IN MEMORIAM.......These BRAVE Men and Women died.......FOR US

[Big Dude]

Army Staff Sgt. Richard S. Eaton Jr.

8-12-2003

Army Staff Sgt. Richard S. Eaton Jr., 37, of Guilford, Conn.; assigned to the 323rd Military Intelligence Battalion, Army Reserve, based at Fort Meade, Md.; died Aug. 12 in Ramadi, Iraq. A fellow soldier tried to wake Eaton and noticed he was not breathing.

Here is a story about Richard:

Soldier who survived 9-11 strike at Pentagon dies of edema in Iraq, father says

Associated Press


GUILFORD, Conn. — A Connecticut soldier who died in Iraq this week is being remembered as a natural leader who knew at an early age that he wanted a career in the military.
Army Staff Sgt. Richard S. Eaton Jr., 37, a counterintelligence officer, died in his sleep Aug. 12, his father, Richard S. Eaton, said the following day.

“He loved the military. He loved this country, and this was his life and in many respects, his identity,” the elder Eaton said.

The family has few details about the death, he said, and they do not know whether he died from a strain of pneumonia that has killed other servicemen.

Maj. Bill Adams, the region’s casualty assistance officer, said the cause of death remains under investigation but is thought to be a pulmonary edema.

His death came nearly two years after a hijacked airplane crashed into his office at the Pentagon in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He was not working at the Pentagon at the time because his office was being renovated, his father said.

The elder Eaton, a spokesman for the University of New Haven, said his son was working for the Department of Defense as a civilian at the time of the terrorist attacks.

Eaton was in the Army Reserves and deployed to Iraq in March with the Fort Meade, Md.-based 323rd Military Intelligence Battalion, said his mother, Sharon Noble Eaton.

Eaton, who went by the nickname “Rick”, was not married and had no siblings.

“Thirty-seven years with Rick is the glass half-full,” his mother said. “He was one hell of an interesting kid. It was like having 10 kids.”

Eaton grew up listening to stories about family members who served in the armed forces.

A portrait of Civil War Gen. Amos Eaton, with a stern face and bushy beard, hangs over the family fireplace along with his Civil War sword.

Another ancestor was William Eaton, who helped to reinstate the deposed leader of Tripoli and rescue American captives in the early 1800s.

The story of William Eaton is being made into a movie called “Tripoli” and starring Russell Crowe. The elder Eaton said he had looked forward to seeing it with his son.

“I was thinking of writing to the movie people and asking if they would invite my son to the premiere, since he spent his life admiring his ancestor,” the elder Eaton said.

Both of Eaton’s grandfathers were veterans who loved to tell the boy stories of their service. One was in the cavalry in World War I; the other was a pilot in World War II.

From a young age Eaton was a leader among his peers, his parents recalled. A preschool teacher once wrote that the boy was very bright but was inclined to be bossy with his classmates.

At age 6, when the family hired an artist to cut a paper silhouette of the boy, he insisted on wearing a World War II field cap.

Eaton’s teenage friends called him “GI Joe,” his father said.

As a high school student Eaton had his heart set on joining the Army, but took a car trip to more than a dozen college campuses to please his parents and talked about majoring in botany or engineering.

After the trip his father told him he had to make his own decision. The young man went to the local recruiting office and brought a recruiter home to meet his parents.

“He said, ‘He’s old enough to enlist himself at 18, but he really wants your approval,”’ the elder Eaton said. “Then he explained that they could give him the best work that the military had to offer.”

The younger Eaton was offered a place at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., but declined because he believed “real soldiering” was done in the field, his father said.

He spent 10 years in South Korea and had appointments in Honduras, Panama and El Salvador.

Trained to be secretive about the details of his work, the younger Eaton was not someone who talked about his accomplishments, his father said. He never wore his uniform at home and never displayed his awards, the elder Eaton said.

“The person we know and the military person are, in a way, two different people because the requirements of the job were such that people didn’t know what he did,” he said.

Eaton’s mother said he was a history buff who loved to read and played soccer. He coached a children’s soccer team while stationed in Honduras, the family said.

Eaton “epitomized the American tradition of the citizen-soldier,” Gov. John G. Rowland said in a written statement. Rowland ordered all state flags lowered to half-staff through sundown on the day of Eaton’s interment. Funeral arrangements have not been determined.

Guilford First Selectman Carl A. Balestracci, a retired teacher, said he taught American history to the younger Eaton.

The first selectman said Guilford, on the Connecticut coast near New Haven, is “standing by as a community.”

“We will do what the family would like us to do,” Balestracci said. “The VFW and the American Legion are standing by.”

State Sen. William Aniskovich, R-Branford, has known the Eaton family for many years. The elder Eaton held the Senate seat between 1984 and 1986.

“He was a young man who was dedicated to his country,” Aniskovich said. “He was always gung-ho about his participation in the Army and very serious and committed to what he was doing.”

