.D., about 20 miles west of Hawley. They did not want to be interviewed, the pastor said.

Schumann was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Polk, La.

Schumann, a native of Tucson, Ariz., moved to Hawley in 1999 and graduated from Hawley High School in 2002. He joined the Army soon after graduation.

Martin said Schumann sent an e-mail to his high school band director three months ago “thanking him for all he’d done for Tuba. He talked about learning dedication and discipline. For a 23-year-old to take time to reflect and convey that message, that says a lot about the kind of guy Tuba was.”

In addition to playing in band, Martin said Schumann was the school’s mascot during his senior year.

“We’re the ‘Nuggets’ and nobody knew what the mascot should look like,” Martin said. “But they put together an outfit with a Styrofoam pick ax, making him up like a gold miner or something, and he was out there at all the games when the cheerleaders were on the floor.”

Pastor Olson said Schumann was very talented, and read part of Schumann’s obituary that will be published next week in the Hawley Herald:

“He was a selfless leader, always putting his fellow soldiers’ needs before his own. ... He liked to sail and also built sailboats and enjoyed cross country running. He was a talented artist and enjoyed writing historical fiction.”

Funeral arrangements were pending, Olson said. Schumann will be buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery.

Military officials said a memorial service will be held May 24 at Fort Polk.

Army Sgt. Jason A. Schumann was killed in action on 5/19/07.

Army Sgt. Anselmo Martinez III

Remember Our Heroes

Army Sgt. Anselmo Martinez III, 26, of Robstown, Texas

Sgt. Martinez was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died May 18, 2007 in Tahrir, Iraq, of wounds sustained when his unit came in contact with enemy forces using an improvised explosive device. Also killed were Spc. Casey W. Nash and Spc. Joshua G. Romero.

A beloved son is laid to rest
Martinez is 20th from area to die
By Israel Saenz

The church inside was packed with those paying respects to his cousin, Army Sgt. Anselmo Martinez III, who died May 18 serving in Iraq. Standing outside the church, Lara, 25, remembered his cousin as a joker who always wanted to hang out with friends, but who eventually settled down with a family and returned home a changed man after joining the military.

“When we had hung out before, it was like kid stuff. He was always looking for the next joke,” said Lara, a Corpus Christi resident. “But when he came back, he had become a man.”

Martinez, 26, and two other U.S. soldiers were killed May 18, after their armored vehicle ran over an improvised explosive device. He is the 20th area resident to die in Iraq or Afghanistan.

About 400 family, friends and community members filled the church; many were left standing in the church or spilling out of the front doors. Patriot Guard Riders of South Texas escorted Martinez’s casket to the church.

The common thread voiced by Martinez’s relatives in remembering him Monday was his selfless nature. Lara said part of his cousin’s decision to join the military was to have job security and be able to provide for his wife and two daughters.

“He was always willing to give himself up for everybody,” Lara said.

Cousin Monica Garcia said Martinez was like a big brother while they were attending Robstown High School. He graduated in 1998, a year before she did.

“He was a lot of fun to be around, and always thought about others before he thought about himself,” said Garcia, 26.

Martinez lived with wife Christina and daughters Felicity, 7, and Elianna, 5, in Fort Hood, before deploying in October with the 1st Cavalry Division.

As military pallbearers carried the casket to a waiting hearse, family members followed outside. His father, Anselmo Martinez Jr., shook hand after hand of friends and those who attended to show support. He put his arm around his wife, Diana, as she and other family members wept in each others’ arms.

Christina Martinez kept her eyes locked on her husband’s casket outside the church as she stood holding a folded American flag.

Martinez’s body will be cremated today, Army spokesperson Eric N. Atkinson said. His wife will keep his ashes.

Sylvia Sandoval of Kingsville stood sweating outside the church during the service. Her son Edward returned last week from Bahrain, where he has been serving with the Navy. Sandoval does not know the Martinez family, but scrapped plans for a Memorial Day family barbecue to show support.

“My son returned, but I feel for the people going through this,” Sandoval said. “What better way to mark Memorial Day.”

Army Sgt. Anselmo Martinez III was killed in action on 5/18/07.

Army Specialist Casey W. Nash

Remember Our Heroes

Army Specialist Casey W. Nash, 22, of Baltimore

Spc. Nash was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died May 18, 2007 in Tahrir, Iraq, of wounds sustained when his unit came in contact with enemy forces using an improvised explosive device. Also killed were Sgt. Anselmo Martinez III and Spc. Joshua G. Romero.

Explosion kills Essex man in Iraq
Eastern Technical graduate, in his second tour of duty, had recently visited home
By Julie Scharper

Several weeks ago, Army Spc. Casey W. Nash came home on leave from Iraq to visit his family in Essex and Middle River.

He watched sports with his father, worked on his sister's car and drove his beloved red-and-white Chevrolet S-10 Xtreme pickup truck. A quiet man, the 22-year-old said little about his time in the combat zone, but he did make this point: Six months into his second tour of duty in Iraq, he was ready to leave the Army and return home for good.

That visit was the last time his family saw him.

On Friday, Specialist Nash and two other soldiers were killed in Tahir, Iraq, by an improvised explosive device. The others were Sgt. Anselmo Martinez III, 26, of Robstown, Texas, and Spc. Joshua G. Romero, 19, of Crowley, Texas.

"He just didn't want to be there anymore," his father, Lewis Nash, said yesterday, tears welling in his eyes.

Specialist Nash enlisted in the Army in February 2003, less than a year after graduating from Eastern Technical High School, where he played football.

