Post by Moses on Apr 9, 2006 19:00:21 GMT -5
Posted on [Palm] Sunday, Apr. 09, 2006
Army Sgt. Kevin Akins
Even as a boy, Kevin Akins was curious, rambunctious and lively.His mother, Elizabeth Harrisen, remembered the time Kevin, at age 4, hopped in his aunt's vehicle and took off driving, running the car through an orange grove. She also laughed when she talked about the time he put gravel in her gas tank.
Akins, 29, of Burnsville, N.C., was killed March 12 by a roadside bomb west of Asadabad. He was assigned to Asheville and had already done a tour in Iraq.
"He enjoyed life. He enjoyed the 29 years to the fullest," said his father, Don Akins.
Marine Lance Cpl. Nicholas Anderson
Nicholas Anderson and his sister, Jessica Yanke, got tattoos in
December -- the Chinese symbols for brother and sister. Anderson's tattoo was on his bicep; Yanke had hers tattooed on her back. "We've always been very close, so it was just a way to stay close to each other," Yanke said.
Anderson, 21, of Sauk City, Wis., was killed March 13 when his Humvee tipped over near Jalalabad. He was a 2003 high school graduate and was assigned to Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.
Army Staff Sgt. Ricardo Barraza
Ricardo Barraza's uncle remembered him as the curious, hardworking little boy who helped him in the asparagus fields."He wouldn't complain or nothin'," said Valentin Gonzalez. "If I'd drive a tractor, he'd tell me how to start it, drive it."
Barraza, 24, of Shafter, Calif., died March 18 in Ramadi from small-arms fire. He was a 1999 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Lewis, Wash.
Army Staff Sgt. Brock Beery
In high school, Brock Beery enjoyed playing Nintendo games.
In the military, he became an expert on computers.
"He could tear a computer down and put it back together," said his father, Roger Beery. "He had special training in the armor division. He used a computer to hit his targets. He was 90 percent accurate in hitting his targets."
Beery, 30, of White House, Tenn., was killed March 23 by a roadside explosive and small-arms fire in Habaniyah. He was assigned to Bowling Green, Ky., and was on his third deployment.
Army Sgt. Dale Brehm
On Sept. 10, 2001, Dale Brehm called his father to tell him he accomplished his goal of becoming a member of the elite Army Rangers. "Being a Ranger was his dream," Bill Brehm said. "He would want to be remembered as a good Ranger. He would be extremely proud of that, being remembered for doing a good job. When you have a dream and you conquer it, what else is there?"Brehm, 23, of Turlock, Calif., died March 18 in Ramadi from small-arms fire. He was assigned to Fort Lewis, Wash.
Army Spc. Frederick Carlson
Frederick Carlson initially went to Iraq to work as a cook, but given that food for his division was catered, his superiors asked whether he wanted to work as part of a rapid-response force that frequently saw front-line combat.
Carlson eagerly volunteered.
"You can't get more aggressive than what he was doing," said Lt. Col. Chris Cleaver. "He really saw that what he was doing was making a difference."
Carlson, 25, of Bethlehem, Pa., died March 25 from a heart attack in Taqqadum. He was assigned to Bethlehem, Penn.
Army Sgt. Corey Dan
During a handful of breaks in his military career, Corey Dan got to come home, making a point to visit his old high school lawenforcement class. He dazzled the students with stories about his first deployment to Iraq in 2003 and led physical training exercises.
Sometimes he would have the class jog past the home of his grandfather, a Vietnam War veteran, shouting military cadences. Other times he had the students do belly crawls.
"He told me I was wicked good," said John Ayotte, a 16-year-old junior. "He said I could be a sniper. I liked him from then on out."
Dan, 22, of Norway, Maine, was killed March 13 when he came
under attack by small-arms fire and explosives in Ramadi. He was assigned to Fort Campbell, Ky.
Army Pfc. Amy Duerksen
Amy Duerksen grew up an Army brat, the third generation of a military family. But she never really expressed an interest in joining the military herself, until she started looking into financial aid for college.
"She didn't know where she wanted to go or what she wanted to major in," said her father, Maj. Douglas Duerksen, an Army chaplain at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., which his daughter also considered home. Duerksen, 19, died March 11 in Baghdad from a noncombat gunshot injury she sustained on March 8. She was assigned to Fort Hood, Texas.
Master Sgt. Emigdio Elizarraras Jr.
There were tears on the cheeks of EmigdioElizarraras Jr.'s father. "My son's body is dead," he said. "He will always be special here," he added, with a hand pressed to his chest.
Elizarraras, 37, of Pico Rivera, Calif., was killed Feb. 28 by a roadside bomb in Tarin Kowt. He graduated high school in 1986 and was assigned to Fort Bragg.
Marine Gunnery Sgt. John Fry
As an explosive ordinance disposal technician, John Fry disarmed hundreds of bombs during his six-month stint in Iraq. He once
arrived at an Iraqi home to find a bomb strapped to a young Iraqi boy with mental retardation.
The Marine disarmed the bomb and saved the child's life.
"He laid down his life so other Marines would be safe, and he did it willingly," said his wife, Malia Fry. "Every EOD tech that is over there does the same thing a hundred times a day, and they don't think about themselves."
Fry, 28, of Lorena, Texas, was killed March 8 while defusing a bomb in Anbar province. He was assigned to Camp Lejeune.
Army Spc. Carlos Gonzalez
Carlos Gonzalez spent four years of high school in the ROTCpreparing to get into the Army. After succeeding and becoming a communications specialist, he wasn't about to slow down.
"He was into his job," said his father, Carlos. "He worked seven days a week. He wanted to be there."
Gonzalez, 22, of Middletown, N.Y., died March 16 in Tikrit when a mortar round detonated. He was assigned to Fort Campbell, Ky.
Army Sgt. Anton Hiett
Anton Hiett didn't have to be in Afghanistan.
"He volunteered to go even though his unit wasn't going," said his father, George Hiett. "He felt like he needed to go. His whole life's goal was to make a difference in other people's lives."
Hiett, 25, of Mount Airy was killed March 12 by a roadside bomb west of Asadabad. He was assigned to Greenville, S.C..
Army Spc. Joshua Hill
Joshua Hill knew when he was coming back.
"He was 30 days, 12 hours and 20 minutes from home," said his
father, Terry Hill. "He had it all figured out exactly."
Hill, 24, of Fowlerton, Ind., was killed March 12 by a roadside bomb west of Asadabad. He was assigned to Asheville and had done a tour in Iraq.
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