Adam

 

[Big Dude]

Army Pfc. Daniel R. Parker

8-12-2003

Army Pfc. Daniel R. Parker, 18, of Lake Elsinore, Calif.; assigned to B Battery, 2nd Battalion, 44th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.; killed when he was thrown from a military vehicle as the driver swerved to avoid an oncoming vehicle Aug. 12 in Mosul, Iraq.

Here is a story about Daniel:

Soldier from Lake Elsinore killed in Iraq vehicle crash

Associated Press


LAKE ELSINORE, Calif. — Pfc. Daniel Parker followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather when he enlisted in the Army last year, believing that military service was not just a family tradition but a public obligation.
“He was proud to be in the Army and proud to be serving his country,” his heartbroken father, Billy Parker, told The Associated Press by phone Wednesday night.

The 18-year-old soldier died in the Iraqi city of Mosul on Aug. 12 after being thrown from his vehicle when the driver swerved to avoid an oncoming vehicle, the Defense Department said. Additional details about his death were not immediately available.

Gov. Gray Davis immediately ordered that flags be flown at half-staff over the state Capitol through Saturday.

“As Californians, and as Americans, we are eternally grateful for his sacrifice,” Davis said in a statement.

Parker was sent to the region in March with the 101st Airborne Division. He served with the 44th Air Defense Artillery Regiment.

He had long dreamed of joining the Army, said his father, who choked back tears.

He was an active member of ROTC in high school in Lake Elsinore, some 60 miles east of Los Angeles, and had joined the military at age 17. Two weeks after his high school graduation, he left for the Army.

Parker, who is survived by three younger brothers and a younger sister, had also been active in church youth programs and had coached and refereed hockey.

“He had strength of character,” said Billy Parker. “He believed dedication and hard work equals success.”

He was also someone who would stand up for his convictions, his father recalled.

When he saw people in Iraq tear down a statue of Saddam Hussein shortly after U.S. forces arrived in the country, his father said, he told his parents he felt a long-oppressed people were getting their lives back.

“He believed he was doing the right thing and had a just cause.”

Looking at his own life, Parker had hoped to eventually become an Army Ranger.

“Whatever his mission was on Earth he completed it,” his father said.

Adam

 

[Big Dude]

Army Sgt. Taft V. Williams

8-12-2003

Army Sgt. Taft V. Williams, 29, of New Orleans; assigned to the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colo.; killed when his vehicle hit an improvised explosive device on Aug. 12 near Ramadi, Iraq.

Here is a story about Taft:

‘He was everything’ — latest Fort Carson casualty remembered

Associated Press


FORT CARSON, Colo. — Friends and family members gathered Tuesday to remember Staff Sgt. Taft Williams, a Fort Carson mechanic who became the 14th soldier from the post to die in Iraq.
First Sgt. Kenneth Zimcosky said he had no problem relying on Williams to run the Maintenance Troop, Support Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment.

“He was everything anyone would every want in a soldier,” Zimcosky said following the memorial.

Williams, 29, of New Orleans, died Aug. 12 when the convoy he was riding in to pick up parts in Baghdad was attacked. He was promoted to staff sergeant posthumously.

His wife, Ethelmay, is a soldier in 3rd Brigade Combat Team, also deployed to Iraq. The couple has a 15-month-old son, Jason.

The tribute to Williams included the same chilling symbols as other ceremonies at this post near Colorado Springs. The soldier’s boots, rifle, dog tags and helmet were placed at the front of Soldier’s Memorial Chapel. Bagpipers played “Amazing Grace,” soldiers fired a three-shot volley and, finally, a trumpeter played “Taps.”

Williams enlisted in fall 1993 and became a generator mechanic. He was stationed in Bosnia, and his first term with the 3rd Armored Regiment was in 1997. He returned last September.

Williams loved to talk about Cajun food, friends said, and his other passions included cars, racing, basketball and computers.

Spc. Keenan Beacham, who served with Williams for six years, remembered playfully wrestling with him and talking about cars.

“His smile and laugh kept many of us going,” Beacham said. “He was a great friend of mine, a person I would take as a brother any day.”

Adam

 

[Big Dude]

Army Sgt. Steven W. White

8-13-2003

Army Sgt. Steven W. White, 29, of Lawton, Okla.; assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 4th Battalion, 42nd Field Artillery Regiment, based at Fort Hood, Texas; killed when his M113 armored personnel carrier hit an antitank mine on Aug. 13 in Tikrit, Iraq.

Here is a story about Steven:

East Texas soldier killed in Iraq mine explosion

Associated Press


FRUITVALE, Texas — A soldier from this East Texas town was killed this week in a land mine explosion in Iraq, military officials said.
Sgt. Steven Wayne White, a 29-year-old mechanic, died and another soldier suffered severe burns Aug. 13 when their armored troop carrier hit an anti-tank mine just outside Tikrit, Saddam Hussein’s hometown.

White’s family was notified of his death later that night. At least 60 Americans have been killed in Iraq since May 1, when President Bush declared major combat operations over.

“He would always want to come home and visit with classmates and see his family,” his wife, Laniece, told the Tyler Morning Telegraph for Aug. 15 editions. “He was a simple man. It didn’t take much to please him.”

