After high school, Army Pfc. Joshua D. Brown installed hardwood floors but soon moved to Florida and joined the Army. About two years ago, he found himself in Iraq.
“He went there to help people, and that’s what he did,” said his father, Wayne Brown. “He was there to help protect the troops being fired on.”
Brown, 26, of Tampa, Fla., died June 3, 2007, in Baghdad. His vehicle had struck an explosive the day before. He was assigned to Schweinfurt, Germany.
Brown grew up in Dearborn Heights, Mich., and graduated from high school there in 1998.
He played baseball, basketball and soccer. He also was a marksman and did martial arts.
“He was outgoing, very personable,” his father said. “He was a friendly guy, but he was tough too.”
He was remembered as a driven man of action.
“Whatever he was engaged in, he gave it his all,” said Pastor Gus Flaherty of Fairhaven Assembly of God.
Brown also is survived by his wife, Elizabeth.
A week before he was killed, Brown talked with his dad on the phone about God.
“He told me, ‘Don’t worry because God is very faithful.’ That was great to hear him tell me that.”
Army Sgt. William E. Brown‘s mother said he always loved things with wheels and engines. A former principal can attest to that.
“He was only here for a little while, but he was a real likable guy and kind of mechanically inclined,” said Gary Harris. “He climbed underneath my vehicle one time while he was here and tried helping me figure out what was wrong with it.”
Brown, 25, of Phil Campbell, Ala., was killed June 23, 2007, in Taji during a mortar attack. He was a 2002 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Carson. He was on his second tour.
Brown’s mother, Theresa Kyser, said everyone who met her son liked him.
“He was a little mischievous, but he was so likable that you couldn’t help but like him,” she said. “He was always making you laugh.”
She said she will also remember her son’s loving eyes and his caring ways. When he was about 9, he spotted a turtle crossing the road in front of their car.
“William made me stop the car and get the turtle off the road so it wouldn’t get hit. He was such a compassionate person.”
Brown also is survived by his wife, Rachel, and two sons, Ethan and Tyler.
Army Pfc. Henry G. Byrd III loved hunting, camping, fishing, swimming, riding horses and bringing smiles to friends’ faces.
Louise Ortega, Byrd’s aunt, recalled the time she saw Henry wearing two cellphones on his belt. Ortega said with a laugh that “Henry said if he got two phones it was cheaper than one. Then he wouldn’t miss a call.”
Byrd, 20, of Veguita, N.M., died June 24, 2007, in Germany after apparently suffering heatstroke in Iraq. He was a 2004 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Stewart, Ga.
Byrd had a very close relationship with Rick and Belinda Gonzalez and their children. They met him through their daughter, Maranda, who knew Byrd from JROTC.
“He’s a really great person with a big heart,” Rick Gonzalez said. “He was always happy. He considered my wife and me like a mom and dad. It’s a great loss.”
“He was like my protector almost. He always called me his little brat. In his letters, it was ‘hey, brat.’ Nobody expected him to die. He was like my big brother,” Maranda said.
He also is survived by his mother, Yolanda Lopez, and father, Henry J. Byrd II.
A small stuffed raccoon joined the American flag atop Army Spec. Derek A. Calhoun‘s casket during the young man’s funeral service.
Pastor C. Wayne Childers said it had been placed there by Calhoun’s niece, Sierra, who had heard a story about him having a raccoon named Rocky as a pet when he was younger.
“They were calling this one Rocky II,” he said.
Calhoun, 23, of Oklahoma City, was killed June 23, 2007, by a roadside bomb in Taji. He was assigned to Fort Hood, Texas.
He enjoyed sports and the outdoors, watching and playing football, basketball and fishing, and dogs.
He loved to spend time with his nieces and nephews.
“He loved sports, any type,” said his father, Alan.
He was badly injured in a bomb attack at Tikrit four months earlier.
He suffered wounds to his abdomen, wrist and shoulder, and underwent several surgeries.
George “Marty” Brock, the former pastor of South Lindsay Baptist Church, said part of Calhoun’s military insurance money will be used to open a new playground at the church.
Brock said no one should forget the sacrifice Calhoun made.
“He was — and forever shall be — a hero,” he said.
He also is survived by his mother, Lou.
Army Staff Sgt. Juan F. Campos and his future bride, Jamie Drury-Campos, met in 2000 at a bar and grill. She was a waitress and, he told her, his dream girl.
But he was too shy to act on his crush; she had to approach him on the dance floor. Her mother, Birdie McVaney, liked him immediately.
