SPC. MICHAEL W. DAVIS with a problem, he’d say, “How are we going to handle this?”
“He could figure anything out if he just wanted to, if he just tried,” said Matt Sustaita, a longtime friend, whether it was a math problem or auto repair. “He had a way of explaining things to people that made it seem so easy, even the most complicated things.”
Davis, 22, of San Marcos, Texas, was killed by a roadside bomb May 21 in Baghdad. He was a 2002 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Richardson.
“He was one of the most incredible people I ever got the chance to know,” said Sustaita. “He was the kind of guy people looked up to.”
Davis wasn’t the best trombone player in his high school marching band, but his personality was such that his mere presence “made the whole section considered cool,” said longtime friend Ben Stout.
“He went over to the war like he goes everywhere, to bring a little bit of peace and love and serenity to the area around him,” Stout said. “He never went over to Iraq to kill people. He chose to go over there and he knew the risks.”
He is survived by his wife, Taryn.
When he was 18, and right after he committed to serving in the military, ARMY PFC. ROBERT H. DEMBOWSKI gave a speech at a ceremony to honor men who served in World War II. He spoke about service, courage and commitment to an affected audience.
“He was absolutely amazing,” said Bernadette Heenan, a school board member who saw the speech. “He touched so many of those World War II veterans.”
Dembowski, 20, of Ivyland, Pa., was killed May 24 by small-arms fire in Baghdad. He was a 2005 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Bragg.
In a statement, Dembowski’s family said he “always wanted to serve his country and help people since he was 5 or 6 years old. He loved the stories his Army veteran grandfather told him.”
Dembowski loved the outdoors and used his imagination to build things. One of his goals was to build a log cabin when he returned from the service.
“He loved telling stories and making people laugh. Bobbie loved the Iraqi children and asked that people send candy for him to hand out,” his family said.
He is survived by his parents, Robert Sr. and Frances.
MARINE LANCE CPL. BENJAMIN D. DESILETS was a bit like Tom Sawyer, according to Cathy Meyers, his old English teacher.
“He was ornery enough to be interesting and fun. But he was charming enough that you just loved him to pieces,” she said. “If someone new came to the school or someone was down and out, he’s the one who had his arm around them saying, ‘Hey, having a tough day?'”
Desilets, 21, of Elmwood, Ill., was killed May 22 in combat in Anbar province. He was a 2004 high school graduate, on his second tour and was assigned to Camp Lejeune.
“He was just a dynamic kid. He was a very handsome boy and he was just as pretty on the inside,” said Meyers.
Desilets joined the Marines in September 2004 to take care of his young daughter, now 3, who was born while he was in high school.
“He was a teen dad. But, you know, when he was around, I never changed a dirty diaper,” said his mother, Brenda Desilets. “He made mistakes. He was a hotheaded little kid. But you won’t find a teen dad like that.”
Said his former Cub Scout den leader, Sherida Houlihan: “Scrappy is a great word for him.”
ARMY SPC. ROBERT J. DIXON grew up in foster care. Ilene Dixon said she and her husband, Daniel, were charmed by the shy, soft-spoken boy who seemed to have such a big heart.
“He was very good at home, but would act out at school. He was acting out because he had been abandoned so many times in his life,” said Ilene Dixon, who adopted him. “I think he became so dedicated, so loving to his family because of that.”
Dixon, 27, of Gladwin, Minn., was killed by a roadside bomb May 6 in Baghdad. He was a 1998 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Riley.
He excelled in sports – playing football as a running back and setting the school track record for the 100-meter dash.
Dixon’s wife, Rusty Rose-Dixon, said his troops “loved him and they hated him, because he was so confident and so cocky, but he got the job done.”
He also is survived by sons Logan, 3, and Michael, 2, both from a previous marriage.
Rose-Dixon said the last word she got from him was a text message he sent before he went out on patrol. He told her that her hair – which she was getting done – would look great. “I love you. I have to go to work now,” he wrote.
In 2002, ARMY SGT. ALLEN J. DUNCKLEY enlisted in the Marines, motivated by the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
He was sent to Iraq during the opening months of the war. After completing his four-year contract, he signed up with the Army, upset he had left his comrades.
