NEVER FORGET

This Memorial Day remember those who gave all and sacrificed their lives for God, and Country, Family, and Friends. The following are the Soldiers of 2/16IN who were killed during the "Surge" 2007-2008. Never forget these men, their faces, their sacrifices, or the people that they left behind. I'm very greatful to have known a few of them but wish that I could have known all of them, and I'm very proud to have served during the same time and within the same Battalion as them. Remember all those who were wounded and forever changed on the battlefield. Do not forget those still out there on the Dangerous routes of Afghanistan, and Iraq.
Never Forget!
Semper Paratus

PFC JAY CAJIMAT KIA APRIL 06, 2007

Pfc. Jay Cajimat died on Good Friday, April 06, 2007 in Iraq from wounds caused by a roadside bomb that exploded near his unit in Baghdad, he was the first Soldier KIA from 2/16th IN since the start of the surge.

Family and friends said Pfc. Jay Cajimat, 20, a resident of Lahaina on the island of Maui, had been eager to join the US Army before graduating from Lahainaluna High School in 2005.

They described Cajimat as a “loving son,” a “role model” to his siblings and the “unspoken leader” among friends.

Cajimat was born in Manila. His family moved to Maui when he was three years old. He enlisted in the Army immediately after graduating from high school.

He was with the 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kansas.

“He was a good soldier, and he loved to serve his nation,” his mother, Lilibeth Cajimat, told Maui News reporter Lehia Apana.

“He always said he wanted to be in the Army,” added his 16-year-old sister, LC.

Her brother had a “positive personality and was always easy to get along with.”

“He was really funny, lovable and just a fun person to hang out with. He loved to play and joke around,” LC said. Anne Goff, an 18-year English teacher at Lahainaluna, recalled Cajimat as being “very sweet, hardworking, very respectful.”

“His dream was to go into the military to serve his country,” she said. “He could hardly wait to graduate to join up.”

Cajimat is also survived by his father Dionie Cajimat and two other sisters Kaya, 18, and LJ, three.

Dionie Cajimat said his son always set a positive example for his three younger sisters. “He was a good son, always talked nice about his sisters and always advised them to be good.”

Longtime friend Walter Batarina, 19, said Cajimat “had his good and bad days” but was “definitely proud” to serve in Iraq.

However, Cajimat regretted being so far away from his three-year-old sister, LJ.

“She was attached to him, and he would always take care of her,” said Batarina. “I guess he was scared he wouldn’t be there as she got older.”

Cajimat’s sister, Kaya, agreed that he wanted to be home and watch over LJ. “I think he regretted going because he wouldn’t get a chance to see her grow up.”

Friends said it would be difficult to accept that someone who they leaned on is now forever gone.

“He was the leader of our group,” said classmate Germine Corpuz, who first met Cajimat when they were about four years old at a church event. They were friends and schoolmates ever since.

“We couldn’t believe that a guy like him actually passed, and now we’re just trying to collect ourselves,” said Corpuz.

“Within our group, he was the unspoken leader, although he’d never admit it,” said another classmate Rodney Saribay, who was friends with Cajimet since third grade at Princess Nahienaena school. “If you had a problem, you’d go and see Jay.”

Cajimat still seems to be around for his friends even after his death, Saribay said, “We still confide in him and still go to him, even though he’s not here.”

PFC. SHAWN D. GAJDOS KIA JUNE 06, 2007

By Captain Michael A. Jurick Jr
I had the highest honor to serve with Private First Class Shawn Gajdos as his Company Commander from April, 2006, until 31 May, 2007. He was everything you could ask for in a Soldier.

PFC Gajdos didn’t join the Army for college money, or to impress some girl; he joined because he wanted to serve his Country….bottom line. After his basic training, he was assigned to 2^nd Battalion 16^th Infantry Regiment, part of the First Infantry Division, at Fort Riley, Kansas. Maybe not the dream assignment for a new Soldier, but he made the best of it. He made friends quickly. There aren’t many people in this Battalion that didn’t know Shawn Gajdos.

He was the Soldier that all leaders loved to have on their side. He was smart; he was the go-to guy to get things done. The first time I got to know him was when he was handpicked to attend an Arabic language course with me back in May 2006. I was super amazed at how quickly he picked up on it, and was instantly impressed. I knew right away what a special Soldier he was, and how valuable he was going to be to our company. PFC Gajdos was the guy we sent to get trained on new equipment because we knew he wouldn’t have any trouble mastering it quickly and be able to come back and teach us. He was hand picked to serve as my driver. A Commander’s driver is a demanding position that requires only the smartest and most proactive Soldiers. Any task he was given, he took it and beat it into submission. There wasn’t a thing I asked him to do that he never did. Serving as my driver, there were very few moments I wasn’t around him. Prior to our deployment to Iraq, he served in our training room; another tough, demanding job. Not only did he handle a lot of the administrative paperwork of the company, he was also within throttling distance of the company First Sergeant. But he rolled with it, never letting anything distract him or get to him. He was a single Soldier, but that never stopped him from wanting to be involved and help out when we held our Family Readiness meetings. He was 25 years old, a little older than the typical Private that joins the Army, which inherently made us expect more out of him. While most of his buddies were out getting drunk and stupid (or arrested, which would get me called at 3 AM), he would be smart. Never did we have to deal with him in an adverse way. He epitomized the Army Values; Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage.