” ‘You’re son-in-law material,’ I said, the first day,” she remembered.
Campos, 27, of McAllen, Texas, died June 1, 2007, at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio of wounds suffered May 14, 2007, in Baghdad. He was a 1997 high school graduate and was assigned to Schweinfurt, Germany.
Campos died more than two weeks after a roadside bomb attack that left him burned on over 80 percent of his body. He was transported back to Texas on May 16, where doctors discovered his kidneys were damaged and he needed a respirator to breathe.
Campos “was an exceptional leader who led from the front,” said Brig. Gen. P.K. Keen.
After the injury, his wife learned she was pregnant with the couple’s second child.
“He knew,” said Lydia Caballero, a spokeswoman for a veterans group. “She was able to tell him before he died.”
Campos is also survived by son Andre.
Army Pfc. Casey S. Carriker was one to question everything, which could get him into trouble sometimes. He was interested in philosophy, ethics, human behavior and how people think and feel.
“The world came at him from a different angle,” said his father, Terry. “He had an abstract personality. Things didn’t hit him the same way. He had a way of looking at a situation and seeing something totally different than what other people got out of it.”
Carriker, 20, of Hoquiam, Wash., died June 13, 2007, in Kirkuk in a non-combat related incident. He was a 2005 high school graduate and was assigned to Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
Carriker always had a book with him as he walked through the halls at school — be it a novel or a book on philosophy.
He signed up right around his 18th birthday, and, while always an avid runner, he started to run every day with his backpack full of books to prepare for basic training. Half of it was filled with school books, the other with “whatever bizarre subject he was interested in,” Terry Carriker said.
He also is survived by his mother, Sandra Beaudry, and stepmother, Pammy Carriker.
Army Spec. Joe G. Charfauros Jr.‘s mother recalled talking to her son. Before passing the phone to his wife, she never failed to tell her son to take care of himself.
“I always told him to be careful. If I had the chance to talk to him, I would still tell him to be careful,” said Annie Charfauros.
Charfauros, 33, of Rota, Mariana Islands, was killed June 20, 2007, by a roadside bomb in Baghdad. He was assigned to Fort Stewart, Ga., and was a former police officer.
Charfauros’ mother described her second-oldest son as having a good disposition in life. “He is always the friendly one,” she said.
“Charfauros will always be fondly remembered by family and friends during gatherings at the ranch or at the beach,” Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Villagomez said.
“In making the difficult decision to go on active duty to provide for his wife and children, he again proved that, even if he were far away, he could be counted on and would still be there for his family.”
He is survived by his wife, Stellita, and three kids: Mikeangela, Junelle and Joe II.
Army Sgt. Caleb P. Christopher‘s sister-in-law, Jenny, has fond family memories of trying to outsmart her brother-in-law at endless rounds of Scrabble.
“He had an uncanny ability to triple the word score from nowhere,” she said.
Added Edward Christopher Jr., Caleb’s older brother: “He always could convince you he was right.”
Christopher, 25, of Chandler, Ariz., was killed June 3, 2007, by a roadside bomb in Baghdad. He was a 2000 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Hood, Texas.
In school, he was an avid wrestler, wrestling all four years through high school.
“Caleb loved the sheer simplicity and objectivity behind the sport,” said the Rev. Gary Kennedy. “No referees playing preference, nothing. Only the best get to play.”
He attended Arizona State University from 2000 to 2001 and enlisted after the attacks on 9/11. His favorite song was “Simple Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Kennedy said Christopher was best-known for rallying other soldiers.
” ‘Don’t be scared, don’t think about it, and we’ll get through it,’ he’d tell them,” he said.
He also is survived by his father, Edward Christopher, and fiancee, Rebecca Cadro.
Fellow Chief Warrant Officer Eric Smith, who was a Cavalry scout like Army Chief Warrant Officer Theodore U. Church, said of his friend: “He was a man’s man. He wore spurs, and he knew how to use them.”
Church, 32, known as “Tuc,” of South Point, Ohio, was killed May 28, 2007, when his helicopter crashed in Muqdadiyah under enemy fire.
He was a 1993 high school graduate and was assigned to Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
John Hess, friend of the late soldier, said, “The time I spent with Tuc I will cherish as some of the best times of my life.”‘
He said the two shared common interests of cars, hunting and paintball.
“I have no bad memories of Tuc.”
He is survived by his wife, Mindi; a daughter, Maryn; and son, Dorian.