A fire support specialist, his duties included mapping coordinates and driving a Humvee, his father said. In October 2005, Specialist Nash was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division in Fort Hood, Texas, according to an Army spokesman.

In October, Specialist Nash was sent to Iraq for the second time after an earlier 15-month deployment. According to relatives, he had originally signed up for four years with the Army, but the term of his enlistment was extended. The time spans of both of his tours in Iraq also were lengthened, they said.

He told his family that he felt that he was being pressured to re-enlist.

"They pushed him and pushed him, and he kept telling them no," his father said.

Born in Pasadena, Texas, Casey Nash moved to Middle River with his family when he was a boy and settled in the same small white house where his father had been raised. As a child, he shot baskets through the weatherbeaten hoop that still stands in front of that home.

Family connections run deep in the neighborhood. Cousins live across the street, and Nash attended Victory Villa Elementary, Middle River Middle, and Eastern Technical, as his father had done.

A talented athlete, he was coached by his father in Little League baseball. In high school, he played center and guard on the varsity football team. Nash's football coach, Marc Mesaros, choked back tears yesterday as he recalled the offensive lineman for his quiet leadership on the varsity team, brutal honesty and "get-it-done" attitude.

"He was a John Wayne kind of kid," said Mr. Mesaros, adding that he exchanged e-mails with Specialist Nash during his first tour in Iraq.

Mr. Mesaros, who teaches computer graphics and Web design, described Specialist Nash's senior year - when he was injured in one of the team's first scrimmages - as an illustration of his work ethic.

"He overcame a devastating ankle injury, and after missing most of the season, he finished the year with a strong performance in our final game," Mr. Mesaros said. Though injured, Nash kept showing up for practice to support his teammates.

While he was in high school, Casey Nash moved with his mother, Sandra Nash, and sister, Sara Nash, to a home in Essex. Yesterday, his pickup and yellow motorcycle were parked in front of that house. A yellow ribbon was tied to the tree.

An uncle, Tony Edge, said that Specialist Nash's mother was too upset to comment. Yesterday was her birthday, he added.

Relatives said that they were surprised when Nash announced that he was joining the military and offered little explanation for his choice.

He sent back photos from Iraq of giant spiders that he had caught in a jar and a tipped Humvee from which he had escaped. He told his father that he once pulled a buddy out a burning Jeep.

During his most recent visit, Specialist Nash stayed in his basement bedroom in his mother's home that he had outfitted with a stereo, refrigerator and video game console.

He played pool with his father and another uncle, Fred Nash, and hung out with his girlfriend, whom he had dated since high school.

A photo from the visit shows Specialist Nash, a tall man with a solid build, light blue eyes and blond hair, smiling next to his girlfriend.

While he was visiting, he was shaken when he found out that some buddies in Iraq had been killed.

"He was upset because he felt like he had let them down," his father said.

He had told his father that he was frustrated that his military service had been extended. He had hoped to pursue a career with computers after leaving the Army or join the ironworks company where his father is a supervisor.

Lewis Nash, 46, said that the military has provided little specific information about how his son died, whether the casket could be open or closed for the funeral, or even when his body would arrive.

Specialist Nash had been slated for a promotion to sergeant, but the paperwork had been held up. Yesterday, military representatives told his family that the promotion had been approved, his father said.

Army Specialist Casey W. Nash was killed in action on 5/18/07.

Army Specialist Joshua G. Romero

Remember Our Heroes

Army Specialist Joshua G. Romero, 19, of Crowley, Texas

Spc. Romero was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died May 18,2007 in Tahrir, Iraq, of wounds sustained when his unit came in contact with enemy forces using an improvised explosive device. Also killed were Sgt. Anselmo Martinez III and Spc. Casey W. Nash.

Quiet, humble and shy, Cpl. Joshua G. Romero was always thinking of ways to improve his unit. The 19-year-old would always rise to the occasion and perform above and beyond expectation, Staff Sgt. Kenneth Reynolds said. Romero had a great sense of humor, a can-do attitude and always thought positive. Romero died May 18 while serving with Bravo Company, 1st Squadron, 12th Cavalry Regiment.

Most of the time, Joshua Romero shied away from being photographed. But not for his graduation photo: That was a favor for his father."He was a typical teenager. He didn't get into a lot of trouble. He was a good kid. He did well in school and graduated, which is an accomplishment in our family. I was very proud of him and the fact that he stuck with it," said his father, Joe.

Romero, 19, of Crowley, Texas, was killed May 18 by an explosive in Tahrir, Iraq. He was assigned to Fort Hood, Texas.

Star Telegram -- FORT WORTH -- Joshua Romero’s father is proud of his son’s 2005 graduation picture from Crowley High School.

Most of the time, the younger Romero shied away from the camera’s lens, but this photo was a favor for his father. It’s also the very photo Joe Romero pulled out Saturday to help remember his son -- a 1st Calvary Division soldier from Fort Worth who died in Iraq.

Pfc. Joshua Romero, 19, served in B Company, 1st Battalion, 12th Calvary. The U.S. Army informed his wife and father about his death on Friday, the family said. He would have turned 20 next month.

"He made me proud," said Joe Romero. "I want people to know what he did."

The family is trying to piece together how he died. Preliminary reports indicate he was a victim of a roadside bomb while riding in a Bradley tank, the said. He had been stationed out of Fort Hood.

The last time the family saw Joshua was in April, when he was granted leave to attend a family funeral.

"Josh was brave to go out there," said a younger brother, Anthony Romero, 6.