Shawn Gajdos deployed to Iraq with Delta Company, 2^nd Battalion, 16^th Infantry Regiment on February 6^th, 2007, as part of the troop “surge”. He spent less than three weeks in Kuwait training before finding himself in Baghdad, Iraq, living on his new “home”, Forward Operating Base Rustamiyah. Being my driver in a combat environment, much more was expected of him. We had been fielded a new type of radio that we have never seen before. Problem? Absolutely not….Shawn Gajdos sat through a quick class, and in no time, he was teaching others how to use that radio. Gajdos and I were a team. We rode together on dozens of combat operations. Being the commander, I needed the flexibility to be able to essentially move on demand…not problem for Gajdos. All I had to do was tell him a time, and he was ready to roll. While my gunner was on leave, he jumped right up in the turret and took over. I never had any doubt there wasn’t a single job that he couldn’t excel at. He was a warrior; we conducted about every mission you could imagine. From making six trips clear across Baghdad, to reconnaissance missions, to sniper emplacement missions; he wasn’t afraid to do anything. He was proud to be doing what he was doing, knowing he was making history.

We spent so much time together that it is quite possible that he knows more about me than my own wife. He was my “insider” into the world of the Soldiers. If there was any juicy gossip, he made sure I was in the loop. We would talk about everything:

I know all about life in Grand Rapids.

I know all about the “LP” and how to never accuse someone from Grand Rapids of being from the “UP”.

I know all about the “wet burrito” and how only someone from Grand Rapids would know what that is.

I know that East Grand Rapids was the city that the American Pie movie series was based out of.

I know about every single girl that he liked and how he thought that they were out of his league….I say to any girl that this applies too, including Stacey Kiebler, the exact opposite couldn’t be truer. Shawn Gajdos is out of your league.

I know how all he wanted to do was to pay off his debt, get home, and buy a new Volkswagen.

I know how he subscribed to Stuff Magazine, Guns and Ammo, and Computer Shopper; making him about as well rounded as you can get.

He is one of my MySpace friends, and will continue to be. Shawn Gajdos and I even named our truck; being huge fans of the move “Super Troopers”, we referred to ourselves as “Car Ramrod”, a name that I told him I would take with me when I relinquish command; which I did four days before he died. I always teased him about saving Middle Earth, knowing he hated “Lord of the Rings.”

I know how badly he wanted his CIB. The Combat Infantryman’s Badge, in the Army, is awarded to only Infantrymen that are engaged in direct ground combat with an enemy force. Every time we would get ready to roll on a mission, Gajdos would sometimes ask, “Are you going to get me a CIB today sir??” or I would say “Gajdos, we’re getting you a CIB today”. Well Gajdos, you earned that CIB. I hope that you pin it on and wear it proudly as you now walk humbly at the right hand of God.

PFC Shawn Gajdos was killed on June 6^th, 2007, when his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in Baghdad, Iraq. He was temporarily serving as a gunner. I saw him the very second he rolled out the gate, with my final words to him being, “be safe man.” I never would have guessed that would be the last time I would see him. Even with this being my second tour in Iraq, and after going through numerous Soldiers’ deaths, I have never lost a Soldier so close to me. I find it almost fitting that he died on such a historic date, June 6^th. Just as his past brethren stormed the beaches of Normandy, France, 67 years ago, PFC Gajdos, also, has made a footprint on history. PFC Shawn Gajdos now joins the ranks of other great American Soldiers who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country and the defense of Freedom.

PFC Shawn Gajdos, you were a phenomenal Soldier, an outstanding Man, a true Friend, and a great American. Rest in peace my friend, I will never forget you. Car Ramrod Forever!!!

This entry was written by almartine and posted on June 17, 2007 at 11:18 am and filed under Politics. At http://www.abigpond.com/blog/2007/06/17/pfc-shawn-gajdos-hero-from-grand-rapids/.

PFC. CAMERON K. PAYNE KIA JUNE 11, 2007

When Cameron K. Payne enlisted in the Army, it was not necessarily to fulfill a lifelong dream but out of a sense of duty toward his growing family.

"He did not join the Army to be G.I. Joe, he did not join the Army to be anyone's hero," said his mother, Denise Jackson. "The reason he joined the Army was to support his family."

Payne, a private first class, was killed Monday in Iraq when a vehicle he was traveling in struck an improvised explosive device during combat operations in Baghdad, the Defense Department said Wednesday.

Payne, 22, was the proud father of an 18-month-old daughter and a 4-week-old girl. Just last month, Payne witnessed the birth of his daughter Kylee in Corona while home on leave.

His wife, Julie, 22, recalled her husband as a family man. She said their elder daughter, Annaleese, bears a striking resemblance to her father.

"They look like twins," she said. "She's got his personality, his humor."

Payne met his future wife, who described him as "the funniest guy anyone could meet," while the two were students at Buena Vista High School.

"He was actually my secret admirer in high school," she said. The couple married in October 2005 after a courtship that included trips to amusement parks and surprise flower deliveries.

Jackson, Payne's mother, said that "falling in love" made her son more responsible and goal-oriented.

One of his first goals was to join the Army to support his family. The transformation became apparent after basic training, his mother said.

"After he went through his course he was a totally different person," she said. "He had goals and he knew what he wanted."

Payne enlisted in the Army in 2005 and began basic training at Fort Benning, Ga., that November, said Army spokeswoman Alison Kohler.

