War Against Terror military deaths with Nebraska connections

Marine Sgt. Joshua Robinson, 29, of Omaha, died Aug. 7, 2011, while on combat operations in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, based at Camp Pendleton, Calif. Robinson was buried in Hastings, where he's remembered for wrestling, riding bulls and tracking the enemy in hostile territory.

Master at Arms, Class 1 John Douangdara, 26, of South Sioux City, was among 30 American troops killed when a military helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan on Aug. 6, 2011, family members said. Douangdara, a 2003 graduate of South Sioux City High School, was a Navy SEAL and was known back home as a jokester who was always laughing and always put his family and friends first.

Sgt. Patrick Hamburger, 30, of Grand Island, died Aug. 6, 2011, in eastern Afghanistan when insurgents shot down a U.S. military helicopter. He was a member of the Nebraska National Guard and arrived in Afghanistan less than two weeks before the crash. Hamburger graduated from Lincoln Southeast High School in 1999 and is remembered for his penchant for fixing things, including a constant stream of beat-up cars.

Sgt. Omar Jones, 28, of Maywood, died July 18, 2011, of a noncombat-related injury in Afghanistan. He was a member of the Nebraska Army National Guard and an electrician assigned to the 623rd Engineer Company in Wahoo. He died at a base in Balkh Province. He was a native of Jackson, Miss., and the father of two children.

Army Capt. Matthew Nielson, 27, of Jefferson, Iowa, died June 29, 2011, in Badrah, Iraq, during a fire attack by insurgents. He was assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment at Fort Hood, Texas. Nielson was born in Omaha and lived in Lincoln before moving with his family to Iowa. He graduated from the University of Northern Iowa and was one of seven children.

Spc. Joseph Cemper, 21, formerly of Papillion, died April 16, 2011, in Afghanistan after being injured when a man posing as an Afghan soldier detonated several grenades. He was assigned to the 101st Special Troops Battalion, 101st Sustainment Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. Cemper moved from Papillion to Warrensburg, Mo., before he began high school.

Army 1st Lt. Mark Noziska, 24, formerly of Papillion and Grand Island, died Aug. 30, 2010, in Malajat, Afghanistan, after an improvised explosive device went off. He graduated from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 2008 and from Papillion-La Vista High School in 2004. Noziska was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo., and posthumously promoted to first lieutenant. He was the youngest of three kids and was dedicated to serving his country.

Staff Sgt. Michael A. Bock, 26, formerly of Springfield, died Aug. 13, 2010, while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He grew up in Springfield and spent most of his childhood in Nebraska before moving to Florida when he was in high school. Bock was assigned to the 3rd Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif.

Pfc. Edwin C. Wood, 18, of Omaha, died July 5, 2010, from wounds suffered in an insurgent attack near Kandahar, Afghanistan. Wood was assigned to 1st Squadron, 71st Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), based in Fort Drum, N.Y. Wood had returned to Afghanistan after a visit with family one day before his death. The 2009 graduate of Omaha North High School was better known as "Freckles" and remembered as a role model and known for his giving personality.

Spc. Blaine E. Redding, 22, of Plattsmouth, died June 7, 2010, in Konar, Afghanistan, when a roadside bomb exploded. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, based in Fort Campbell, Ky. Redding earned his GED in Plattsmouth and was married three months before his death.

Pfc. Michael Jarrett, 20, of North Platte, died Jan. 6, 2010, in Balad, Iraq, as a result of injuries suffered in a noncombat incident. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, 12th Combat Aviation Brigade, based in Illesheim, Germany. Jarrett joined the Army in 2008 and repaired helicopters. He received posthumous awards including the Army Commendation medal and Good Conduct medal, as well as an Army Service Ribbon and the Basic Aviation Badge.

Sgt. Justin Duffy, 31, of Cozad, died June 2, 2009, in Baghdad when an improvised explosive device detonated near the Humvee in which he was riding. He was serving with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division of the U.S. Army based in Fort Bragg, N.C. Family members said Duffy was "full of blarney" but kind and gentle. He was a Moline, Ill., native and his family moved to Cozad when he was in sixth grade.