Joshua Romero enlisted in 2005 shortly after graduating from Crowley High School. He told his father the military would help open doors for his future. Plus, he liked the structure.

"He joined the military because we don’t have a lot of money," said Joe Romero. "College was out of our reach."

When Joe Romero learned his son wanted to join the military, he sat him down and told him: "This is not fun and games. You might not come back."

But Joshua had made up his mind and given his word. He never second guessed his decision to join the military and if he was afraid or scared, he never showed it.

"I was more afraid," Joe Romero said. "I’ve always known there was a chance. You hear about soldiers getting killed everyday."

On Friday, the family was shocked to learn that Joshua was now a casualty of the War in Iraq. Joe Romero allowed himself to be interviewed by the Star-Telegram because he wanted his son remembered in printed words.

Joshua Romero was a typical All American youth. He liked Rock music, including Jimi Hendrix. He was quiet and low-key, but he made time to hang with his pals. He was also close to eight siblings from his blended family.

Joe Romero said Joshua left behind a wife, Michelle, and a 1-year-old son, Joshua David. His survivors also include his step-mother, Shellie Romero, and his biological mother, Kimberlee Cummings.

Joshua Romero attended Worth Heights Elementary, Rosemont Middle School and Trimble Tech High School before graduating from Crowley High School. He tried playing football while at Rosemont, but discovered he’s a better fan than a player, said his father.

"He loved football. He liked to watch basketball," said Joe Romero, adding after a pause: "That’s Joshua in a nutshell."

Army Specialist Joshua G. Romero was killed in action on 5/18/07.

Army Cpl. Marquis J. McCants

Remember Our Heroes

Army Cpl. Marquis J. McCants, 23, of San Antonio

Cpl McCants was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died May 18, 2007 in Baghdad of wounds sustained when his unit came in contact with enemy forces using an improvised explosive device and small-arms fire. Also killed was Sgt 1st Class Scott J. Brown.

CPL Marquis J. McCants, US Army entered into rest May 18, 2007 in Iraq at the age of 23. He was born August 4, 1983 in Abilene, Texas to Savage & Belinda (Robbins) McCants.

Survivors include his wife, Andrea McCants; children, Azaria and Micah McCants, and Deja Martinez; parents, Mr. & Mrs. Savage H. McCants; brothers Savage McCants III, Isaiah McCants; sisters Patrice Williams, Lisa Basch, and Brandi McCants; mother-in-law, Patricia Patten & husband Derrick; and a host of other relatives and friends.

Army Cpl. Marquis J. McCants was killed in action on 5/18/07.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Scott J. Brown

Remember Our Heroes

Army Sgt. 1st Class Scott J. Brown, 33, of Windsor, Colo.

SFC Brown was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died May 18, 2007 in Baghdad of wounds sustained when his unit came in contact with enemy forces using an improvised explosive device and small-arms fire. Also killed was Spc. Marquis J. McCants.

Colorado soldiers killed in Iraq
The Associated Press

WINDSOR, Colo. — Two Army sergeants from Colorado have died from combat injuries in Iraq, the military said Monday.

Sgt. 1st Class Scott J. Brown, 33, died Friday in Baghdad after his unit was hit with an improvised bomb and small-arms fire, the Defense Department said. The Army listed his hometown as Windsor.

Defense officials said Sgt. Ryan J. Baum, 27, died Friday in Karmah, Iraq, after his unit was shot at. Baum’s hometown was Aurora.

Baum was assigned 3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska.

Brown’s wife, Delilah Brown, lives in Fayetteville, N.C., outside Fort Bragg, his home post. She said he was on his third tour of duty in Iraq and had a passion for his job.

“Scott loved the Army. He loved his job,” she said. “He was just unbelievable.”

Brown had a son, Taylor, with high school sweetheart Kristen Leedom of New Berlin, Wis. Leedom said she and Taylor would miss Brown terribly.

“He was the kind of guy who lived on the edge,” Leedom said. “He was a fun guy, always down to earth.”

Brown had returned to the U.S. for a three-week break in December. When he left he told his wife not to expect him back until January 2008.

“All my prayers and thoughts were with him every morning, every night, every time I talked to him online or wrote him e-mails every day,” Delilah Brown said. “He was the backbone of my family. He was my life.”

Also killed in the incident was Spc. Marquis J. McCants, 23, of San Antonio.

Both were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg.

Brother of soldier killed in Iraq urges mourners to find hope
The Associated Press

BROOKFIELD, Wis. — The older brother of a soldier killed in Iraq earlier this month urged mourners at his funeral to find hope and love, not hate or anger, in the death.

“He was a man who would not have me feel hopeless, a man who did not know fear,” Michael Brown said May 29 of Army Sgt. 1st Class Scott Brown, 33, who was killed May 18 while on patrol in Baghdad when his unit was hit by an explosive and small-arms fire.

“On my best day I can hardly manage to be half the man my brother Scotty was,” Michael Brown added.

Scott Brown, a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division, was memorialized at Becker Ritter Funeral Home in Brookfield and Wood National Cemetery in Milwaukee.

The graduate of Brookfield Central High School joined the Army in 1998.

“He loved the challenge of the Army,” his sister, Debbi Hood, said. “Anything that he thought was hard to do and that people would say was impossible to do, he would make sure he got it done.”

He served tours in Kosovo, Kuwait and Iraq before meeting and marrying his wife, Delilah, his brother said. Scott Brown then was sent to Afghanistan and Iraq twice more.

Hood said that, despite her brother’s serious commitment to the military and his country, he was the family clown.