In March 2006, Payne went to Fort Riley, Kan., where he spent the rest of the year preparing for deployment to Iraq.

Payne and his unit arrived in Iraq in February, Kohler said.

Many corrections officers at the California Rehabilitation Center, the medium-security prison in Norco where Payne's mother works, have known Payne since he was a child, and news of his death hit many prison staffers hard, said Lt. Mike Brownell, prison spokesman.

"Folks are pretty upset, but we've banded together to offer her our support," he said.

Payne's death has been especially difficult for his younger brother, Cody Gowens, their mother said.

Whether it was camping trips or visits to the beach, "we did everything together, that's how we rolled, we rolled the three of us," she said. Payne's father died when he was a boy, and the siblings were raised by their mom.

Payne's mother said she tried to steer her son toward a career in law enforcement or corrections, but he found certain aspects of the Army more attractive.

For instance, when he re-enlisted in May, he was told he could eventually relocate to any base he chose. Payne had his sights set on the Seattle area, his mother said. He thought the Pacific Northwest offered a more "pure and clean" environment for his family than the Inland Empire, she said.
Article found- http://www.flickr.com/photos/52961928@N00/547070403/

PFC. ANDRE CRAIG JR, KIA JUNE 25, 2007
By Kenton Robinson


Joyce Craig opens her well-thumbed Bible, unfolds a worn and tear-stained letter and reads:

“ 'Hi, Mom, I'm glad to hear that you are still focused on your ministry. You are truly my inspiration. ...' ”

She pauses, closes her eyes, tries to stop her tears. Even her grandchildren, restive in their parents' arms, grow still. After a long silence, she resumes:

“ 'I want to say thank you for raising me to be a man. You never let me quit, and you never let me settle for less. ... I'm glad you accept my dream. And I'm also happy to finally say, “I made my mother proud.” ' ”

She folds the letter back between the pages.

“That's what he wanted to do,” she said. “He wanted to make his mother proud.”

Army Spc. Andre Craig Jr. was just two weeks away from his 24th birthday when he left his mother's house on New Haven's Rosette Street for the last time in June 2007.

On leave from duty in Baghdad, he had come home in May to see his family and to meet his daughter, Taylor Craig, who was born while he was in Iraq.

He had grown up here and on Carmel Street, two of New Haven's tougher neighborhoods, with his mother, brothers and sisters, and he had shunned the shoals of crime and drugs to chase his dream.

“It was always his dream to go into the Army,” Joyce Craig said, “to fight for the people. And I asked him, I said, 'Why the Army?' He said, 'Ma, it's my dream.'

“He wanted to go into the Army for college, to get money for college, and he wanted his family to live and have better than what they had. ... He didn't want us to struggle to pay bills.”

Knowing well her son's determination, she gave him permission to go. Her middle child, the one they called Dre, whom the others called the Momma's Boy, went off to war.

He left behind two older sisters: Valencia Cook, 31, and Debra Russell, 29; and three brothers: Michael Cook, 26, Jonathan Craig, 22, and Matthew Craig, 20. He also had a half brother and half sister, 27-year-old Andre Brown, and Nashimma Williams, 29.

His sister Debra muses about the special bond Andre had with their mother.

“Every parent has ... a child they have a closer bond to. My sister and I were more independent, and Michael was more independent, whereas Andre ... he was joined to my mom's hip a lot.”

“He was a momma's boy,” agrees his other sister, Valencia.

They laugh to remember how, when the sons and son-in-law Julian Russell went bowling last May, their mother insisted she go along.

“Dre said, 'Ma, there ain't no girls going.' I said, 'I don't care, I'm going with you. ... I'm gonna go and I'm gonna kick you all butts.'”

The night got wild when her sons began stacking up the shot glasses and bowling two balls at a time down the same lane.

“So I really had to take them out of the place, because they were cutting up,” Joyce Craig said. “And they walked outside busting out laughing. And I said, 'That's not funny, because you were disrespectful.' ”

Russell said that when Andre came home they decided they weren't going to let anything spoil their fun. “Life's too short,” he said. “You never know.' ”

•••••

Certainly, Andre had had his eyes opened.

He wrote to his mother telling her of the horrors visited on the Iraqis.

“I'm glad that I'm down here and I can help them,” he wrote. “All I ask for you to ask the church to do is to pray for God's mercy on these people.”

And when he came home it was as if the sun itself had broken through the clouds.

“He came home and he just showed everybody how much he loved us,” Julian Russell said. “He came home and did everything for everybody. Cooked, cleaned. He came to show love.

“The funny thing is you wondered where all his love came from. You wondered how this man, that I'm older than, that I can look up to him. Because he chose to go where I didn't want to go. I joined in 2000, and, believe me, if I'd known I was going to go to Iraq in 2004, I wouldn't have joined. He was a braver man than I will ever be.”

Debra Russell added, “When my husband was in Iraq, my brother took care of me. I was pregnant with my daughter and ... Andre would take my car, pick me up, bring me to my doctor's appointment, so much so that in the beginning, before they knew my husband was in Iraq, they thought he was my husband.”

“He was the first person to see my daughter walk,” Julian said. “He was the first person to be there and encourage her and to give her a nickname. He loved my daughter a lot.”

And he was smitten, they say, when he learned he had a daughter of his own.