White, a Fruitvale High School graduate, was a nine-year Army veteran assigned to the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Hood. He re-enlisted in February for six more years and had been in Iraq for about four months.

The 4th Infantry Division is headquartered in Tikrit at what had been one of Saddam’s main palaces.

Military officials say White and the burned soldier were traveling as part of a four-vehicle convoy when it struck the mine. Other details were not made public.

“Every time somebody mentions it, it starts to make me cry,” Charles White, the soldier’s father, told KLTV-TV. “I just broke down. It hit me hard.”

Laniece White said her husband’s body would be flown first to Maryland and then to Texas.

“It’s something that I did try to prepare myself for,” she said. “We did discuss funeral arrangements and things of that nature before he left because we knew what the possibilities were.”

In addition to his wife, White is survived by four children ranging in age from 12 years to 16 months.

Fruitvale is about 60 miles east of Dallas and home to about 430 residents.

Adam

 

[Big Dude]

Army Pfc. David M. Kirchhoff

8-14-2003

Army Pfc. David M. Kirchhoff, 31, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; assigned to the 2133rd Transportation Company, Army National Guard, Centerville, Iowa; died Aug. 14 in Landstuhl, Germany, of a non-hostile injury he received Aug. 8.

Here is a story about David:

Iowa soldier dies in Iraq

Associated Press


DES MOINES, Iowa — A member of the Iowa Army National Guard from northeast Iowa died in Germany after suffering a heat stroke in Iraq, where temperatures had reached 125 to 130 degrees, Guard Spokesman Col. Robert King said.
Pfc. David Kirchhoff, 31, of Anamosa, Iowa, suffered the heat stroke Aug. 8 and slipped into a coma while he was being evacuated to a hospital in Germany. He had been kept on a life-support system.

Kirchhoff died Aug. 14 with his wife, Brooke, his brother and Brooke’s father at his side at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, King said.

Nancy Kirchhoff, of Cedar Rapids, a retired teacher, last talked to her son Aug. 2 during a three-way phone call with his wife.

Nancy Kirchhoff told her son that she and his father, Larry Kirchhoff, a Rockwell-Collins engineer who works out of the Eastern Iowa Airport, were planning a trip to Colorado.

“He (David) said, ‘I’m going to fire my travel agent — it’s way too hot where I am,”’ Nancy Kirchhoff said.

The Kirchhoffs said their son had a subtle sense of humor.

“He would lead you on for a while and then you’d realize,” Larry Kirchhoff said.

The Kirchhoffs were on Pike’s Peak in Colorado on Aug. 11 when they received a relative’s cellular phone message about their son’s illness.

“They didn’t give us any hope,” Nancy Kirchhoff said of her son’s prognosis.

The Kirchhoffs said with a two-day drive ahead of them, they agreed it was best for Brooke to fly to Germany with her father to say goodbye to her husband. The couple had married April 19.

David Kirchhoff was adopted by the Kirchhoffs at age 3; his biological brother, Michael Cecil of Louisville, Ky., also made the trip.

“Brooke wanted to go over there, and he did survive until she got there,” Nancy Kirchhoff said.

Brooke Kirchhoff was to return from Germany Friday, her in-laws said.

“He was a very brave young man serving his country and he died serving what he loved,” his father said. “His mother and I and our family are very proud of him.”

Kirchhoff was a truck driver with the Iowa Guard’s 2168th Transportation Company headquartered in Cedar Rapids. His platoon was mobilized on Feb. 24 and assigned to the 2133rd Transportation Company of Centerville and Muscatine. The unit has been in Iraq supporting the 4th Infantry Division.

He graduated from Metro High School in Cedar Rapids in June 1992. He enlisted in the Iowa Army National Guard on April 22, 2002. He worked for Linn Star Transfer in Cedar Rapids.

Besides his wife, brother and parents, Kirchhoff is survived by two sons, 12 and 11, and two sisters.

Kirchhoff was the first member of the Iowa National Guard to die on active federal duty since the Vietnam War, King said.

Adam

 

[Big Dude]

Army Spc. Craig S. Ivory (picture not available)

8-17-2003

Army Spc. Craig S. Ivory, 26, of Port Matilda, Pa.; assigned to the 501st Forward Support Company, 173rd Airborne Brigade, Southern European Task Force, Vicenza, Italy; died of a non-combat-related cause Aug. 17 in Homberg University Hospital, Germany. Ivory had been medically evacuated from Kuwait on Aug. 12.

Here is a story about Craig:

Pentagon announces the death of Pennsylvania soldier

Associated Press


A soldier from Pennsylvania stationed in Kuwait died from a non-combat injury in August, the Pentagon said Sept. 17.
Spc. Craig Ivory, 26, of Port Matilda, Pa., died Aug. 17 in a hospital in Germany. He was assigned to the 501st Forward Support Company, 173rd Airborne Brigade, Southern European Task Force, based in Vicenza, Italy.

No reason for the delay in the official announcement of the soldier’s death was given.