“Tuc loved motorcycles and cars. He loved to travel,” said Renee Culver, a cousin. “His first ‘son’ was a three-legged boxer pup named Gixer, who he liked to wrestle with. He made every Fourth of July a celebration with fireworks that rivaled the ones set off at major tourist attractions. He was a big joker who got away with anything because he looked so blue-eyed and innocent.”
Army Staff Sgt. Timothy B. Cole Jr. loved tattoos, even if the Marines did not.
Cole had tattoos on each arm — one etched with the phrase “Live by The Gun” and the other “Die by The Gun.”
He joined the Corps out of high school in 1998 and served in Afghanistan. After leaving the Marines, he joined the Army in August 2005.
“Timothy had gotten tattoos while he was in the Marines, and when he wanted to rejoin the Marines, they didn’t want him because of the tattoos,” said Dessie Johnson, his grandmother. “He had a tattoo of a Humvee on his back and the word soldier on his neck. The Marines missed out on a dedicated soldier.”
Cole, 28, of Oakdale, La., died June 6, 2007, in Sadah of wounds suffered from a roadside bomb. He was assigned to Fort Bragg, N.C.
His mother, Connie Cole, said her son “always chose the hardest, most dangerous jobs. The military was his life; in fact, he wanted to become an Army Ranger and was working toward that goal.”
Cole, who attended LSU at Alexandria and Northwestern State University, is survived by his wife, Lindsey; three daughters, Alexus, Adrianna and Laura; a stepdaughter, Katelyn; and his son, Kross.
When Elayne Willis first saw Army Spec. Jeremiah D. Costello walk into her high school classroom, his hair almost threw her off.
“He was my first student to have colored hair. It was either green or blue all the time,” the English teacher recalled. “I thought, ‘Oh, my!’ ”
But she quickly understood the kind heart that lay beneath the seemingly outlandish appearance.
“He was the nicest boy, and he always had a smile,” she said.
Costello, 22, of Carlinville, Ill., was killed June 2, 2007, near Qayyarah when his vehicle struck an explosive. He was assigned to Fort Bliss, Texas.
Willis described Costello as a “special boy” who was always polite in class.
“He was just a good friend to everybody. He had a smile for everybody,” she said.
“His father passed away the year before I met him. He was so dedicated to his father and his memory. He was very close to his family. He would just always talk about his dad, and do things for his dad and mom.”
He is survived by a daughter, Lillian.
“He loved his daughter more than anything. She was the light of his life,” said Costello’s mother, Debra.
Jonathan Craig’s eyes welled with tears when he recalled the last visit by his older brother, Army Pfc. Andre Craig Jr.
“The last words he said to me in the living room is take care of my daughter as if you were a father to her until I come back,” Jonathan Craig said.
Craig, 24, of New Haven, Conn., was killed June 25, 2007, in Baghdad of wounds from an explosive. He was a 2001 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Riley, Kan.
Eric Brown, his godfather, said Craig had hoped to use his military service to help with college costs, and that he planned to become a state trooper when he finished his military service.
Ron Rosarbo, a high school security guard for 12 years, said he remembered Craig well.
“He was a quiet leader. He always volunteered to do things, move boxes, take down bleachers.”
Jonathan Craig said his older brother had wanted to join the military since childhood and turned down a scholarship to Rutgers University to serve in the Army.
“He was trying to help his family,” said his younger brother.
He also is survived by his wife, Shantia, and daughter, Taylor.
Army Spec. William J. Crouch got his desire to serve from his father, a policeman who died of natural causes when Crouch was 13. His father, James Crouch, had wanted to serve in the military but never got the opportunity.
The younger Crouch broke the news that he had decided to join the Army when his mother and stepfather returned from a skiing trip during his senior year in high school.
“It’s something he just had in his blood to do,” said James Rushing, Crouch’s stepfather.
Crouch, 21, of Zachary, La., was killed by a roadside bomb June 2, 2007, in Hadid. He was a 2004 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Lewis, Wash.
A movie buff, Crouch loved science fiction, kickboxing, pizza and hanging out with his friends. He was disappointed that his younger brother saw combat in Iraq before he did.
His mother, Kathy Rushing, went with her husband to spend a week with Crouch at Fort Lewis before he left for Iraq.
They toured Seattle, went to the top of the Space Needle and spent hours at a science fiction museum. Those are the memories she said she cherishes.
“Needless to say,” she said, “it was priceless.”
Army Sgt. William W. Crow Jr. was a 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, 2007, 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.