“He had wanted a child to leave behind in case something happened,” Joyce Craig said. But he had had no children with his wife, Shawntia Craig, who could not be reached to comment for this story.

So when Joyce Craig told Andre that a former girlfriend had had a child by him, he asked his mother to go see the baby.

“When I walked in the house, the baby was sitting in a chair,” Joyce Craig said. “And I said, 'Oh, my God!' It looked like I had Andre all over again. It was like Andre was in that chair.”

Soon the whole family was spoiling Taylor, especially when Andre came home on leave.

•••••

Andre had always loved children.

“He would leave the house at 8 in the morning; he wouldn't come back till dark time. He'd play basketball all day with my son. He would play ball in the street with the kids,” Valencia Cook said.

“And that's how he ended up having a close relationship with the children on this street, and that's how they ended up naming the corner of Wilson and Rosette Street after him.”

After Andre's death, Joyce Craig said, she learned that “there were times when some parents would have troubles with their kids, and they'd call Andre, and Andre would go and talk to them. ...”

“And I know that Andre wanted to leave a legacy to let people know that just because you live in the 'hood, doesn't mean that you can't fulfill your dream and be successful.”

She remembers that whenever she would ask Andre about Iraq, he would assure her, “Ma, I love my job.”

And yet, when it was time for him to return, “we all sat in here, and we had a prayer, and he broke down and cried,” she said. “He cried so hard, as if he knew that one day he might not come back.”

July 25, 2007, the day Andre Craig died, was one week after his 24th birthday. It was also the day of Valencia Cook's baby shower, the day — three hours before the shower — her water broke.

“He called me at the house,” she said, “and I said, 'My water broke,' and he said, 'I told you you were gonna have that baby 'round my birthday.' And the next day we got the call. ... I was in labor when he passed away.”

And so Valencia Cook named her baby Andre.

•••••

Joyce Craig still struggles to make sense of it all.

“He was just willing to die ... for his country, for his family, for his friends. I still cannot get the grips of that,” she said.

“He didn't die on the street behind drugs, you know? He died with a purpose, and he left a legacy. 'This was my purpose, to be successful. And this was my legacy, to let other kids know that just because you are poor or you live in a bad neighborhood, doesn't mean that you can't be successful.' ...

“So constantly thinking on that, it helps me more ... and my anger at him is not like it used to be. I'll tell him, I'll sit and say, 'I'm proud of you, and you are my hero.'

“I just want to say to other children, if it's not your dream, and it's not really in your bones, don't do it. ... Now is not the time to do it, because so many of our children are dying in this war.”

Article found TheDay.com

SGT. WILLIAM W. CROW JR., KIA JUNE 28, 2007

The Associated Press

Army Sgt. William W. Crow Jr. was tough-looking, big-hearted man who loved going skateboarding and hanging out with his buddies.

“He was a happy person. He liked to make people laugh. He was a joy to be around,” recalled his close friend and high school classmate, David Bowman. “It’s like losing a brother.”

Crow, 28, of Grandview Plaza, Kan., was killed by a roadside bomb June 28 in Baghdad. He was a 1997 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Riley, Kan.

Crow enlisted in the military right out of high school. He went to Korea, and then to Iraq. This was his third trip to Iraq. On a previous tour he was awarded a Purple Heart.

He and his wife, Michelle, married four years ago. She already had two sons, Chris, 10, and David, 8; with Crow she had two girls: Alexis, 4, and Kala, 2.

His mother, Kathryn Mondini, last talked to him before Mother’s Day. “I’ll miss his hugs,” she said. “I just want to hear him say ‘Mom, I love you. It’s going to be OK.’ ” “He was my baby,” she added, “he was my lifeline.”

PFC. JAMES J. HARRELSON, KIA JULY 17, 2007

The Associated Press

19 year old Pfc. James Jacob Harrelson, who was known to friends and family as “Spanky,” was killed by an IED July 17 while driving a Humvee in a convoy as part of the Army’s 1st Infantry Battalion, his parents said. They said they were not told where in Iraq their son was killed.

Harrelson’s family said anyone who met him instantly became his friend, an Alexander City newspaper, The Outlook, reported.

“He didn’t have an enemy,” said Christopher Baker, Harrelson’s older brother.

Tammy Kinney, Harrelson’s mother, who now lives in Alexander City, said her son joined the Army right after he graduated from Dadeville High School in 2006 and had been in Iraq since May.

“He wanted to continue his education and serve his country,” she said.

Dadeville High School football coach Richard White told the newspaper Harrelson always had a smile on his face.

“If things weren’t going good he would cheer you up,” White said. “It’s really sad. I’m going to miss that smile. He brought a smile with him when he walked. My heart, thoughts and prayers go out to his family.”

White said Harrelson talked to him about the future toward the end of the 2006 school year.

“He thought he would join the military,” White said. “That was probably a good choice at the time since he needed financial help to go to college. Now, looking back, it may not have been a good choice.”

Kinney said she supported her son but was not enthusiastic about his decision to fight in Iraq. Baker, who had already served in Iraq as a Marine sergeant, also opposed his brother’s decision.

“I tried to tell him what it was like but he told me he could handle it,” Baker said. “He just thought it was right.”

Kinney said her son hadn’t made specific plans for the future but that he knew he wanted to live on Lake Martin and have children.