“He could take a serious room and make us all rolling on the floor in minutes,” she said. “He was a big kid.”

Army Sgt. 1st Class Scott J. Brown was killed in action on 5/18/07.

Marine Lance Cpl. Bob W. Roberts

Remember Our Heroes

Marine Lance Cpl. Bob W. Roberts, 30, of Newport, Ore.

LCpl Roberts was assigned to 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; killed May 17, 2004 by hostile fire near Fallujah,

Iraq.Oregon Marine killed in Iraq
Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. — A Marine from Oregon was killed by hostile fire in Iraq, the Defense Department said Tuesday.

Lance Cpl. Bob W. Roberts, 30, of Newport, died Monday in Al Anbar province.

He was assigned to the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, out of Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Roberts is the 19th service member with strong Oregon ties killed in the Iraq war.

Roberts’ mother, who would not give her first name, told KATU-TV that her son graduated from Portland’s Madison High School in 1992.

She said her son, the second youngest of five children, called late last week. She said that even though he had two years left in the Marines, he told her that he may re-enlist.

“He was the adventurous one of the family,” she said.

Roberts worked as a plumber in Newport before joining the Marines after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.

“It’s sad what happened,” Newport Mayor Mark Jones said Tuesday night. “The community is pretty tight, and we’re really saddened by the loss of any of our sons and daughters.”

Roberts was among more than 125 people from the Newport area serving in Iraq, Jones said.

Just on Monday, the city council accepted a flag flown in an Air Force jet over Iraq as a gift from the father-in-law of a pilot serving in the region, Jones said.

“We have a lot of kids in and out of there and we worry,” Jones said.

A memorial service has not been scheduled, but the family said Roberts will be buried at Willamette National Cemetery.

Marine Lance Cpl. Bob W. Roberts was killed in action on 5/17/04.

Air Force Staff Sgt. John T. Self

Remember Our Heroes

Air Force Staff Sgt. John T. Self, 29, of Pontotoc, Miss.

SSgt. Self was assigned to the 314th Security Forces Squadron, Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark.; died May 14, 2007 as result of enemy action near Baghdad.

Airman from Miss. dies in Iraq during 4th tour, his mother says

By Holbrook Mohr
The Associated Press

JACKSON, Miss. — An Air Force security officer, who was killed May 14 and became the second Mississippi soldier to die in Iraq in less than a week, had volunteered for his fourth tour because he wanted to serve his country, his mother said May 15.

Staff Sgt. John T. Self, 29, of Pontotoc, was killed May 14 by a roadside bomb in Baghdad, according to his mother, Jill Self.

The Department of Defense had not confirmed the information May 15. Its policy is to wait 24 hours after notification of next of kin.

“He had volunteered for this mission. He wanted to serve his country,” Jill Self told The Associated Press in a telephone interview May 15. “His commanding officer called this morning and said he was good airman and his unit from Arkansas called and said he had done his job.”

Self was a 1998 graduate of South Pontotoc High School, where he played trumpet in the marching band.

“He loved to deer hunt and fish and play computer games. He was a loving child. He was there for his family and friends,” Jill Self said. “I loved him very much and he’s going to be missed.”

Self joined the Air Force in 1999. He was in Iraq as part of a deployment out of Little Rock Air Force Base, his mother said.

Self is the second Mississippian killed in Iraq in a matter of days.

Army Sgt. Jason W. Vaughn, 29, of Iuka, died last May 10. Vaughn was also killed by a roadside bomb. The makeshift bombs, also known as improvised explosive devices, have taken a heavy toll on American forces in Iraq.

Vaughn was serving his second tour of duty in Iraq with the Stryker Brigade based in Fort Lewis, Wash., when he was killed. He was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.

The latest deaths bring to 55 the number of people from Mississippi or with strong ties to the state to die in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to an unofficial Associated Press count.

Airman remembered at Iraq memorial
Staff report

Airmen at Camp Liberty and Balad Air Base, Iraq, paid tribute Friday to Staff Sgt. John T. Self, a Security Forces airman killed May 14 in an improvised explosive device attack in Baghdad.

Self was on his 79th combat patrol as a fire team leader with Detachment 3,732 Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, when an IED tore apart his Humvee. Three other airmen were wounded in the attack.

His home unit was the 314th Security Forces Squadron at Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark. He joined the Air Force in 1998.

Det 3 is in charge of the mission to train Iraqi police in southern Baghdad, and the 29-year-old native of Pontotoc, Miss., had volunteered for a year-long deployment with the unit.

The 150 or so airmen with Det 3 go on missions outside the wire several times per week, and they face frequent IED and sniper attacks.

This was the third major attack on the unit during the past month, but it was their first death.

“We were fortunate to draw some of the best airmen and NCOs our career field has to offer for this mission,” Maj. David Harris, Det 3 commander, said in a statement. “They were willing to step out of their comfort zone and tackle challenges unknown to most of their peers. Sergeant Self was probably one of our most extreme cases of that ‘special type.’”

Self’s comrades remembered him as a brother, friend and leader.

“Even in this environment [of training Iraqis], Sergeant Self managed to keep his troops focused, motivated and proficient,” Harris said.

His legacy will live on with those he led in combat, mourners said.

“He could always find the humor in anything regardless of the situation,” said Senior Airman Daniel Hunsperger, a member of Self’s fire team. “He believed in everything he did. This was obvious to us after learning he had only spent two weeks home between his last deployment and volunteering for this one.”