Capt. Robert J. Yllescas, 31, of Lincoln, died Dec. 1, 2008, at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., of wounds suffered Oct. 28 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit in Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 6th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. Born in Guatemala, he was a 2001 graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and had been in Iraq twice.

Cpl. Adrian Robles, 21, Scottsbluff, died Oct. 22, 2008, while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force. Robles was recalled as a man with an electric smile who knew he wanted to be a Marine before he graduated from high school in 2005.

Michael B. Doheny, 30, of Omaha, died Dec. 9, 2007, in Iraq along with two other men working for a military contractor. The Pentagon said the men's vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb southeast of Baghdad. They worked for SOC-SMG Inc., a subcontractor for Tetra Tech EC Inc. Doheny grew up in Broken Bow and graduated from Broken Bow High School.

Special Agent Nathan J. Schuldheiss, 27, of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations died Nov. 1, 2007, of wounds from an improvised explosive near Balad Air Base. He was assigned to Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska and was a civilian counterintelligence specialist from Newport, R.I

Pfc. Christopher Pfeifer, 21, of Spalding, died Sept. 25, 2007, in San Antonio, Texas, of injuries he suffered Aug. 17 when insurgents attacked his unit near Kamu, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team based in Germany. His wife, Karen, gave birth to their daughter two days after his death.

Sgt. Jacob Schmuecker, 27, of Norfolk, died July 21, 2007, in a roadside bomb explosion in Balad, Iraq. He was 10 months into his first tour of duty with the National Guard's 755th Chemical Company based in O'Neill and graduated from West Holt High School in Atkinson in 1999. The father of three enjoyed hunting and fishing and was called an inspiration to others.

Staff Sgt. Lillian Clamens, 35, was killed Oct. 10, 2007 -- a week before she was scheduled to return home -- after insurgents fired rockets at Camp Victory in Baghdad. The 1990 Omaha Central High School graduate and mother of three served in the Army Reserve for 17 years.

Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Jeffrey L. Chaney, 35, of Omaha, was killed July 17, 2007, in Iraq's Salah Ad Din Province by a roadside bomb. He was assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 11 out of Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Wash. Chaney graduated in 1990 from Bellevue West High School.

Spc. Dustin L. Workman II, 19, of Greenwood, was one of five soldiers from his unit killed by improvised explosive devices in Baghdad on June 28, 2007. He was a member of the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division based at Fort Carson, Colo. Workman graduated from Ashland-Greenwood High in 2005 and was described as creative and a rebel with a zest for life.

Spc. Josiah W. Hollopeter, 27, formerly of rural Valentine, died June 14, 2007, in Balad, Iraq, after his four-man sniper team was attacked in Al Muqdidiyah. He was part of the 6th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Cavalry Division based in Fort Hood, Texas. Hollopeter graduated from Valentine Rural High School in 1998 and was described as a rebel with a willingness to mix it up but very loyal to his friends.

Spc. Val John Borm, 21, of Sidney, died in an explosion in Iraq during the week of June 10, 2007. Borm was serving as an infantryman in the Army's B Company, 2nd Battalion with the 35th Infantry based at Fort Shafter, Hawaii. Borm graduated from Sidney High School in 2005 and enlisted in the Army a few months later. His father said Borm enjoyed his Army service.

Army Spc. Adam Herold, 23, of Omaha, died in Iraq on June 10, 2007, in an explosion. Herold enlisted in the Army in 2005. He attended Roncalli High School and was in the Job Corps in Utah learning a construction trade before enlisting in the Army in February 2005. Friends and family said he was known as a peacemaker.

Chief Warrant Officer Chris Allgaier, 33, Fort Bragg, N.C., formerly of Omaha, died May 30, 2007, in a crash of his CH-47 Chinook transport helicopter in Afghanistan. He was a 1991 graduate of Omaha Creighton Prep High School and a member of the 82nd Airborne Division. Allgaier earned a bachelor's degree in aeronautical administration from Saint Louis University in 1995 and a master's degree in aeronautical science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2001. He had three children.