SGT. JOEL L. MURRAY, KIA SEPT 04, 2007

How do you describe an Infantryman? Some would say it’s by the blue cord, the medals, tabs, and badges they have. I can tell you it’s someone who eats, sleeps, and breaths Infantry. It’s someone proficient in battle drills and the weapons of his chosen profession. It is someone who is calm cool and collected in the face of danger. It is someone who can make life or death decisions on the fly. Sgt Murray did all these things. Sgt Murray is how I would describe an Infantryman. If you didn’t know him you wouldn’t think that this skinny non smiling soldier was the embodiment of an Infantryman. Looks can be deceiving. Sgt Murray was full of courage, natural leadership ability, and stamina that you can’t even imagine. I was amazed by Sgt Murray during the squad eval at range 10 or the ‘Suck Fest’ as we lovingly referred to it. It was only supposed to be a 14km movement, but somehow we managed to turn it into 22km. Under a brutal Kansas sun, we lost half of the platoon as heat casualties in the first day. Not once can I recall ever seeing signs of suck on Sgt Murray’s face. It carried on over here and became somewhat of a contest between us, trying to catch each other tiring out. Captain Anderson told us that when we started feeling fatigued to ‘smile’ and keep moving on. Sgt Murray and I referred to this as Smiles Time. He would call me on the radio or come over to my side of the street and take a knee and ask me if I was ‘Smilin’ yet. I would never admit to it nor would he, but at the end of a mission there would be Sgt Murray smiling from ear to ear, and he was not alone.

Sgt Murray was brave, and I know I had never seen him scared. There was a time where he got shot at while pulling COP security. I heard the 240 rattle off and I was like what was that. Seconds later I hear Sgt Murray come over the radio. “I took small arms fire and returned fire to let them know I mean business.” That was Sgt Murray, all business. Super cool is the best way to describe him under fire. He always wanted to be out front and in the lead, a true no nonsense, leads from the front NCO. He loved to lead the way as he would tell us “I love having the open road in front of me.” He loved being an NCO he told me he liked being a Squad Leader more so than a team leader because he could have more influence over more Soldiers. He loved to mentor and teach and there is not a single soldier in 2^nd platoon that has not learned something from Sgt Murray. That is his legacy and those of us touched by his leadership will carry a piece of Sgt Murray and pass it down to other young soldiers’ for years to come.

He had this dry sense of humor, and was just hilarious. Out of the blue he would say something so random and straight faced that everyone would burst out into laughter except for him and he would make you wonder whether or not he was joking. He thoroughly had Serrano convinced one day that getting an exhaust sample was part of a PMCS. As everyone who was there will remember Serrano walking around holding a large trash bag full of humvee exhaust for hours. He also had these Murrayism’s that he would come up with. My favorites, “The Highest of Speeds”, and “The Hooahness”. He was always challenging his men to be of the Highest of Speeds. Knocking on ones door at random hours of the night, to see if they wanted to disassemble a SAW or something.

We talked about what we wanted to do career wise, and he said this is what he wanted to do. Be in the Infantry, go to Ranger school and just be in the Infantry. He had found a home in the Army.

I’m glad to have known Sgt Murray because we had a lot in common, he was a real man all the way around because it takes a real man to admit they are a classic Star Trek fan, or X-files. We would sit together out at the COP and try to get through episodes of the original Star Trek, and then try to remember why we used to enjoy them so much long ago. He was a really smart guy and had done so much in life. He ran the NYC marathon; he had been all over the world. He loved to see new places and do different things; he was a modern day explorer. He loved history and he would encourage others to learn and to try something new, before I knew it he had me reading the Iliad, and would always ask me if I was done so I could start the Odyssey.

Sgt Murray was a great person too; recently he had told me that he wanted to become a Free Mason. He liked what they stood for and had told me that he thought he could become a better man, how he always wanted to be a part of something like that, helping people and kids, and being a part of history, so many other great names in history had been Free Masons. What I didn’t get to tell him and what I want his family and everyone here today to know is that, Joel you were already a great person, a great man and leader, and someone that I will strive to be like, a great role model for any young soldier or grown man. Sgt Joel Lee Murray was an outstanding leader, Soldier, Hero, Husband, Father, and friend. We miss you, and we love you. You will never be forgotten.

SPC DAVID J. LANE, KIA SEPT 04, 2007

Emporia Gazette

David J. Lane wasn’t letting a war and 7,000 miles come between him and his plans for coming home.

Lane already had contacted friends to arrange get-togethers next year and bought a piece of property with a friend serving with him at Camp Rustamiyah, Iraq, in eastern Baghdad. They planned to open a business together when they got out of the Army.

Lane’s plans died Tuesday when a device exploded near the Humvee that he and two others were using on patrol outside Rustamiyah. All three were killed.

The Associated Press reported Wednesday that the Humvee was hit with an explosively formed penetrator, a type of bomb that the U.S. alleges Iran has been supplying to Shiite militias. Iran denies the accusation.

Friends of Lane, who was 20 years old, said the young man was looking forward to his homecoming, even though it was months away.

"I talked to him on MySpace all the time," said one of his friends, Denisha Seiter, 20. "...And he always ended everything with ‘Peace out, E-Town.’"

Seiter and her boyfriend, Michael Watson, both communicated with Lane over the Internet. On Wednesday afternoon, Seiter had been re-reading some of the messages Lane had sent.

"I was just reading them a minute ago," she said, "and he says on one of them that he’s still in one piece over there and he’ll be back next year for the Fourth of July and for the fair."