When he and his wife, Michelle, married, she already had two sons, Chris and David; with Crow she had two girls, Alexis and Kala.
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.”
When Army Sgt. Joel A. Dahl first met Alia, his wife-to-be, in church, she couldn’t stand him. But he was determined to get the girl he fell for.
“When he finally got to talk to her, he charmed her over,” said his stepfather, Joe Aragon, who raised Dahl since he was about 10.
Dahl, 21, of Los Lunas, N.M., was killed June 23, 2007, by small-arms fire in Baghdad. He was assigned to Fort Lewis, Wash.
Alia gave birth to their first child June 28, 2007. The Dahls already had picked out a name for their baby boy — Kayden Anthony — which they came up with by looking through a book of baby names. Dahl also liked the name because it meant his son would have the same three initials as his wife.
“He was always really funny — he loved horsing around,” said Britney Gonzalez, a friend. “He was funny all the time, nonstop.”
Dahl loved working on old clunkers and playing video games. He planned to go into law enforcement after the Army.
“He was just the kind of person where he liked being in public service,” Aragon said. “He was a person that liked helping other people.”
After learning of his death, Army Sgt. Chris Davis‘ family spent days laughing, crying and remembering the good times — like when they last saw Davis at Christmas.
That last family gathering was like most — loud and fun, with Chris at the center of attention, making jokes and being the loudest of them all, said Margaret Davis, his older sister.
Davis, 35, of Lubbock, Texas, was killed June 23, 2007, from an explosive and small-arms fire in Baghdad. He was assigned to Fort Benning, Ga.
The need to serve that led him to enlist in the Army in 1999 started when Davis was little. As a child growing up in Lubbock, he consistently looked for ways to help out.
“He was a server,” Margaret Davis said. “He was always helping, always serving, always thinking of somebody else — that was Chris.”
He was a “happy-go-lucky” person who wanted to focus on his family and their lives when he came home and avoided talking about the horrors he saw during his four tours in Iraq, she said.
“He was one of a kind,” she said.
He is survived by his wife and three children — two sons and a daughter.
During his last visit home on leave, Army Sgt. Dariek E. Dehn told close relatives about the danger of military service in Iraq and some close calls he’d had.
“That was kind of his way of preparing if something was to happen,” said his sister, Sherri Jeske. “We were just thankful to spend the time that we did with him.”
Dehn, 32, of Spangle, Wash., was killed June 2, 2007, in Sharqat by an explosive. He was a 1993 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Hood, Texas.
“We will always remember Dariek for his awesome sense of humor and contagious smile,” his family said in an obituary. “He was compassionate and caring and always wore his heart on his sleeve.”
He liked playing sports and snowboarding, but he didn’t really find direction in his life until enlisting in the Army seven years ago, Jeske said.
“The Army formed a direction for him; he was really proud of being a soldier,” she said.
He enlisted in 2002 and served in Korea, where he met his future wife, Mannylyn.
“We’re very proud of Dariek. He’s always had an awesome sense of humor and a contagious smile,” said his sister.
Will Couts, who taught Marine Cpl. Derek C. Dixon at the Military Careers Academy, said he would often talk to Dixon for hours after school about everything from computers to MP3 players.
Couts called him a young man who “could have gone either way” when he was a teen but “found himself and got on the right track.”
Dixon, 20, of Riverside, Ohio, was killed June 26, 2007, while working at a vehicle checkpoint in Saqlawiyah. He was assigned to Camp Lejeune, N.C.
“Even when he was real young, he always knew he was going to do something wearing a uniform. He was such a good kid, and I’m not just saying that because he was mine,” said his grandmother, Glenda Brightman.
In November 2004, Dixon and another student put together a presentation on Veterans Day for the school. Dixon spoke about the history of the Marine Corps.
“He really believed in it and wanted to serve his country,” Couts said. “He found his niche there.”
“I talked to him before he left,” his sister, Mindy Trochelman, said. “He said he was ready to go, but he was scared.”
He also is survived by his mother, Melissa Trochelman, and father, Tom Trochelman, and his wife, Ercela.
The last time Ursula Domino spoke with her brother, Army Sgt. Chadrick O. Domino, was to thank him for an unexpected gift of three dozen roses delivered to her for Mother’s Day and as an early birthday gift.
“The card was not signed and I couldn’t figure out who sent them, but about a week later he called to ask if I’d gotten them.
“He was always thoughtful and sweet like that. We told each other we loved one another, and that was the last time I spoke with him,” Ursula said.