“Most people view love as a word or emotion, I view love as an act of commitment,” he wrote on his blog. “My act of love is my service in the military protecting and preserving all the things I believe in most, so that my children, family, and friends can enjoy true freedom.”
Dunckley, 25, of Yardley, Pa., was killed May 14 in Salman Pak by small-arms fire. He was assigned to Fort Stewart and was on his second tour.
He was athletic, earning a black belt in karate, studying fencing and dabbling in kickboxing.
He is survived by his children Joshua, 3, and Hannah, 2, and wife, Jennifer.
For their first date, Dunckley chartered a private plane to fly over New York City, which she had never visited.
“He was my renaissance man,” said his wife. “That’s what I called him all the time because everything he did, he did well.”
Nineteen years of service was enough for ARMY SGT. 1ST CLASS ROBERT E. DUNHAM , and he was thinking of retiring from the Army to spend more time with his family.
“He said in today’s fast-paced society, people are so busy that they risk neglecting their family, and he wanted to make sure he didn’t do that,” said his brother, Charles Dunham. “He gave it his all. He was proud of that.”
Dunham, 36, of Baltimore, was killed May 24 by an explosion in Baghdad. He was a 1988 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Riley.
He was an honors student who loved playing basketball in community leagues. He studied industrial electronics and was stationed in Germany, Kansas and Arkansas before his family settled in Georgia.
He served in Iraq during Operation Desert Storm, in Bosnia and in Somalia and had received special-forces training before his latest tour in Iraq.
He also served as a minister of music for churches wherever he was stationed. He was a skilled piano and organ player and directed his church choir.
He is survived by his wife, Kimberly, and five sons, who age from 2 to 14.
ARMY SGT. CLAYTON G. DUNN II was a runner – a track star in high school and a cross-country competitor in college. His friend Buddy Rogers said Dunn energized him.
“He inspired me to keep running. I wanted to quit so many times,” said Rogers, who holds the 800-meter Citrus Belt League record. “If it weren’t for him, I never would have run that race.”
Dunn, 22, of Moreno Valley, Calif., was killed May 26 by an explosion in Salahuddin province. He was a 2003 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Bragg.
During his senior year at Rialto High School in 2003, he set the Division I Citrus Belt League record in the 1,600-meter race. That record still stands, said his former track coach, Marie Albert.
Dunn, described as a quiet, polite student, was on the cross-country team while attending San Bernardino Valley College.
“The other kids respected him,” Albert said. “He motivated his teammates to work hard in practice, and they were friends outside of practice. He was an all-around good person, and he will be deeply missed.”
ARMY PFC. WILLIAM A FARRAR JR. took every opportunity he could to get outside the wire.
“The minute someone came up sick or tired before a mission he would be there knocking on a sergeant’s door asking if he could fill their place. That was just Farrar,” said Sgt. Jesse Hernandez.
Farrar, 20, of Redlands, Calif., was killed by a roadside bomb May 11 in Iskandariyah. He was assigned to Darmstadt, Germany.
Farrar, the youngest soldier in his platoon, joined the Army soon after graduating high school in 2005. “He even liked the military food,” said his father, Tony Farrar Sr.
Hernandez called Farrar a hero, but said the soldier never believed he was one. If he could be here with us, “He would shake his head and say, ‘I was only doing my job.”‘
His stepmother, Cathy Farrar, said he would play games with his 10-year-old twin sisters and draw cartoons for them even though he was much older. He also enjoyed computer games and paintball.
“He never complained about anything,” Tony Farrar Sr. said. “He just wasn’t that type of kid.”
He also is survived by his mother, Sally Bors.
Ken Kuper said he’s still in shock with the loss of his friend and cousin-in-law, ARMY PFC. JOHN D. FLORES, who would never hesitate to assist anyone in need.
“There will be no nicer person than John Flores,” Kuper said. “He was the most respectful, the most generous, appreciative person that I personally have ever known.”