Lane had entered his oversized, 4x4, 1979 Chevy pickup in the truck pull at the Lyon County Free Fair for the first time in 2005 and had pulled about 79 feet, Seiter said. He was in Iraq during this year’s fair, and was eager to try it again in 2008.

"We had so much in common — music, riding four-wheelers, going muddin’ in his pickup truck," Watson said.

Lane enjoyed muddin’ immensely, Maria Lane said, and he’d modified the Chevy to make it as tall as he could.

"The tires are bigger than the truck, I think," she said, laughing about her son’s fascination with wheeled vehicles.

And David Lane had a studious side. He’d been home-schooled after moving to Emporia four years ago from Arizona. After receiving his high school certification, he enrolled in a mechanics course at Flint Hills Technical College before circumstances allowed him to enlist in the Army.

"He loved school. History was his favorite subject," Maria Lane said. "The Civil War was one of his favorites. He did a lot of re-enactments before he got into the Army."

Always and forever, though, Lane wanted to be a soldier. A hearing problem caused him to have several surgeries and about two years ago, doctors put a titanium implant in his ear that made all the difference.

"He was able to get into the Army," Maria Lane said.

After he was deployed to Iraq, the private second class kept in touch with friends and family to let them know what his life was like in the Mideast.

"He thought the days were awfully long," Lane said. "It was hot. He was always glad to get back to the base. He felt like what he was doing was what needed to be done. He was doing the right job. He did everything that a good soldier would do."

David Lane told his mother about the children he’d befriended and talked about one Iraqi boy who came daily to the gate of the base to take orders for a tasty flat bread the soldiers had developed a taste for.

"If they gave him some money, he would run and get it hot, and it was so good," she recalled her son saying.

Maria Lane remembered her son as a helpful young man, loyal to friends and always willing to lend a hand.

"He’d do anything for anybody that needed it. If they called him and couldn’t get their car started, any time of the day or night, he was there," she said.

David Lane had done just that for another friend, E-2 Pvt. Justin Brummett, who is stationed at Fort Hood, Texas’s Army base.

Brummett said he’d joined the Army after seeing how much Lane enjoyed serving. The two became friends three or four years ago, and when Brummett needed help, whether it was 4 a.m. or 4 p.m., Lane would be available.

"You couldn’t ask for a better friend," Brummett said. "He was always there."

Seiter talked about the close friendship that had developed in the relatively short time she had known Lane.

"He was amazing. He was a kind and gentle man. He’d give the shirt off his back for everybody, and everybody knew that," Seiter said. "In that year, he became my best friend. He was so caring. He was always there to give you advice, to let you talk.

"He always had a shoulder for you to cry on."

But crying wasn’t Lane’s way. Family and friends all say that laughing and making people laugh is one of the things he did best.

"He was full of life, just full of life," Maria Lane, said. "He loved to joke and make people happy."

David Lane’s friends agreed.

"He’s goofy and I’m goofy," said Watson. "We hit it off pretty good. We loved to do off-the-wall crazy things."

Watson really didn’t want his friend going to Iraq.

"I’d just tell him he’s crazy for doing it, with what’s going on right now. ‘I can’t believe you’re going, but I stand behind you 110 percent, if it’s what you want to do,’" Watson remembered saying to Lane.

Watson and Seiter recalled Lane’s last visit home on leave this spring, when seven friends got together for a farewell celebration and finished off the evening at the Golden Corral restaurant.

"My favorite memory of him pretty much to this day is him snorting a line of ice cream," Seiter said, laughing at the thought. "I felt sorry for the waitress that night."

Watson had buried his face in ice cream and Lane, not to be outdone, sniffed the ice cream up his nose. He said that it burned and was cold, simultaneously, Seiter said, and it brought out gales of laughter from the group.

"He made you laugh. That’s why we called him ‘Goofy Dave,’" Seiter said, mentioning the nickname friends had affectionately given him. "He made you laugh, no matter how sad you were."

SPC RANDOL S. SHELTON, KIA SEPT 04, 2007

Army Pvt. Randol S. 'Randy' Shelton was planning to go to a Bears game and be the guest of honor at several family parties after arriving home on leave. But the 22-year-old stationed in Iraq never got to go on leave to his Schiller Park home.

'The sad thing about it is he was scheduled to come home,' said his father, Bryan Shelton. 'I had planned my vacation time around him coming home. He had his heart set on going to a Bears game.'

Randy Shelton died with two other soldiers on Tuesday from wounds inflicted by an improvised explosive device in Baghdad, the Defense Department said in a statement. Shelton, Sgt. Joel L. Murray, 26, of Kansas City, and Spc. David J. Lane, 20, of Emporia, Kan., were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, based in Fort Riley, Kan.

Shelton, who joined the Army nearly two years ago, was sent to Iraq in late December, his father said. The East Leyden High School graduate went into the military in an attempt to gain direction.

'He was just trying to better himself, get some things going for himself,' Bryan Shelton said. 'Once he got out he wanted to go to college and have some money for college.'

Bryan Shelton said his son dreamed of opening his own business, possibly a restaurant, one day. In the meantime, however, he was just looking forward to coming home.

Randy Shelton was family-oriented, his father said, and called home often.

'He was a beautiful son,' Bryan Shelton said. 'He has an older brother and a younger sister. And they just adored him. And they couldn't wait for him to come home.'