Adam

 

[Big Dude]

Army Spc. Eric R. Hull

8-18-2003

Army Spc. Eric R. Hull, 23, of Uniontown, Pa.; assigned to the 307th Military Police Company, U.S. Army Reserve, New Kensington, Pa.; killed when a military vehicle he was riding in hit an improvised explosive device Aug. 18 in Baghdad.

Here is a story about Eric:

Family: Pa. soldier killed by land mine in Iraq

Associated Press


PITTSBURGH — An Army Reserve cook from western Pennsylvania was killed by a land mine while hauling supplies in Iraq, his mother said Aug. 19.
Spc. Eric R. Hull, 23, a married father of two young children from Uniontown, was a member of the 99th Regional Support Command’s 307th Military Police Company out of New Kensington, said his mother, Deborah Hull.

Military personnel visited the home of Hull’s mother and father Aug. 18, but did not provide many details of his death, family members said.

But a fellow reservist who was a passenger in the vehicle Eric Hull was driving at the time of the explosion said the two were returning to Baghdad with supplies Monday when the vehicle drove over the mine, Deborah Hull said.

A 1998 graduate from Uniontown Area High School, Eric Hull was married to Missy Hull, 24, for almost five years. The couple had two children — Mia Nicole, who will be 3 in September, and 1-year-old Dominic.

Workers recently completed work on the couple’s new home and Deborah Hull said her son never got to see it.

“He always had a grin on his face. He was such a happy-go-lucky person. The only thing he wanted to do was be at home with his children and his wife; he loved her from the moment he laid eyes on her,” Deborah Hull said.

Eric Hull worked at numerous restaurants in the Fayette County area and, most recently, he worked as a chef at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort and Spa.

Before he and other reservists were called to their mobilization site at Fort Dix, N.J., Eric Hull had graduated from the Westmoreland County Community College and was lining up a job to lead a school cafeteria kitchen, Deborah Hull said.

Her son played several defensive positions for his high school football team, as a child collected He-Man action figures and baseball cards, and was an Eagle Scout, Deborah Hull said.

Eric Hull’s true talent, however, was in the kitchen. While his 19-year-old sister, Ashley, who is stationed in Germany with the Army, loved to help their father in his garage, Eric Hull liked to follow his mother, aunts and grandmother around in the kitchen. Sometimes, he would surprise his family with fresh-baked whole wheat bread, his mother said.

“He made the best Alfredo you’ll ever taste,” she said.

Adam

 

[Big Dude]

Army Spc. Kenneth W. Harris Jr. (no picture available)

8-20-2003

Army Spc. Kenneth W. Harris Jr., 23, of Charlotte, Tenn.; assigned to the 212th Transportation Company, Army Reserve, Chattanooga, Tenn.; killed in two-vehicle accident Aug. 20 on the main supply route near Scania, Iraq.

The last time Spc. Kenneth W. Harris Jr. talked to his twin brother, he seemed more concerned about folks back home than about himself.

“I can’t even explain it. I just talked to him last weekend,” Nathan Harris said. “He didn’t even think about himself. He just wanted to know that everybody (at home) is OK.” The 23-year-old Harris was driving on a supply route when he was fatally injured in a traffic accident in Scania, Iraq, on Aug. 20.

Here is a story about Kenneth:

Army reservist from Middle Tennessee dies in Iraq

Associated Press


An Army reservist from Charlotte, Tenn., was killed while serving in Iraq, the U.S. Department of Defense announced Aug. 21.
Spc. Kenneth W. Harris Jr., 23, was driving on a supply route Aug. 20 when he was involved in a two-vehicle accident that fatally injured him, the Army said. Another soldier was injured.

The accident, which happened in Scania, Iraq, is being investigated.

Harris was assigned to the 212th Transportation Company, based in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Harris’s father, Kenneth W. Harris Sr., of Cumberland Furnace, Tenn., said he did not want to comment on his son’s death.

“We’re still just gathering information,” he told The Tennessean newspaper.

His mother said she had no comment.

Mike Miller taught Harris and his twin brother, Nathan, computer-assisted drawing at Dickson High School. He recalled Harris as “very likable person.”

“He was one of those that did everything you asked,” Miller said.

Nathan Harris said he was devastated by the news of his brother’s death.

“I can’t even explain it. I just talked to him last weekend,” he told WZTV of Nashville on Thursday. “He didn’t even think about himself. He just wanted to know that everybody (at home) was OK.”

Charlotte is 32 miles west of Nashville.

Adam

 

[Big Dude]

Army Staff Sgt. Bobby C. Franklin

8-20-2003

Army Staff Sgt. Bobby C. Franklin, 38, of Mineral Bluff, Ga.; assigned to the 210th Military Police Company, Army National Guard, Murphy N.C.; killed by an improvised explosive device Aug. 20 in Baghdad, Iraq.

Here is a story about Bobby:

N.C. Guard soldier killed was prison worker at home


Associated Press
Family members of a North Carolina National Guard soldier who died in Iraq said they knew something was wrong even before the military came to their door to give them the bad news.

Staff Sgt. Bobby Franklin, 38, a member of the 210th Military Police Company based in Murphy, was killed Aug. 20 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle, according to the military.