Flores, 21, of Barrigada, Guam, was killed May 3 by small-arms fire in Baghdad. He was assigned to Schweinfurt, Germany.
“He loved Spam and rice,” said Staff Sgt. Matthew W. Colleary. “When everyone else was in the mess hall, he’d be in the motor pool cooking Spam and rice. For him there was no better meal.”
He is survived by his wife, Charlene and their 18-month-old daughter Chloe.
Flores had joined the Army to eventually relocate his young family and purchase a home in the States, his mother-in-law Cindy Kazuo said.
“It’s so overwhelming for her right now, but she’s trying really hard to cope,” Kazuo said. “He was such a fine man; very attentive to his wife and his family.”
“I’m very proud to say that he was very respectful to myself and my family. You don’t really find that a lot in a son-in-law,” she said. “He will be very, very missed.”
At 36, ARMY SPC. MICHAEL K. FRANK was inevitably called “Grandpa” by his younger fellow soldiers – but he also was valued for his advice.
“If anyone ever had personal problems, Frank was always the guy to sit down and talk things over with,” said Spc. Andrew Baker, his former roommate.
Frank, of Great Falls, Mont., was killed by a roadside bomb May 10 in Baghdad. He was a 1998 graduate of the University of Cincinnati and was assigned to Fort Bragg.
In high school, he ran the 400- and 800-meters for the track team. He also represented his school in the yearly South Dakota Knowledge Bowl twice.
After a four-year Army stint, he worked for a large private investigations company and then ran an Italian restaurant. But when the Iraq war started, he began to get restless, and decided that his place was back in the Army.
“I’ve got this training, and I’ve got to do my part,” he told his father, Timothy. So he enlisted again.
Frank was a master of trivia games and enjoyed playing sports, particularly pickup games of basketball and football.
He also is survived by his mother, Diane.
ARMY PFC. VICTOR M. FONTANILLA was deployed to Iraq in October and regularly communicated with his wife, Noel Mokuahi, online.
“Hey baby, just got off shift,” Fontanilla wrote to Mokuahi on the family’s MySpace page Dec. 16. “Really tired, but I just wanted to say hi and I love you!”
Fontanilla, 23, of Stockton, Calif., was killed May 17 by a roadside bomb in Iskandariya. He was a 2001 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Richardson.
Family members were surprised when Fontanilla announced almost two years ago that he had decided to enlist. Then again, the move by the strong-willed, independent father and husband seemed to fit his personality.
“He was a self-supporting kid,” said his aunt Lysia Espinosa, who raised Fontanilla at her Stockton home. “He wouldn’t ask for anything.”
Fontanilla’s brother, Lee Castro, described his brother as a multitalented man who could play several musical instruments by ear and easily assemble electronics. He taught Castro to play piano and also enjoyed drawing anime-style cartoons.
He also is survived by a son, Mykal-Christian Kila, 2.
A few months before his 18th birthday, ARMY PFC. AARON D. GAUTIER showed up at his father’s office with an Army recruiter.
Gautier wanted his father, Dan, to sign enlistment papers. His father was hesitant at first, but Aaron was so intent on serving he told his father that he could either enlist immediately with his blessing or later when he was of legal age.
“I was really looking forward to the next phase of our relationship as adults together,” his father said. “The hard raising time was over, and it was time to enjoy each other. He was taken too soon.”
Gautier, 19, of Hampton, Va., was killed May 17 in Baghdad by small-arms fire. He earned a GED and was assigned to Fort Lewis.
“He was a sweet boy,” said Patricia Barker, who knew him while he was growing up. “He was a friendly, caring boy” who would always make her small daughter laugh, she said. “He was so polite.”
Gautier married this year and was looking forward to starting a family with his wife, Lindsey, and using the GI bill to pursue higher education.
“He was growing into a fine young man and wonderful husband,” his father said. “He would have been a wonderful father.”
Though their military schedules and assignments conflicted, brothers Sean and Joseph Gilmore tried to talk once a month.
“He was ready to come home and see his family. It was rough out there,” said Sean Gilmore, an Alabama National Guard member, recalling the last chat with his brother.