Pontotoc airman buried
The Associated Press

PONTOTOC, Miss. — Hundreds of people filled a two-story church May 23 to pay their respects to fallen Air Force Staff Sgt. John Self, the fourth service member from this county to die since 2003.

Self, who was 29, was killed May 14 by an improvised explosive device while serving his fourth tour in Iraq.

“John was a good boy, a good boy who loved his country and who loved Christ and for that he’ll move on to a better place,” said Laron Self, the soldier’s grandfather, fighting back tears.

Self, a member of the 314th Squadron out of Little Rock, Ark., was known as a kindhearted patriot to many. When his flag-draped bier was carried into the church, many mourners were visibly shaken, according to the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal.

“This is it,” Julia Wash said as the casket was rolled to the sanctuary center. “He’s gone and not coming back. It’s hard to believe that a person his age could give so much for his country.”

People lined both sides of the highway for more than 5 miles waving flags as the hundred-car procession traveled to the burial.

Shouts of, “We love you John,” and “Thank you, John,” could be heard as the train of cars passed by.

“That’s a hero,” Susan Chambers said to her son, Jamison, as she pointed at Self’s casket.

Air Force Staff Sgt. John T. Self was killed in action on 5/14/07.

Army 1st Lt. Andrew J. Bacevich

Remember Our Heroes

Army 1st Lt. Andrew J. Bacevich, 27, of Walpole, Mass.

1st Lt. Bacevich was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died May 13, 2007 in Balad, Iraq, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit during combat patrol operations in Salah Ad Din Province, Iraq.

Son of professor who has been critical of war is killed in Iraq
The Associated Press

BOSTON — The son of a Boston University professor who has been a critic of the war was killed in Iraq, the Defense Department said May 14.

First Lt. Andrew J. Bacevich was the son of Andrew J. Bacevich, an international relations professor who has said that the U.S. is mired in a war it cannot win through military might alone.

“Our reckless flirtation with preventive war qualifies as not only wrong, but also stupid. Indeed, the Bush Doctrine poses a greater danger to the United States than do the perils it supposedly guards against,” the elder Bacevich, a West Point graduate and retired Army lieutenant colonel, wrote in an opinion article in The Boston Globe in March.

“We urgently need to abrogate that doctrine in favor of principles that reflect our true interests and our professed moral values,” he wrote. The Globe said he declined to comment May 14 on his son’s death.

Bacevich did not immediately return telephone messages to The Associated Press left at his home and office on May 14.

The younger Bacevich was killed May 13 when an improvised device exploded while he was on a combat patrol in Salah Ad Din Province, Iraq, according to the military.

Bacevich, 27, was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, at Fort Hood, Texas.

His sister, Jennifer Bacevich, 34, reached May 14 at the family’s home in Walpole, Mass., said her brother joined the Army after he wasn’t able to enroll in ROTC because of his asthma. When the military eased its restrictions, he went on to train to be an officer.

Despite his asthma, Jennifer said her brother was active and athletic.

“He was a guy who liked to run marathons,” she said. “He liked to be with his friends. He was a real funny guy. He liked to run. He liked to play soccer.”

Her brother was single at the time of his death, she said.

The elder Bacevich is the author of “The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War,” published in 2005.

In an article in “The American Conservative” magazine last September, he wrote:

“It’s past time to re-examine the post-Cold War assumption that military power provides the preferred antidote to any and all complaints that we have with the world beyond our borders.

“We must be strong and we must be vigilant. But we also need to be smart, and getting smart means ending our infatuation with war and rediscovering the possibilities of politics.”

Romney recalls former aide killed by IED in Iraq
The Associated Press

BOSTON — The war in Iraq hit home for Mitt Romney this week, after a former Statehouse staffer was killed by an improvised explosive device while serving in Iraq.

Army First Lt. Andrew J. Bacevich, 27, the son of a Boston University professor who has been a critic of the war, served as a legislative aide to then-Gov. Mitt Romney in 2004. Bacevich handled all bills sent to the governor’s desk for review and signature.

Romney, now a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, talked with Bacevich about his decision to enlist before he left the Statehouse.

“I got to know Andrew as a legislative aide in my office, and before he left we met and talked about his plans,” Romney said in a statement. “He was driven by a desire to serve, first as part of our team and then as a member of the military. His loss is a deep personal loss for me and for all of those who knew him.”

Bacevich was killed May 13 when an IED exploded while he was on a combat patrol in Salah Ad Din province, Iraq, according to the Defense Department. The soldier had been assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, at Fort Hood, Texas.

Bacevich was a 2003 graduate of Boston University, where his father, Andrew Bacevich, is an international relations professor. The elder Bacevich, a West Point graduate and veteran of the Vietnam and Gulf wars, has criticized Bush’s strategy and said the U.S. is mired in a war it cannot win through military might alone.

In a statement, Bacevich’s family remembered him as a man of humor and handsome looks who had overcome the challenges childhood asthma to be an Army officer and a marathon runner.

“Andy was a born leader who felt called to serve his country,” the statement said. “Our family will miss him dearly and forever.”

Soldier killed in Iraq to be buried in Walpole
The Associated Press

BOSTON — A Massachusetts soldier killed in Iraq will be buried near his family’s home in Walpole, instead of Arlington National Cemetery, to enable relatives to visit his grave more often, his father said May 18.

First Lt. Andrew Bacevich, 27, died May 13 of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit in Salah Ad Din province.

He will be buried in Maple Grove Cemetery in Norwood on May 21, following funeral services at St. Timothy Catholic Church, said James Delaney, director of the funeral home handling the final rites. A wake is scheduled for May 20, Delaney said.