Domino, 23, of Ennis, Texas, was killed by small-arms fire May 31, 2007, in Baghdad. He was a 2002 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Lewis, Wash.
“Chad took all the entrance tests for the Army, and the recruiters were blown away by the high scores he received. He entered the Army to serve his country and keep all of us safe, and even after being wounded in his first tour in Iraq, he went again,” said his sister.
She said her brother, who was on his second tour, loved to eat and he loved his mama’s cooking.
“That boy would eat us out of house and home when he came back on leave.”
Domino also is survived by his mother and father, Gloria and Willis Domino.
Army Sgt. Shawn E. Dressler began dating Amanda Bridges after chatting with her over the Internet during his first Iraq tour.
They met in person when she flew out to see him while he was on leave. They married in Denmark on June 30, 2006, and he left for a second tour.
“He loved everybody,” she said. “If somebody ever needed help, he would never turn anybody down. He was the most selfless person I ever met. I used to send him food, and he would give it all away.”
Dressler, 22, of Santa Maria, Calif., was killed by a roadside bomb June 2, 2007, in Baghdad. He was a 2002 high school graduate and was assigned to Schweinfurt, Germany.
“Shawn was a good man, loved his country, loved the men he served with,” said his father, Cecil Dressler, who described his son as “real personable,” a “good jokester” and someone who loved the outdoors.
Together they went hunting, fishing and camping.
Dressler and his wife just bought a three-bedroom house in Commerce, Ga.
“Originally when I found out of his death, I was going to sell the house, but I couldn’t because I know he had been so excited about it,” she said.
Born and raised in Morocco, Army Spec. Farid Elazzouzi idolized fast cars and the material comforts of life in the United States.
He managed to win a green card from an annual lottery in Morocco and decided to leave behind his mother and older siblings. He arrived in New Jersey and got a 14-hour-a-day menial job.
One of his friends helped him open a bank account, where he managed to sock away a few thousand dollars. Several acquaintances told him to apply to Passaic County Community College. One of his first questions was about finding a gym.
Tall and well-built, Elazzouzi eventually decided to capitalize on his brawn. When a Moroccan veteran told him about the Army, Elazzouzi enlisted in 2005.
“His poor family,” said Abdalilah Louhab, an acquaintance. “He was just trying to support them.”
Elazzouzi, 26, of Paterson, N.J., was killed by a roadside blast June 14, 2007, in Kirkuk. He was assigned to Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
“Even if he wasn’t from my country, it’s sad what happened to him,” said Khoed Mahmmoud, who also left Morocco for Paterson.
He is survived by his mother.
Ashley Logan first got to know Army Sgt. Anthony D. Ewing in the fifth grade.
“He was always an outgoing, optimistic person,” Logan said. “He always made people smile no matter what.”
Ewing, 22, of Phoenix, was killed May 28 when his vehicle struck an explosive in Abu Sayda. He was a 2003 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Hood, Texas.
His father, John Ewing, who served in the Air Force, said his son believed every man should serve at least two years in the military. He joined at 19 about the time his older brother was deployed to Iraq.
Ewing “was a guy you could always count on to pick you up,” said Capt. Mike A. Punaro. He “was an outstanding motivator that could make you feel better with nothing but his signature smile and a wisecrack.”
He also is survived by his mother and stepfather, Pamela and Matthew Brown.
Julie Jones, a teacher, described Ewing as a bit of a class clown, the kind of student she could not bring herself to discipline for minor interruptions because they were often funny.
“He was just one of those kids you really liked,” Jones said.
In Afghanistan, Air Force Lt. Col. Glade L. Felix helped treat sick and injured detainees. In Qatar, he was helping care for American casualties.
“They called him ‘the old man’ ” because he was so much older than the rest of them, said Jan Felix, his older brother.
Felix, 52, of Lake Park, Ga., died June 11, 2007, at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, of heart complications. He was assigned to Robins Air Force Base, Ga.
He received his bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University at Provo and a master’s in physical therapy from Hahnemann University in Philadelphia. He entered the Air Force in 1976 and served 31 years in active and reserve duty.
He spent many years working as a physical therapist in Valdosta, where he was also a community soccer coach and Scoutmaster and taught Sunday school. He also was an avid golfer.
He also is survived by his wife, Cathie, and children: Chris, Leo, Chelsea, Jim, Katie and Sean.
Chris Felix said he was more than a father.
“When I was able to come home, we’d hang out together,” he said. “He wasn’t just my father. He was also my friend.”