ARMY SPC. JOSEPH A. GILMORE, 26, of Webster, Fla., was killed May 19 when a bomb exploded near his vehicle in western Baghdad. He was assigned to Fort Hood.
“He’s a hero, and I hope to someday be the man he was,” his younger brother said. “Everything he did was for somebody else.” One of seven boys, Joseph Gilmore was born and reared in Hartford, Ala., but relocated after high school to Bushnell, Fla., where he lived with his grandmother, Bonnie Clinton.
Sean Gilmore, an Alabama Guard member, said his brother enlisted to make a better life for his family, which included two children, ages 5 and 3.
“That was his No. 1 concern,” he said. “He loved his kids.”
He also is survived by his wife, Eve. Her MySpace page showed a picture of a soldier with the caption: “R.I.P. Joseph Gilmore. Gone But Never Forgotten.”
In a letter to his wife, ARMY SGT. CHRISTOPHER N. GONZALEZ began with “Happy Monday” as his opening greeting, and talked about going to the dentist, horses and how he wished he were home to see his son’s graduation.
“Happy Mother’s Day,” he continued in a recent letter to his wife. “Go spend some money on yourself!”
Gonzalez, 25, of Bird Springs, Ariz., was killed May 14 in Salman Pak by small-arms fire. He was assigned to Fort Stewart.
“It is another very sad day that brings us the news of the loss of another of our soldiers, another of our sons,” Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. said.
In his time as a soldier, he volunteered with the Ronald McDonald House and was a volunteer with the Special Olympics among other things.
His journal entries shared the emotions he felt when leaving for Iraq.
“Today was a hard day. I had to say good-by to my family,” he had written.
“I’m starting to understand combat vets and why they’re so proud,” he wrote. “It’s because they made so many sacrifices.”
Gonzalez is survived by his wife, Tonita, and 5-year-old son, Breenen.
Remembered by his boss as “the best NCO I’ve ever met,” ARMY SGT. FELIX G. GONZALEZ-IRAHETA was an expert on Humvees and Bradley vehicles, having memorized schematic details.
Gonzalez-Iraheta, 25, of Sun Valley, Calif., was killed May 3 by small-arms fire in Baghdad. He was on his second deployment and was assigned to Schweinfurt, Germany.
Gonzalez-Iraheta’s sister-in-law told Lt. Col. Robert Whittle, rear detachment commander in Schweinfurt, that his family knew he was a hero long before he entered the Army, having saved his younger brother from drowning while on a childhood camping trip.
Born in El Salvador, Gonzalez-Iraheta had acquired U.S. citizenship while with his unit, becoming naturalized in April 2006. He also previously served in Vilseck, Germany, during his nine-plus years as a soldier.
He is survived by his wife, Janet, daughters Celina and Annabel, mother Christine Wertz and mother-in-law Cindy Kazuo.
“Felix will be remembered for his selfless patriotism in the face of ultimate danger. Maria and I extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and fellow soldiers,” Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said.
On his MySpace page, ARMY SPC. KELLY B. GROTHE discussed his dreams of some day traveling to Germany and of his desire to go to college.
The posting also includes answers to such questions as his favorite type of pizza (pineapple), his fears (heights) and the type of shoes he puts on each morning (desert combat boots).
Grothe, 21, of Spokane, Wash., was killed May 3 by an explosive in Ramadi. He was a 2004 high school graduate and was assigned to Hayden Lake.
“He was fun, loving, caring, full of life and had a huge heart. We are all deeply saddened by losing such a fine young man, son, brother and friend but know he is now in a better place,” wrote his family.
“Kelly was an awesome young man, son, brother, friend and soldier, a true American hero,” Al and Frankie Taylor Fisher, family friends, wrote on an online memorial.
Among the many questions on his Web page, Grothe posted an answer to the question of how he would want to die. “Well, I don’t really want to,” he wrote, “but I guess if I have to, I want to go really, really quick.”
He is survived by his parents, Brian and Jan.
Benjamin Gullett said that when his brother, ARMY PFC. ZACHARY R. GULLETT, entered the military, his family feared kindhearted Zachary would be changed, either by the military, or by the experience of war.