Bacevich’s father, Andrew, said on WBUR-FM, a National Public Radio station in Boston, that the Iraq war is probably headed for a “dismal conclusion.” The elder Bacevich is a veteran of the Vietnam and Gulf wars and an outspoken critic of the current war.

“So our kinship is that he and I had a knack for picking the wrong war in which to serve,” said Bacevich, a Boston University professor.

Army 1st Lt. Andrew J. Bacevich was killed in action on 5/13/07.

Army Pfc. Joseph J. Anzack Jr.

Remember Our Heroes

Army Pfc. Joseph J. Anzack Jr., 20, of Torrance, Calif.

Pfc. Anzack was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.; was captured May 12, 2007 by enemy forces in Al Taqa, Iraq, when his unit was attacked by insurgents using automatic fire and explosives. His body was recently recovered in Iraq. The circumstances surrounding his capture and death remain under investigation.

SoCal family mourns soldier found dead in Iraq river
By Jeremiah Marquez
The Associated Press

TORRANCE, Calif. — In high school, Pfc. Joseph Anzack Jr. was surprisingly self-assured, knowing early what he wanted to do with his life: join the military.

“I just remember, as a sophomore or a junior in high school, he was set on it,” said Kyle Flynn, the soldier’s friend and football teammate at South High School. “’I’m ready to go,”’ Flynn recalled Anzack saying.

Now family and friends are mourning Anzack after receiving news May 23 that his body was found in the Euphrates River following an ambush in Iraq.

“They told us ‘We’re sorry to inform you the body we found has been identified as Joe,’ ” his aunt, Debbie Anzack, told The Associated Press while choking back tears. “I’m in disbelief.”

On May 24, the front steps of South High held a makeshift shrine of flowers, flags, candles, balloons and a sign that read: “We love & miss you Joe Anzack. You’re our HERO.”

Anzack, 20, was one of three soldiers who vanished after their combat team was ambushed May 12 about 20 miles outside Baghdad. Five others, including an Iraqi, were killed in the ambush, subsequently claimed by al-Qaida.

Anzack’s family had held out hope for the past 11 days. They had already endured an earlier rumor that he was dead — and were relieved to learn then that he was alive.

Flynn, his high school friend, said the two became fast friends on the football team. Anzack played nose guard, while Flynn was a defensive back.

“He was very positive. He was a guy you could look to and say ‘I’m OK. I’ve got Joe right there,’ ” Flynn said. “He was a man among boys when we were in high school. You don’t realize that until something like this happened.”

Anzack’s father told his hometown newspaper, The Daily Breeze, that several relatives gathered in his home for a vigil led by an Army chaplain after hearing the devastating news about his son.

“We said a prayer for the other two boys, then sat around and talked about Joseph,” said Joseph Anzack Sr., “just sharing the love of my son and why we all loved him.”

The soldier’s MySpace Web site was flooded with condolences.

Members of Anzack’s platoon choked back tears at news of his death and said they would not stop looking for the other two missing soldiers.

“We can’t leave them behind. I just hope that they have enough faith to keep them going. What they’re going through right now, I can’t imagine,” said Pfc. Sammy Rhodes, 25, of Albuquerque, N.M.

On May 24, thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops combed the fields of southern Iraq in scorching temperatures. The military said it remained determined to find Spc. Alex R. Jimenez, 25, of Lawrence, Mass.; and Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, 19, of Waterford, Mich.

Fouty’s step-grandmother, Mary Dibler of Oxford, Mich., said the family was heartened by people’s support but saddened by the news about Anzack.

“We’re just continuing the same as we have been, one day at a time,” Dibler said. “We continue to pray; that’s all we can do.”

A yellow ribbon was tied to the front door of Jimenez’s father’s home in the former mill city north of Boston. Ramon Jimenez, who speaks Spanish, said through a translator in a cell phone conversation that he has been buoyed by the support of friends and family.

“The hope is very high that God is going to give Alex back to him,” said Wendy Luzon, a family friend who translated the conversation and has been serving as a spokeswoman for the family.

Torrance students remember soldier killed in Iraq
By Jeremiah Marquez
The Associated Press

TORRANCE, Calif. — Schoolmates held a moment of silence May 24 at the high school where slain Pfc. Joseph Anzack Jr. was remembered as a gentle jock — a “pumped up” athlete who made his friends laugh and comforted them when they were sad.

Anzack, 20, should be honored for “his service to America and for representing South High and Torrance so proudly and so well,” Principal Scott McDowell told students in a second-period classroom announcement.

Anzack, an Army gunner, vanished with two other soldiers May 12 when their combat team was ambushed about 20 miles outside of Baghdad. The attack killed four other Americans and an Iraqi.

Anzack’s family, who a month ago heard false rumors of his death, were confronted with the reality May 23, when authorities identified a soldier’s body found floating earlier in the day in the Euphrates river. He had been shot in the head.

“They told us, ‘We’re sorry to inform you the body we found has been identified as Joe,’ ” his aunt, Debbie Anzack of Torrance, told The Associated Press while choking back tears. “I’m in disbelief.”

At South High, friends built a memorial of flowers, flags, candles and balloons on the front steps, where a sign read: “We love & miss you Joe Anzack. You’re our HERO.”

“I was in shock” at hearing of his death, said childhood friend Erika Esquivel, 20, of Torrance.

Just last month, Anzack sent her a MySpace Web site message wishing her a happy birthday, she said.

In high school, Anzack played football and was on the wrestling and swim teams. He was “always pumped up and ready to try something new,” Esquivel said.