Franklin’s death marks the first time in more than three decades that the North Carolina National Guard has lost a soldier to hostile fire, guard officials said.

Two other soldiers with Franklin were injured. By the night of Aug. 20, Franklin’s family knew something was wrong.

“The other two guys that were always with him had already called in and checked with their wives,” said Tim Nicholson, Franklin’s brother-in-law. Franklin’s wife, Brenda, didn’t receive a call.

By the morning of the 21st, soldiers had arrived in Mineral Bluff, Ga., the town just across the border where the Franklins lived to tell Brenda what happened.

When not in the guard, Franklin worked at the Carlton Colwell Probation and Detention Center in Blairsville, Ga. He supervised inmates working on construction projects in the community.

When the reservist was called up, his co-workers made sure he periodically received care packages filled with comforts from home.

Family members tried to talk the longtime reservist into calling it quits last year as the nation’s war of words with Iraq increased.

“He was within a year of retirement,” Nicholson said. “That’s why he went back this time.”

More than 1,300 North Carolina Guardsmen are on active duty, many overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan. Soldiers in his unit are trying to make sense of what happened to Franklin, a father of two children.

“Their morale is low,” said Kim Johnson, the family coordinator for the 210th. “They feel guilty they’re not home to give Bobby the burial he deserves. It’s hard for them to focus on their mission.”

Adam

 

[Big Dude]

Army Pfc. Michael S. Adams

8-21-2003

Army Pfc. Michael S. Adams, 20, of Spartanburg, S.C.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 35th Armor Regiment, 1st Armored Division, Baumholder, Germany; died on Aug. 21 in Baghdad, Iraq. Adams was participating in a small-arms-fire exercise on the range when a bullet ricocheted and ignited a fire in the building. He died as a result of injuries sustained during the fire.


Although they were eight years apart, Michael and Matt Adams were always close. After the younger Michael went into the Army — and following the Sept. 11 attacks — his older brother decided to join, too.

“Michael loved it, and that’s why I do,” said the 28-year-old Matt Adams, who is stationed in Korea.

Pfc. Michael Scott Adams, 20, died Aug. 21 from smoke inhalation when a fire erupted in a building during a training exercise in Iraq.

Adams, of Spartansburg, S.C., was stationed in Germany. Adams joined the Army in 2001 after graduation from high school.

“Michael was an unassuming fellow with a wonderful big, big, smile,” said Gloria Close, Adams’ guidance counselor. “He gave his best at every thing he did.” Adams is also survived by his parents and a sister.

Here is a story about Michael:

Spartanburg soldier dies in training accident in Iraq

Associated Press


SPARTANBURG, S.C. — An Upstate soldier has been killed in a fire at a shooting range in Iraq, his father says.
Army Pfc. Michael Scott Adams, 20, died Aug. 21 from smoke inhalation during a training exercise in Baghdad, his father, Richard Adams said.

“He couldn’t get out of the building,” Richard Adams said.

Michael Adams was assigned to the 1st Armored Division in Baumholder, Germany, and was an armor crewman on a tank.

He seemed destined for a military career. His brother, Matt, is a second lieutenant stationed in Korea, and his father earned a Purple Heart in Vietnam.

“It was what he said he wanted to do,” Richard Adams said. “He was really making us proud.”

Michael Adams graduated in 2001 from Dorman High School.

“Michael was an unassuming fellow with a wonderful big, big, smile,” said Gloria Close, Adams’ middle and high school guidance counselor. “He gave his best at every thing he did.”

Michael Adams is the second member of the military from Spartanburg County to die in Iraq. Marine Pvt. Nolen Ryan Hutchings of Boiling Springs was killed in a friendly fire incident March 23.

Adam

 

[Big Dude]

Navy Lt. Kylan A. Jones-Huffman

8-21-2003

Navy Lt. Kylan A. Jones-Huffman, 31, of Aptos, Calif.; on temporary duty with the I Marine Expeditionary Force; killed Aug. 21 in Hillah, Iraq, by an unidentified gunman.

Here is a story about Kylan:

College Park, Md., Naval officer killed in Iraq

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — From an early age, Lt. Kylan Jones-Huffman showed what would be a lifelong talent for languages.

He learned his mother’s native German and English and could switch back and forth with ease when he was with his American and German grandparents.

“When he started talking, he was speaking both, and he knew who to speak English to and who he should speak German to,” his father, James Huffman, said Aug. 23 from the family’s home in Pagona Springs, Colo.

That natural ability with languages — he eventually learned French, Farsi and Arabic as well — combined with a voracious intellectual curiosity about the Middle East landed Jones-Huffman, 31, a spot with Naval Intelligence in Bahrain before the war in Iraq.

He was on a one-week trip to Hillah, Iraq, to brief the new civil administration when the SUV he was riding in came under fire from a lone gunman. Jones-Huffman was shot and killed, according to a military spokesman in Baghdad. The gunmen fled into a crowded market.

By Aug. 21, there had been 179 U.S. combat deaths in Iraq, 32 more than in the first Gulf War. Sixty-five soldiers have been killed since President Bush declared an end to formal combat on May 1.