They needn’t have worried.
“Though he was grown up, and he came back a man, he was still Zachary,” Benjamin Gullett said. “He was changed, but not different.”
Gullett, 20, of Hillsboro, Ohio, collapsed while exercising May 1 in Baghdad. He was assigned to Fort Carson.
“He was a great, goofy kid,” Benjamin Gullett said of his young brother, who was involved in football, choir, drama and the band in school. “And I can’t think of a better way to describe him.”
He graduated high school in 2004, enrolled at Southern State Community College in Ohio, and attended the Ohio Police Academy at Ohio University.
He volunteered with the Highland County Sheriff’s Department and the neighboring community of New Vienna.
Gullett, known for his love of Kentucky Fried Chicken, graduated from the police academy when he was 19, but he had to wait until he was 21 to become a police officer.
He also is survived by his parents, Mike and Connie.
Andrea McDonald said it was hard to believe that her son, ARMY PFC. LARRY I. GUYTON, was gone because they had spent time together about two months ago when he came home on leave.
“He walked in the door and it was like this huge bear hug that he gave me, and he was just kissing on me,” she said. “My face was plumb wet where he was kissing on me. I’d give anything for my face to be wet like that again.”
Guyton, 22, of Brenham, Texas, was killed May 5 from wounds suffered when a bomb exploded near his vehicle a day earlier in Baghdad. He was assigned to Fort Hood.
Guyton enjoyed camping, fishing and hunting. “Larry loved being in cowboy boots and spurs,” said Debbie Rogers, his sister.
Guyton was a member of the JROTC and the Buffalo Soldiers, an organization dedicated to teaching about the black cavalries that served during the Civil War.
Guyton felt strongly about joining the military because he wanted to change negative stereotypes about young black men.
“He just wanted to do something positive with his life,” she said.
He also is survived by two sons, 1-year-old Kenyon and 2-year-old Jaidyn.
Helping others was a way of life for ARMY STAFF SGT. CHRISTOPHER N. HAMLIN, even as a student athlete who was on the basketball, cross country and track teams.
“He’d be hanging around, waiting for basketball practice to start and he’d help the janitor clean the school,” said JROTC commander retired Navy Cmdr. Kenneth Vanourney.
Hamlin, 24, of London, Ky., was killed May 4 by a roadside bomb in Baghdad. He was a 1988 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Hood.
In 1991, he drove his tank in the front lines of Desert Storm.
He went on to serve tours in Bosnia, Haiti and Somalia. In 2004, he served in Iraq and was deployed there again in 2006.
“He said that he wanted to travel the world and not watch it on television,” said his mother, Autumn Hamlin. “He wanted to be right there.”
He wrote poetry, loved to eat crab legs and urged his family in a letter to “Make every day count! “Appreciate every moment and take from it everything you possibly can, for you may never be able to experience it again,” Hamlin wrote last year.
He is survived by his wife, Donna.
Born and raised on the East Coast, ARMY PFC. JONATHAN V. HAMM always wanted to travel.
“After he got to be 15-16, he liked to get on the bus and the train and just learn his way around the city,” according to an aunt, Eleanor Swan. “He’d make a whole day sightseeing like that. He always wanted to travel more.”
Hamm, 20, Baltimore, was killed May 17 in Baghdad by indirect fire. He was a 2004 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Lewis.
Most friends knew him as “Hammie” or “Hamm” – few in his circle called him Jonathan.
“He was a loner, but if he was your friend, you could trust him,” classmate Devon Hodge said.
Another aunt, Leah Hamm, stepped in to give him some advice when he struggled in school.
“After my brother passed in 2000, there was a spiral of not going to class and hanging with the wrong people,” she said. “His mother asked if I would talk to him, so I told him what would happen to him: destruction, death or incarceration.”
“He took it upon himself to change his life,” she said. “He seemed happy.”
His mother, Frances S. McCullough, died in February from breast cancer.
As a child, ARMY SGT. JASON R. HARKINS would carry a play gun around, as well as a sword stuck down the back of his shirt.