Anzack was popular on campus for his sense of humor.

He was “the funniest person ever. He can make anyone laugh, I swear,” she said, fighting back tears.

He also had a reputation for compassion.

“Joe had a big heart. Joe would do anything to help anyone,” Esquivel said. “You’d be sad and sitting there by yourself, and he’d come up to you and just talk to you, and say, ‘Hey, how’s your day? Are you OK?’ ”

Anzack’s father told his hometown newspaper, The Daily Breeze, that several relatives gathered in his home for a vigil led by an Army chaplain after hearing the devastating news about his son.

“We said a prayer for the other two boys, then sat around and talked about Joseph,” said Joseph Anzack Sr., “just sharing the love of my son and why we all loved him.”

The soldier’s MySpace site was flooded with condolences.

Members of Anzack’s platoon choked back tears at news of his death and said they would not stop looking for the other two missing soldiers.

“We can’t leave them behind. I just hope that they have enough faith to keep them going. What they’re going through right now, I can’t imagine,” said Pfc. Sammy Rhodes, 25, of Albuquerque, N.M.

Thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops were searching in southern Iraq for the two soldiers. The military said it remained determined to find Spc. Alex R. Jimenez, 25, of Lawrence, Mass.; and Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, 19, of Waterford, Mich.

Fouty’s step-grandmother, Mary Dibler of Oxford, Mich., said the family was heartened by people’s support but saddened by the news about Anzack.

“We’re just continuing the same as we have been, one day at a time,” Dibler said. “We continue to pray; that’s all we can do.”

A yellow ribbon was tied to the front door of Jimenez’s father’s home in the former mill city north of Boston. Ramon Jimenez, who speaks Spanish, said through a translator in a cell phone conversation that he has been buoyed by the support of friends and family.

“The hope is very high that God is going to give Alex back to him,” said Wendy Luzon, a family friend who translated the conversation and has been serving as a spokeswoman for the family.

Horse-drawn carriage takes Torrance soldier’s body to service
By Daisy Nguyen
The Associated Press

TORRANCE, Calif. — The body of an abducted U.S. soldier found dead in an Iraq river last week was taken by horse-drawn carriage June 1 to the football field of his former high school for a memorial service that drew a hometown throng.

Traffic stopped and residents clustered on sidewalks as a white horse pulled the carriage with the flag-draped casket bearing the remains of Army Cpl. Joe Anzack, 20, through town to the field where members of the South High football team lined the route wearing green jerseys and holding American flags.

“Joe: Forever in our hearts,” said a sign in front of the school, where people placed flowers, candles and balloons.

Anzack vanished with two other soldiers May 12 when their combat team was ambushed about 20 miles outside Baghdad. The attack, subsequently claimed by al-Qaida, killed four other Americans and an Iraqi. Two soldiers remain missing.

Dozens of war veterans in a motorcycle group called the Patriot Guard Riders participated in the procession that began at a funeral home in the Los Angeles suburb.

Some mourners said they didn’t know Anzack but felt compelled to attend.

“I just want to pay my respects,” said Michaela Sears, 22, a South High graduate who came up from California State University, Long Beach, for the service. “This is an unbelievable event. I’ve seen so many people coming here to mourn him. He deserves it.”

Joan Adams, 72, said she has lived in Torrance for 40 years and a daughter is a friend of Anzack’s father.

“Everyone in town has been talking about his death this week. It feels right to come here to pay respects to him,” Adams said.

Lisa Viscovich, 52, arrived in black with a big bouquet of flowers and cried as she spoke about her feelings.

“This is a close-knit community. It’s so sad,” she said.

Edward Carrillo, a Marine veteran of the Vietnam War and one of the Patriot Guard Riders, said he rode in from Rialto “to express my condolences to a brother in arms.” Carrillo said he has a son on a second tour of duty in Iraq and another son who served in Afghanistan.

Anzack will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Va. He was promoted from private first class to corporal after his death.

Army Pfc. Joseph J. Anzack Jr. was killed in action on 5/12/07.

Army Pfc. Christopher E. Murphy

Remember Our Heroes

Army Pfc. Christopher E. Murphy, 21, of Lynchburg, Va.

Pfc. Murphy was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.; died May 12 in Al Taqa, Iraq, of wounds sustained when his patrol was attacked by enemy forces using automatic fire and explosives. Also killed were Sgt. 1st Class James D. Connell Jr. and Pfc. Daniel W. Courneya.

Final Rites for a 'Humble Kid'
Lynchburg Area Soldier Among Five Killed in Iraq May 12, 2007

By Mark Berman
Washington Post Staff Writer

A day after crowds visited Arlington National Cemetery to honor the nation's war dead on Memorial Day, family and friends of Pfc. Christopher E. Murphy gathered there to see him laid to rest.

Murphy, 21, of the rural Gladys area of Campbell County, Va., near Lynchburg, died May 12 in Al Taqa, Iraq, from wounds suffered when his unit's patrol was attacked by enemy forces using automatic weapons and explosives. The attack killed three other U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter; two soldiers are missing and believed to have been captured.

Yesterday, more than 50 mourners paid their respects to Murphy, standing at attention in their civilian and military best under a blazing afternoon sun. Murphy was the 340th member of the military killed in Iraq to be buried at Arlington.

Murphy's mother, Rosemary M. Balian, sat at the front of the group and was presented with a folded American flag by Maj. Gen. Michael Oates, commander of the 10th Mountain Division. She looked to the sky as a bugler began to play taps, wiping tears from her eyes with her right hand and clutching the flag with her left.