Jones-Huffman lived with his wife, Heidi — his high school sweetheart — on a narrow College Park street near the University of Maryland campus. A man who answered the door Aug. 23 said Heidi didn’t want to comment on her husband’s death.

Jones-Huffman spent much of his childhood in Aptos, Calif., a suburb of Santa Cruz. He and his two siblings studied martial arts, and Jones-Huffman eventually reached the highest level of brown belt.

He surprised his parents when he announced plans to go the Naval Academy, his father said. At Annapolis, he raced through his studies, finishing the graduation requirements halfway through his senior year.

He started a master’s program in history at the University of Maryland even before his 1994 graduation from the academy. He taught history courses at the academy from August 1999 to June 2001, said Naval Academy spokesman Cmdr. Rod Gibbons.

Before his reserve unit from the Baltimore Naval Reserve Center was called up, he had planned to go back to get a doctorate in Turkish studies at George Washington University. Eventually, he wanted to become a professor.

Jones-Huffman often turned to haiku as an outlet “to counter the intellectual and artistic vacuum of the average Navy wardroom,” according to a 2001 poetry reading biography posted on the Naval Academy Web site.

In Bahrain, Jones-Huffman’s job was to study the region’s culture, religion and language and brief civil administrators in southern Iraq. He pored over foreign language newspapers and studied the region’s languages for his job.

“He believed in doing his duty. That is why he was there,” his father said. “He believed in doing the best job he could.”

The Huffmans are planning a memorial service at the Naval Academy for their son. James Huffman said they are also considering setting up scholarships at Jones-Huffman’s high school, the Naval Academy and George Washington.

He is survived by his wife, his father, mother Dagmar Huffman, a brother, Niko Huffman, and sister Alexia Huffman.

Adam

 

[Big Dude]

Army Spc. Stephen M. Scott (no picture available)

8-23-2003

Army Spc. Stephen M. Scott, 21, of Lawton, Okla.; assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colo.; died on Aug. 23 near Fallujah, Iraq, from non-combat injuries.

Spc. Stephen M. Scott and his wife went to high school together in Lawton, Okla., and both joined the military. They had recently celebrated their first anniversary.

“We talked about what we would do if something ever happened to one of us,” said Marie Scott, 19. “I decided I would become a nun. There’s just no other guy who can compete with him. He’s perfect.”

The 21-year-old Scott died Aug. 23 near Fallujah, Iraq, of a gunshot wound in a non-combat incident. Scott was a cook and stationed at Fort Carson.

Here is a story about Stephen:

Services held for Oklahoma soldier

Associated Press


LAWTON, Okla. — An Oklahoma soldier killed in Iraq was a “gentle giant,” his wife said.
Marie Scott’s husband, Spc. Stephen Michael Scott, 21, died Aug. 23 of a gunshot wound.

Scott’s death, from a “non-hostile gunshot incident,” was under investigation, Fort Carson officials said in a news release.

The Scott’s were high-school sweethearts and had been married a little more than a year.

“He was amazing,” said Marie Scott, 20. “He was 6-foot-5 and weighed 225 pounds, but he was so gentle. If there was a little guy getting picked on, he’d be the one to stand up for him.”

The couple met in a psychology class at Eisenhower High School in Lawton and married on the Fourth of July 2002, soon after Marie graduated from high school.

“He was the most honest person I ever met,” she said.

Scott said her husband was “the kind of person who let everyone know how much he loved them.”

Both enlisted in the Army. Stephen Scott was a cook and was in Iraq since June.

Marie Scott is assigned to the 14th Public Affairs Detachment at Fort Carson, where she does community relations.

While she was aware of the risk involved in her husband’s deployment, Marie Scott never thought her office would be handling a news release announcing his death.

“Especially not Stephen,” she said. “He was amazing. I’m so sad, but sometimes I can’t help but smile. He was so goofy he would make you laugh. He was very spiritual. He was very strong. We had a lot of plans.”

Adam

 

[Big Dude]

Army Pfc. Vorn J. Mack

8-23-2003

Army Pfc. Vorn J. Mack, 19, of Orangeburg, S.C.; assigned to the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colo.; died on Aug. 23 near the Hadithah Dam, west of Ramadi, Iraq. Mack jumped into the Euphrates River to take a swim and did not resurface. A search party found his body downstream on Aug. 24.
• • • • •

Pfc. Vorn J. Mack was roughly 5-foot-3 and 115 pounds when Sgt. Andre Boler saw him for the first time at Fort Carson in March.

“I thought he was someone’s little brother, he was so young and little,” Boler said. But that made no difference: “He was a great soldier.”

Mack would often cheer up soldiers with a cigarette or a story, Boler said.

The 19-year-old Mack drowned Aug. 23 near the Hadithah Dam in Iraq. The computer analyst was from Orangeburg, S.C. Mack began basic training a month after graduation from high school in 2002, his aunt, Brinder Hicks, said. He was one of five children, and one sister is in the Army in Kuwait.

“He was a little man with a big heart,” Hicks said.