“He just ran around like that all the time,” said his aunt, Gail Nix.
Harkins, 25, of Clarkesville, Ga., was killed May 6 by a roadside bomb in Baqubah. He was a 1999 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Lewis.
Nix said when he wasn’t soldiering, Harkins could often be found scouting area waterways for trophy fish.
She also noted with a laugh that the tall, big-shouldered infantryman adored his pet cat, Simba.
Several weeks ago, Harkins saved a fellow soldier’s life in a firefight and afterward found a bullet lodged in his own helmet.
“Seeing the impact he made, I know that God is going use his death to do amazing things,” said his wife, Emily.
Jason and Emily had a whirlwind romance, with a wedding squeezed in before his deployment to Iraq. When the Army extended his mission, he told Emily how he wanted to spend the extra money.
“I want to take you on a honeymoon,” she says he told her. “Anywhere you want to go. So we were going to Hawaii in November.”
ARMY PFC. NICHOLAS S. HARTGE’s idea of a great joke was climbing the balcony of his stepparents’ house late at night to bang on their bedroom window as if he was a burglar.
His stepfather, Dave Abbott, said he was the kind of kid who’d enter a demolition derby if he could.
“My gosh, how much energy that kid had,” Abbott said. “If there was an opportunity to be seized, he’d take it.”
Hartge, 20, of Rome City, Ind., died May 14 in Baghdad of wounds from an explosive. He was a 2005 high school graduate and was assigned to Schweinfurt, Germany.
He focused much of his attention on cars that had seen better days. He was a skilled mechanic and fixed them into working condition.
Scott Hartge said the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks drove his son to become a soldier.
“He always wanted to do something special,” Hartge said. “He was adamant about being in the Army. There was nothing going to stop him.”
In high school, Hartge played trumpet in marching band, switching to the bass drum his junior year. He brought small gifts for some of the elementary students who had sent him packages.
He also is survived by his mother, Lori.
ARMY PFC. TRAVIS F. HASLIP was his father’s fishing and camping partner, and the elder Haslip recently bought a new aluminum boat that he hoped to use after his son returned from Iraq.
“He was supposed to come back and go fishing this summer,” said his father, Fred Haslip. “I’m really going to miss just being around him.”
Haslip, 20, of Ooltewah, Tenn., was killed May 19 in Baghdad. A graduate from Chattanooga State Technical Community College with a degree in welding, he was assigned to Fort Hood.
During two weeks of leave in March, Haslip brought home slides from his time in Iraq and told stories about the people he had met there. He was particularly affected by the Iraqi children, whom he felt were innocent victims of the conflict, said pastor Jose Nieves.
On his page, Haslip posted a photo of his boot-clad feet caked in mud and a picture of a mud man he built in observance of Christmas.
“That’s pretty much what Iraq is like this time of year,” he wrote. “Nothing but mud and more mud.”
He also is survived by his mother and stepfather, Lana and Denis McDonald.
When ARMY 1ST LT. KEITH N. HEIDTMAN was applying to the University of Connecticut, he sought a recommendation from Hugh “Duke” Campbell, his assistant baseball coach.
It was offered with pleasure. It opened: “Keith Heidtman represents everything that is right about young people today. He brings the whole package to the table every day.”
Heidtman, 24, of Norwich, Conn., was killed May 28 when his helicopter crashed after being hit by enemy fire in Muqdadiyah. He was assigned to Schofield Barracks.
“If you had to pick your son, this is who you would pick,” said Chris Heidtman, the soldier’s uncle. “He was handsome, he was bright.”
Heidtman was an all-conference baseball player, a basketball player and an honor student in high school.
“He was one of those kids who thirsted for anything you could throw at him,” Campbell said.
He was a “great kid and a great young man,” said John Iovino, student activities director.
He studied resource economics at the University of Connecticut in Storrs and graduated in 2005.
He is survived by his parents, Maureen Robidoux and Kerry Heidtman, and stepfather, Art Robidoux.
Samantha Criswell said she was impressed by ARMY SGT. GLENN D. HICKS JR.’s thoughtfulness when she met him early last year. During their first date, she mentioned her undying love of Dr Pepper.