Randy Shelton had waited as long as possible to take his leave so he would not be overseas as long after it was over, his father said.

'He would say, 'Dad, some days are good and some days are bad,' ' his father recalled. 'He didn't hate what he was doing, but he didn't love it. He was there to do a job.'

Nevertheless, his grandmother, Carol Shelton, 71, said he was proud to be serving his country. She said her grandson called her regularly as well.

'We're all very proud of him, and we're all devastated,' she said.

SPC. JOSHUA H. REEVES, KIA SEPT 22, 2007

Robertson County Times

-- In the span of a day, Leslie Reeves both welcomed a newborn son and learned of the death of her husband Joshua, who was serving in Iraq.

Those who know Reeves - a 2001 graduate of Hendersonville High School who was living with her parents here when she gave birth last Friday - admit little can be said to relieve her grief.

Reeves delivered seven-pound, 14-ounce Joshua Jackson Reeves on Friday at Centennial Medical Center.

Soon afterward she phoned Iraq to deliver the happy news to her soldier-husband of two years, Spc. Joshua H. Reeves. Reeves was stationed with troops from Fort Riley, Kan. and was due to come home in November for two weeks of vacation.

"He got to hear him cry over the phone and said 'Hi' to him," the new mother recalled. A short time after the birth, the specialist, 26, also received photos of his son via the Internet.

"I just wanted him to have seen his son," the mother said. "That was comforting to me." The young mother's joy, however, turned to sorrow on Saturday as a bomb detonated as Joshua Reeves' Humvee drove down a Baghdad street. Leslie Reeves was still in the hospital with her new baby when she learned she was a widow.

"Everyone is just deeply saddened," said Paula Fortner, owner of Hendersonville's American Academy of Dance.

Leslie, who has danced since the age of six, was a former student of the academy as well as a teacher there as recently as two days before her delivery. Her mother, Marikay Burke, is the office manager at the studio.

Pastor Tim Reynolds of Hendersonville's First Presbyterian Church was all set to visit the new baby in the hospital Saturday when he received a call that Joshua Reeves had been killed.

According to Reynolds, Leslie had been active at his church before leaving to attend the University of Georgia. She had even been on the search committee that hired him.

"There's no explanation that can be given when something like this happens," said Reynolds. "It becomes a ministry of presence. They just need to be loved. There are no answers. You just try to be there and show the love of Christ."

"It hurts so terribly," said Joshua's father James. "You just can't know how bad it hurts."

Three years ago when their son told them he was going to join the Army, the Reeveses were not surprised.

"He wanted to fly helicopters, that was his dream," said James, an eighth-grade teacher. "He went to an aviation school after high school but he decided that joining the Army would get him to that point quicker."

"He was always determined, in everything," James added.

"He was such a good-hearted person. Everybody loved him," added his mother Jean said.

Jean talked to her son last week by phone. Sometimes, she said, he confided to her that he sometimes had trouble sleeping and worried about roadside bombs, the ubiquitous weapons of this war.

"But even so, he was real committed. He had just re-enlisted for six years. He supported his country. He supported the Army. He supported his President. He cared about the Iraqi people," Jean said.

The couple was in Hendersonville Monday, where James nodded to the screen of a laptop computer.

"Let me show you this," he said.

His fingers clicked the keys, opening files until he found the photo he searched for.

Another click magnified the image. Joshua sat cross-legged on the floor of an Iraqi house, a guest for a Ramadan meal. He looked at the camera with a quizzical smile as he held something to eat in his fingers. The specialist appeared to be at ease, among trusted companions.

"Isn't that just absolutely the greatest shot?" James said, chin on his neck, tears flowing unchecked, shoulders bobbing from the sobs.

"We got this last Wednesday."

Now the photo becomes his son's parting image.

In the next room, Leslie Reeves held her sleeping son close.

SFC JAMES D. DOSTER, KIA SEPT 29, 2007

The Associated Press

WHITE HALL, Ark. — An Army sergeant from Pine Bluff died Sept. 29 in a roadside bombing and gunfight in Baghdad, the Defense Department said Oct. 1.

Sgt. 1st Class James D. Doster, 37, served as a convoy leader in Iraq, his mother, Billie Doster, said Oct. 1.

Doster, a White Hall High School graduate, is survived by his wife, Amanda, and two young daughters, Kathryn, 6 and Grace, 3, who live at Wamego, Kan.

“Kathryn was counting down the days until he was supposed to be home,” Doster’s mother said. “She doesn’t really understand. All she says is, ‘It’s not fair.’ They had so many plans for when he came home.”

Doster served in the 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, based at Fort Riley, Kan., before the unit was deployed to Iraq.

Doster left for Iraq in February. He had joined the Army 17 years ago during his second year at Hendrix College and served mostly as a recruiter, Billie Doster said. Doster served in the Gulf War and was in one of the first tanks on the battlefield in that conflict, she said.

“It’s so easy to read ‘an American soldier was killed’ in the papers. You don’t really make the connection,” Billie Doster said, quietly weeping. “When it’s your own, you find it a lot harder.

“His wife is devastated, but is clinging to the knowledge that ... he died doing something he believed in.”

CPL DUNCAN C. CROOKSTON, DIED OF WOUNDS JANUARY 25, 2008

Denver Post

A Denver West High School graduate — one of two men to survive a deadly roadside blast along one of Baghdad's deadliest roads — has died from complications that resulted from his injuries, the Department of Defense and the soldier's family said Sunday.