Adam

 

[Big Dude]

Army Pfc. Pablo Manzano (no picture available)

8-25-2003

Army Pfc. Pablo Manzano, 19, of Heber, Calif.; assigned to B Company, 54th Engineer Battalion, V Corps, Bamberg, Germany; died Aug. 25 of a non-combat weapons discharge in Logistical Support Area Dogwood, Iraq.

Adam

 

[Big Dude]

Army Spc. Darryl T. Dent (no picture available)

8-26-2003

Army Spc. Darryl T. Dent, 21, of Washington, D.C.; assigned to the 547th Transportation Company, U.S. Army National Guard, based in Washington, D.C.; killed Aug. 26 in southeast Arimadi, Iraq. Dent was in a convoy when an improvised explosive device struck his vehicle.

Spc. Darryl Dent was a goal-oriented person who got things done — and had a good time doing them.

“Most of the time he was happy, and when he wasn’t happy you wouldn’t know it because he was always trying to make sure that everybody else was happy,” said his sister, Lisa Justice of Roanoke Rapids, N.C. “He was trying to keep the peace all the time.”

Dent, 21, a National Guard member based in Washington, D.C., was killed Aug. 26 by a makeshift explosive device while on convoy duty in Iraq.

Vernon Dent said his son joined the Guard right out of high school and wanted to go to medical school. He spoke to his son a few weeks before, and the soldier said he was ready to come home.

“That’s my baby boy. A good kid. It really hurt me,” the father said.

Here is a story about Darryl:

D.C. National Guardsman killed in Iraq

By Derrill Holly
Associated Press


A soldier in the District of Columbia National Guard died in an attack while on patrol in Iraq, officials said Aug. 27.
Spc. Darryl Dent, 21, who grew up in North Carolina, was killed Aug. 26 by a makeshift explosive device while on convoy duty near the town of Hamariyah. Two of his colleagues in the D.C. National Guard’s 547th Transportation Company were wounded in the attack. They were not identified.

“Once they were assigned to this mission, they knew that they were in harm’s way,” said Brig. General Errol R. Schwartz, deputy commander of the D.C. National Guard. “They are operating in a hostile zone, and they always have to be ready” Schwartz said, adding that improvised explosive devices are particularly hard to defend against.

Family members said Dent’s funeral will be held in Roanoke Rapids, N.C., where he lived much of his life. He spent the last five years living with his father in Washington, family members said.

“I don’t like it,” Dent’s father, Vernon Dent, told WUSA-TV. “That’s my baby boy. A good kid. It really hurt me.” Dent said his son joined the Guard right out of high school and wanted to go to medical school. He spoke to his son a few weeks ago, and the soldier told him he was ready to come home.

Adam

 

[Big Dude]

Army Lt. Col. Anthony L. Sherman

8-27-2003

Army Lt. Col. Anthony L. Sherman, 43, of Pottstown, Pa.; assigned to the 304th Civil Affairs Brigade, Army Reserve, based in Philadelphia, Pa.; died Aug. 27 of non-combat-related injury in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.
• • • • •

Lt. Col. Anthony L. Sherman had been in the military for more than 20 years. He was eligible for retirement before he was deployed to Kuwait City in February, but his wife said he probably would never have left the military.

“He loved it,” Lisa Ann Sherman said. “He was very good at what he did.”

Sherman, 43, of Pottstown, Pa., died Aug. 27 of a non-combat injury.

He is also survived by his 8-year-old son, Anthony Grant.

Sherman, a member of the Pottstown Pacers Running Club, had been deployed with the 304th Civil Affairs Brigade, based in Philadelphia. Family friend Monica Weister said a part of Sherman’s job was to make sure hospitals and other public buildings were being taken care of correctly.

Adam

 

[Big Dude]

Army Spc. Rafael L. Navea

8-27-2003

Army Spc. Rafael L. Navea, 34, of Pittsburgh, Pa.; assigned to C Battery, 2nd Battalion, 5th Field Artillery Regiment, based at Fort Sill, Okla.; killed Aug. 27 when an improvised explosive device struck his vehicle in Fallujah, Iraq.

Spc. Rafael L. Navea’s family cherished him both for his big-picture perspective and for the way he was with those he loved.

“He wanted to have a better world for everybody,” said his mother, Lucia Kirkpatrick of Weston, Fla.

“He was a very, very good man, a very good man and an excellent father. I cannot explain to you how wonderful he was as a husband,” said his wife, Marina Ianni-Navea.

Navea, 34, of Pittsburgh, died Aug. 27 in Iraq after his vehicle hit an explosive device. Stationed at Fort Sill, he was married and the father of sons ages 12, 5 and 3.

Navea made clear his love for his family, said Lt. Col. David Hill, battalion commander. “Every time we spoke, that was our first topic of conversation. He was very proud of his wife and three sons and he always had a smile on his face when he talked about them.”