“Later on, he left the table and brought back a glass of Dr Pepper for me,” Criswell said. “He was a great listener.”
Hicks, 24, of College Station, Texas, was killed April 28 by a roadside bomb and small-arms fire in Salman Pak. He was assigned to Fort Benning and was on his second tour.
In 2000, he graduated from high school and then attended Tarrant County College Southeast Campus and Blinn College in Bryan.
His dream was to finish his college education, return to the Army as an officer and eventually sail the Mediterranean with his sweetheart.
“He always wanted to do things that weren’t the norm,” said Criswell. “He never did anything because it was popular or he felt obligated to.”
Hicks was always the first one to help, said his mother, Susan Hicks. “He would even help people who didn’t even ask for it,” she said.
He also is survived by his father, Glenn Dale Hicks Sr.
ARMY STAFF SGT. KRISTOPHER A. HIGDON’s father, Ollie Lynn Little, said he and Kris were more than just father and son – they were close friends and partners in crime.
“Everybody was always on guard around us. We were big pranksters,” he said with a laugh.
They also shared a love for the Texas Longhorns, but that was where their sport camaraderie ended.
“He was a big NASCAR fan,” Little said. “We had different drivers; we’d always try to jab at each other about our drivers.”
Higdon, 25, of Odessa, Texas, was killed by a roadside bomb May 22 in Taji. He was a 1999 high school graduate, assigned to Fort Lewis and was on his second tour.
Higdon loved football and was a devoted Junior ROTC member. He played backup goalie on the soccer team and devoted himself to the team’s greater good.
“It’s hard to serve a backup role in anything,” said former soccer coach Warren Cottle. “He did it with grace and selflessness.”
He also is survived by his wife, MaKayne, and two children, Kacie and Hunter.
The last time his mother, Ronda Higdon, and her son spoke was Mother’s Day.
“He called to tell me happy Mother’s Day,” she said.
ARMY SPC. MICHAEL J. JAURIGUE’s focus was like a laser. That was clear when he transferred to a new school for his senior year and discovered he’d be two credits shy of being able to graduate with his class.
“So he took night courses to get those credits so he could graduate with that class,” said his father, Jose Jaurigue. “Whenever he said he was going to do something, he did it.”
Jaurigue, 20, of Texas City, Texas, was killed May 26 by an explosion in Salahuddin province. He graduated high school in 2004 and was assigned to Fort Bragg.
He joined the 82nd Airborne Division, a move that made his father burst with pride down at the American Legion Hall.
“People would say, ‘How’s your son?’ and I would say, ‘He’s airborne,”‘ said Jose Jaurigue, a Marine for 22 years.
“He told us he wanted to go to Ranger school and then eventually become a Green Beret,” he said. “You knew he would do it, too, because he was so focused.”
A soccer player, Jaurigue often asked his family to send him summer sausage and lots of Gatorade.
“He was our everything,” said Jose Jaurigue.
He also is survived by his mother, Juana Jaurigue.
ARMY 1ST LT. RYAN P. JONES often urged his mother to send packages to his entire unit – not just to him.
“His mother has received thank you notes in the last few days from his men saying what a great platoon leader he was and how lucky they were to have him,” said Denise MacAloney, a family friend.
Jones, 23, of Westminster, Mass., was killed May 2 by a roadside bomb in Baghdad. He was assigned to Fort Riley.
He graduated from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 2005 with a degree in civil engineering. He served in the ROTC and was a member of the Phi Kappa Theta fraternity.
He was a movie buff who had rated about 1,500 movies on Netflix.
“His knowledge of movies was unbelievable,” said Adam Epstein, a friend.
“Ryan was a great person, really smart, who always had a smile,” said MacAloney. “The thing I remember about him is that he was always such a soft and kind person. When you talked to him he always looked you in the eye and you always felt like he was paying attention to you.”
He is survived by his parents, Kevin and Elaine.
When ARMY STAFF SGT. CHRISTOPHER S. KIERNAN got $300 for Christmas, he asked that every penny be spent on veterans living at a hospital in Texas.