Pfc. Duncan Charles Crookston, 19, an airborne infantryman who enlisted after graduating from West High School in 2006, died Friday at Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. He had been fighting for his life since an improvised bomb exploded near the humvee he was in Sept. 4. He was severely burned and underwent multiple amputations.

"He was very intelligent, very into science and was able to teach himself things about things, especially electronics," his mother, Leesha Crookston, an animal control officer with the city of Lakewood, said in a phone interview from San Antonio. "He ended up being placed as a radio-tech operator in his unit because he was so good with electronics.

Crookston was riding in the rear of a humvee carrying Sgt. Joel Murray, 26, the truck commander, Spc. David Lane, 20, the driver; Pvt. Randy Shelton, 22, the turret gunner and Pfc. Joseph Mixson, 22, when they were hit by a roadside bomb, according to Stars and Stripes newspaper. All of the men were with the 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, based in Fort Riley, Kan.

Three of them — Murray, Lane and Shelton — were killed in the blast or died a short time later.

One of the men in his unit told the newspaper that Crookston was soft-spoken and well liked.

"He was always helping us with our computers cause he knew about everything digital," Staff Sgt. Welby Richardson, 31, from Gonzales, Texas, told the Stars and Stripes.

Crookston was badly burned over 50 percent of his body. Both of his legs were amputated, along with his right arm and left hand, his mother said.

He had slipped in and out of conciousness these past few months at BAMC, but recently developed an infection followed by a fever, his mother said.

His family decided to remove life-support, and he died the day before his 20th birthday.

"Everyone hoped for the best, but he was always just kind in and out and kept getting infections," said Estevan Ruiz, 20, of Denver, a longtime friend of Crookston.

"He was a really great guy, and he helped everyone out whenever they needed him," Ruiz said. "And he knew everything about anything — music, computer games, books. And if he didn't know it, he was sure to learn it because that was just the way he was."

Ruiz said Crookston started dating his wife, Meaghun, their last year in high school.

While serving in Iraq, Crookston had been in frequent touch with family in the Denver area. He was home on leave for a few weeks last summer, his mother said.

"It was kind of hard to tell (how he was adjusting) to being there," Leesha Crookston said. "He kept a lot to himself and didn't talk about a lot of stuff that went on there. If anything, he was more interested in what was going on here."

His unit was scheduled to return from Iraq in April, she said.

Crookston leaves behind a wife, his parents and five brothers.

SPC. DURRELL L. BENNETT, KIA MARCH 29, 2008

By Karen Johnson Seattle Times staff reporter

Durrell Bennett traded in a football jersey for a microphone at Spanaway's Bethel High School.

At age 17, he filled his free time with choir practice and impromptu performances with his rap group, Lavoi and Red.

When the musically inclined man enlisted in the Army at 19, he bought recording and production equipment with his first few paychecks.

And when he was later deployed on a 15-month tour of Iraq, he used his off-duty time to broadcast his beats to friends and family via his MySpace page.

"He was always posting music from Baghdad," said Bennett's 18-year-old brother, Darnell Bennett. "It's how we knew he was OK."

Spc. Durrell Bennett, 22, died Saturday in Baghdad from wounds suffered from an explosive device and small-arms fire, the Army said Tuesday.

He had been assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry, 4th Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Infantry Division out of Fort Riley, Kan.

A 2004 Bethel graduate, Spc. Bennett was less than two weeks from completing his 15-month tour when he was killed.

His father, former Army Ranger Dempsey Bennett, said his son had already packed up his prized music equipment and sent it to his family home in Spanaway.

The box postmarked Baghdad arrived just a few days before they learned their son had died.

"Durrell loved music, he produced music and wanted to do this professionally one day," Dempsey Bennett said Tuesday evening. "I knew he was close to coming home when that box arrived."

Music was not Spc. Bennett's only passion; he also excelled as a soldier. He was promoted three ranks in his first three years of service, his family said.

"I've got to give him props," said retired Army engineer Waymon Hawthorne, Spc. Bennett's uncle. "He got promoted fast because he was willing to take the reins on anything."

Dempsey Bennett said his son re-enlisted in December and planned to serve an additional six years, with the condition that he could be stationed at Fort Lewis so he could be closer to his friends and loved ones.

When he returned, Spc. Bennett had planned to rent an apartment, where he and brother Darnell, a senior at Bethel, could live after he graduated this year.

"He wanted to see me go to college," Darnell Bennet said. "He was going to let me stay with him and he was going to help pay for my college. He was going to get his life set and we were going to get things started together."

In addition to his father and brother, Spc. Bennett is survived by his mother, Doris Bennett.

PFC. PATRICK J. MILLER, KIA MARCH 29, 2008

Tampa Tribune

NEW PORT RICHEY - Pfc. P.J. Miller shipped his personal belongings from Iraq to New Port Richey because he was expecting to come home in a few weeks. The 23-year-old was one of two U.S. Army soldiers killed in Baghdad over the weekend, the Department of Defense announced today. "He thought we needed to be there," his mother, Kim Miller said. "He thought what we was doing was right and he wanted to defend our country." P.J. Miller was a graduate of Mitchell High School in New Port Richey and earned a degree in biology from the University of South Florida. He aspired to attend graduate school to study genetics. "He was a fantastic human being," Patrick Miller said.