Here is a story about Rafael:

Pittsburgh soldier killed by explosive device in Iraq

Associated Press


PITTSBURGH — An Army specialist serving in Iraq was killed by an explosive device about 30 miles west of Baghdad on Aug. 27, Department of Defense authorities said.
Spc. Rafael L. Navea, 34, of Pittsburgh, died after the vehicle hit “an improvised explosive device” in Fallujah, officials said.

Navea, a married father of three and member of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Field Artillery Regiment, based at Fort Sill, Okla., had been in Iraq for 25 days, said his mother, Lucia Kirkpatrick, of Weston, Fla.

“He told me it was horrible there. It was a very depressing place. He was there 25 days only, and he was so worried,” Kirkpatrick said.

Navea moved to Pittsburgh in 1993 to take a break from the Army and attend school, Kirkpatrick said. He went to ITT Technical Institute before working at UPMC hospital, where he met his wife, Marina, a transplant nurse.

Kirkpatrick said her son loved the military. He also played soccer for a team in the Army and joined several teams in Pittsburgh.

Navea remained in the reserves and was called up in April.

His wife and three boys — ages 11, 5, and 3 — recently left Pittsburgh to live near his base in Oklahoma, his mother said.

Adam

 

[Big Dude]

Army Sgt. Gregory A. Belanger

8-27-2003

Army Sgt. Gregory A. Belanger, 24, of Narragansett, R.I.; assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Service Company, 325th Military Intelligence Battalion, Army Reserve, based at Ayer, Mass.; killed Aug. 27 when an improvised explosive device struck his vehicle in Hallia, Iraq.

Here is a story about Gregory:

Rhode Island soldier with Michigan roots dies in Iraq

Associated Press


DEERFIELD, Mass. — An Army officer who grew up in Deerfield with a love of cooking was killed in Iraq.
Sgt. Gregory Belanger, 24, of Narragansett, R.I., was with the 325th Military Intelligence Battalion, attached to the 94th Regional Readiness Command, when the convoy was attacked Aug. 27.

According to the Army, initial reports show that Belanger was killed in Hallia, Iraq, when an explosive struck his vehicle.

Belanger is the first soldier from Rhode Island to die in Iraq since the start of U.S.-led military operations there, according to the Pentagon.

His father, Ed Belanger, told The Recorder of Greenfield that his son enlisted in the Army Reserve and was called up to active duty shortly after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

Belanger graduated from Johnson and Wales University in 2001 with a degree in culinary arts before entering the Army as a cook.

“He was a whiz,” his mother, Cathy Belanger, told The Recorder. “He was creative and could take whatever was in the refrigerator and pull out this gourmet dish from his soul and his head.”

Adam

 

[Big Dude]

Army Staff Sgt. Mark A. Lawton

8-29-2003

Army Staff Sgt. Mark A. Lawton, 41, of Hayden, Colo.; assigned to the 244th Engineer Battalion, U.S. Army Reserve, Grand Junction, Colo.; killed Aug. 29 when his convoy was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade north of Suaydat, Iraq.

Here is a story about Mark:

Reservist Mark A. Lawton had volunteered for duty in Iraq, even though he was scheduled for an Army school that would have kept him stateside.

“His desire was that he could share his combat experience with younger, less experienced troops and make sure that each of his boys came home in one piece,” Lawton’s family said in a statement.

Staff Sgt. Lawton, 41, of Hayden, Colo., was killed Aug. 29 in Iraq when his convoy was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.

He is survived by his wife, Sherri, and sons Dustin, 4, and Tanner, 1.

Lawton had served in both the Army and the Marines, and was a Gulf War veteran, said Capt. Curtis Carney of the U.S. Army Reserve in Denver. He joined the reserves after leaving active duty.

Sherri Lawton was too shaken to speak at the funeral, so her father, Louis Holloway, read a letter she had written. “Mark died on Aug. 29, 14 days before our fifth wedding anniversary,” Holloway read. “That was the day my world stopped spinning. Mark was my best friend. Mark never went anywhere without kissing me goodbye and telling me he loved me.”

Adam

 

[Big Dude]

Army Sgt. Sean K. Cataudella

8-30-2003

Army Sgt. Sean K. Cataudella, 28, of Tucson, Ariz.; assigned to the 1st Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died Aug. 30 when the military vehicle he was driving hit an embankment and rolled into a canal in Ba’qubah, Iraq.


Sgt. Sean K. Cataudella wrote to his parents from Iraq that he was spending part of his time chasing down Iraqi men who were shooting off machine guns in the streets — and the other part handing out candy to Iraqi children.

“Sean was such a compassionate guy. He felt for those kids,” said his father, Sal Cataudella.

Cataudella, 28, of Tucson, Ariz., died Aug. 30 when a vehicle he was driving hit an embankment and rolled into a canal. He was stationed at Fort Hood and was serving as a scout in Iraq, going ahead of other troops to scope out enemy terrain.

“He did it because he loved his country and he was always an adventurous soul,” his father said.

Cataudella joined the Army eight years ago after high school and also served in Bosnia, said his mother, Connie Cataudella. He didn’t have a chance to see his youngest child, Kai, born while he was in Iraq. Other survivors include his wife, Naomi, and children Alex, 7, and Damon, 3.

Adam