“That’s just the kind of person he was,” said his mother-in-law, Joy East. “We need more people like him.”
Kiernan, 37, of Virginia Beach, Va., was killed May 6 by small-arms fire in Baghdad. He was a 1988 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Hood.
“He was one of the most wonderful people I had ever known,” said East. “He was so big-hearted, loving and kind. He always put himself last.”
Karen Alesick, a friend, described Kiernan as “one of the most incredible people I know. Not only was he a good soldier, he took care of his men.”
Warren East, a brother-in-law, said that extended to family.
“I have Parkinson’s disease, and he used to help me out to no end,” he said. “He was always there. If something needed to be done, he got the job done.”
He is survived by his wife, Donna.
He was planning a visit home in July so he could be with his wife on her birthday.
“They shared a very unique bond,” said Karen Alesick, a friend. “That was the love of her life.”
MARINE LANCE CPL. JOHNATHAN E. KIRK wasn’t in Iraq long enough to find much adventure, though he and his buddies did catch a hedgehog and turn it into a pet.
“He was just like a 4-year-old when he was telling me about that,” said his mother, Glenda Hopkins. “It just gave them all a lift.”
Kirk, 25, of Belhaven, N.C., died May 1 from combat wounds he received on April 23 in Anbar province. He was a 2000 high school graduate and was assigned to Camp Lejeune.
In high school, Kirk was a small kid, but a dynamo who could lift more weight than anyone his size and got his brothers hooked on pumping iron, too. He worked for a couple of years on his father’s 88-foot trawler and loved the water.
While Kirk was earning a degree in electrical work from Beaufort Community College, he met a Marine who deeply impressed him, said his mother. He soon enlisted.
Kirk liked all kinds of music, loved to work on cars and play basketball, and was “just a fun-loving guy,” said Noland Wilkins Jr., his best friend.
He also is survived by his father, John Kirk; stepmother, Donna Kirk; and stepfather, Robbie Hopkins.
ARMY SPC. RHYS W. KLASNO had already finished training to become a paramedic and planned to become one after he returned from Iraq.
“Even when he was in Iraq, he volunteered at the base hospital,” said his father, Michael Klasno. “My son was always the first to volunteer.”
Klasno, 20, of Riverside, Calif., was killed by a roadside bomb May 13 in Haditha.
He was a 2004 high school graduate and was assigned to Bakersfield.
“He was a real compassionate guy,” said his mother, Lynn Jardinico. “He was the most awesome kid in the world.”
Klasno’s last e-mail to longtime friend Bryan Dean, who took paramedic classes with Klasno, was “I love you. Go save lives.”
Klasno used the skills he learned in college while helping a fellow soldier, said Sgt. Peter Gago.
“One time we had a soldier that was having back spasms, and I had to take the soldier to the hospital. Rhys went with us, and he was talking to the soldier, making sure she was comforted. He was calm. He really helped that soldier to maintain and not panic,” Gago said.
He is survived by his wife, Stephanie, and an unborn child that is due the first week of August.
ARMY STAFF SGT. DAVID C. KUEHL met a young girl named Messa in Iraq. He liked the name so much that he and his wife passed it on to their second daughter, born 9 months ago.
“He just liked her name. She was a cute little girl. I never did get a picture of her or anything, but ever since that day, we kept that name,” Amy Kuehl said. “Messa’s never going to get that chance to know him.”
Kuehl, 27, of Wahpeton, N.D., was killed May 22 by a roadside bomb in Taji. He was a 1999 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Lewis. He was on his second tour.
He loved hunting and his truck. Amy and David were good friends in high school, but didn’t get serious until after he joined the Army following graduation.
“Lots of times, in the middle of the night, he was the first person I called when I had any trouble,” Amy said. “He constantly kept asking me out and I kept saying no because I wanted to stay good friends. I didn’t want to ruin the friendship. But we got together, anyway.”
He also is survived by his 7-year-old daughter Kiley.
“He was just a very nice young man, always willing to help everybody out,” said Paulette Hoeft, a family friend.