"I'm going to always remember him for the depth of love he had for the people around him," Murphy's sister, Shawna Murphy, said at a memorial service Sunday, according to the News Advance of Lynchburg. "Christopher was more generous of a heart than anyone had a right to be."

Murphy graduated in 2004 from William Campbell High School in Campbell County. Three years later, his memorial service was held in the school's gymnasium. Murphy was awarded several medals, including the Bronze Star and Purple Heart, which were presented to his mother and his father, Daryl Balian, at the service.

Murphy had played football for the William Campbell Generals, and the school plans to retire his No. 75 jersey, according to the News Advance.

"He was just one of those kids everyone enjoyed being around," James Rinella, the school's assistant principal, told The Washington Post this month. "A very hardworking kid, a very humble kid."

Murphy's coaches recalled a guy who couldn't see 10 feet in front of him without his glasses but who worked as hard as anyone and made his plays. The high school's Web site now carries an image of a bespectacled Murphy, in tribute.

Although Murphy was raised in Virginia, he was born in Massachusetts, on Cape Cod. He spent his last leave in February visiting family there. According to the Cape Cod Times, Murphy planned to make the Army his career, though he wasn't keen on returning to Iraq, family members said.

The other soldiers killed in the May 12 attack were Sgt. 1st Class James Connell Jr., 40, of Lake City, Tenn.; Pfc. Daniel Courneya, 19, of Nashville, Mich.; and Sgt. Anthony Schober, 23, of Reno, Nev.

The men were assigned to the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, based at Fort Drum, N.Y.

Army Pfc. Christopher E. Murphy was killed in action on 5/12/07.

Army Sgt. 1st Class James D. Connell Jr.

Remember Our Heroes

Army Sgt. 1st Class James D. Connell Jr., 40, of Lake City, Tenn.

SFC Connell was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.; died May 12, 2007 in Al Taqa, Iraq, of wounds sustained when his patrol was attacked by enemy forces using automatic fire and explosives. Also killed were Pfc. Daniel W. Courneya and Pfc. Christopher E. Murphy

Lake City native dies when patrol attacked in Iraq

The Associated Press

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The family of Army Sgt. First Class James David Connell Jr. in Lake City said members have been told Connell died when his patrol came under attack in Iraq.

Connell’s family learned of his death May 12. They said Connell, 40, was one of five killed in the attack near Mahmudiyah, Iraq. Three other soldiers are believed to have been kidnapped.

“He’s just a real good son,” said his father, James Connell Sr. “Everybody loved him.”

Connell was with the Army’s 10th Mountain Division.

The Defense Department had not by Monday morning confirmed the identities of four soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter killed in the attack.

Army Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell confirmed the other soldiers in the patrol were missing. An al-Qaida group claims to have taken them.

Connell had just recovered from a shrapnel wound to the leg when he saw his family on leave earlier this month. While home he visited the classes of two of his children — Bryan, 12, and Courtney, 14.

Connell took Bryan, Courtney and his eldest son, 16-year-old Nick, out of school for a day each to spend time with them, Courtney said.

The family gathered May 13 at the home where Connell grew up to look at photos taken during his last visit home.

Nick said his father lived in a village in Iraq two weeks at a time and patrolled two weeks at a time but couldn’t talk about exactly where he was.

“He said it was hard,” Courtney said.

The family is planning a memorial service at the Hatmaker Funeral Home in Lake City. The date hasn’t been set.

Connell will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery, according to his brother, Jeff Connell.

Army Sgt. 1st Class James D. Connell Jr. was killed in action on 5/12/07.

Army Pfc. Daniel W. Courneya

Remember Our Heroes

Army Pfc. Daniel W. Courneya, 19, of Nashville, Mich.

Pfc. Courneya was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.; died May 12, 2007 in Al Taqa, Iraq, of wounds sustained when his patrol was attacked by enemy forces using automatic fire and explosives. Also killed were Sgt. 1st Class James D. Connell Jr. and Pfc. Christopher E. Murphy.

Michigan soldier killed in weekend ambush in Iraq
The Associated Press

VERMONTVILLE, Mich. — Students at Maple Valley High School are remembering slain Army Pfc. Daniel Courneya in their own, personal way this week.

They are putting together a memorial for the former student killed May 12 with three other soldiers in an ambush in Iraq.

“It’s a tribute of photos, posters, plaques and a picture of him in his uniform,” school special education and discipline secretary Kelly Zank told The Associated Press on May 15.

Grief counselors are meeting with students this week. The school’s flag also is flying at half-staff and will stay that way through any local services for the 19-year-old who graduated in 2005, Zank said.

His death was announced May 14 over the school’s public address system, and a moment of silence was observed, she said.

Courneya was well-known in the small community southwest of Lansing. He was a member of the school’s track and soccer teams and played clarinet in the band.

He was part of a U.S. convoy attacked before dawn on May 12 south of Baghdad. Besides the four Americans killed, an Iraqi soldier also was slain.

Three other American soldiers are missing and feared captured by al-Qaida. U.S. troops have questioned hundreds of people and detained 11 in the search for them, the military said May 15.

Wendy Thompson, Courneya’s mother, said his wife, Jennifer, called family members the night of May 12 to tell them he had been killed, The Grand Rapids Press reported.

Thompson, 38, said her husband, Army Spc. David Thompson, was returning from Iraq after learning of his stepson’s death.

Army Pfc. Daniel W. Courneya was killed in action on 5/12/07.