Spc. William Bailey, 29, of Bellevue, died May 25, 2007, near Taji, Iraq. He had been serving with the 755th Chemical Company based in O'Neill and was providing security for a military convoy when a roadside bomb struck his vehicle. Bailey was a former firefighter who loved being a soldier and was a family man, with five children.

Cpl. Matthew Alexander, 21, of Gretna, died in Iraq on May 6, 2007, with five other soldiers. He had been serving with the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division, based in Fort Lewis, Wash. Alexander enlisted in the Army after graduating in 2004 from Gretna High School, where he was a percussion section leader in the band. His family said he was proud of his military service.

Army Staff Sgt. Ken Locker Jr., 28, of Burwell, died in Iraq on April 23, 2007. He was with the 82nd Airborne Division and was stationed in Fort Bragg, N.C. He graduated from Burwell High School and enlisted in the Army while still in high school. He was injured by a land mine several months before his death and was awarded a Purple Heart.

Army 1st Lt. Kevin Gaspers, 26, of Hastings, died in Iraq on April 23, 2007. He served with the 82nd Airborne Division and was stationed at Fort Bragg. He graduated from St. Cecilia Catholic High School in Hastings in 2000, and later attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He was remembered as a humble man who had a great love for his country and the Army.

Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Joseph Adam McSween, 26, of Valdosta, Ga., died April 6, 2007, near Kirkuk in northern Iraq when a rocket hit his vehicle. He was assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit 11 based at Whidbey Island. McSween graduated in 2001 from York College, where he met his wife. He was buried in York.

Army Sgt. Wayne Cornell, 26, formerly of Holstein, died in Baghdad on March 19, 2007. He was based at Fort Riley, Kan., and was a member of the 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry, 4th Brigade, 1st Infantry Division. Cornell graduated from Silver Lake High School in Roseland in 1999 and was the father of two children.

Army National Guard Sgt. Randy J. Matheny, 20, of McCook died Feb. 4, 2007, from wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device was detonated near his vehicle. He was assigned to the 1074th Transportation Company based out of Sidney. Matheny graduated from high school in 2004 and was known as a mischievous, but trustworthy, friend.

Army 1st Lt. Jacob Fritz, 25, of Verdon, died Jan. 20, 2007, in combat operations in Iraq. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska. Fritz was a 2000 graduate of Dawson-Verdon High School and a 2005 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. In high school, he was a three-sport athlete, baritone player in the honor band and active in anti-drug-abuse organizations.

Army Staff Sgt. Jeremy W. Mulhair, 35, of Omaha, died Nov. 30, 2006, when a roadside bomb hit his vehicle in Taji, Iraq. He was a member of A Troop, 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood. Mulhair was born in Michigan but raised through high school in northwest Omaha. He had three children.

Marine Lance Cpl. Mike Scholl, 21, of Lincoln, died Nov. 14, 2006, from injuries he suffered when a roadside bomb exploded in Al Anbar province in Iraq. Scholl was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Kaneohe Bay in Hawaii. He was a 2002 graduate of Lincoln High School and had a lifetime goal of becoming a Marine. He had an infant daughter.

Staff Sgt. Scott E. Nisely, 48, of Marshalltown, Iowa, formerly of Syracuse, was killed Sept. 30, 2006, in a firefight while providing convoy security west of Baghdad. Nisely was a 1976 graduate of Syracuse High School and a former U.S. Postal Service employee. He was in the Marines for 22 years before joining the Iowa National Guard and was a member of the Iowa Falls-based Company C, 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry.

Army National Guard Spc. Germaine Debro, 33, of Omaha, was killed in a roadside bombing near Tikrit, Iraq, Sept. 4, 2006. He was serving with the 1st Squadron, 167th Cavalry. Debro attended Benson High School for a year and graduated from high school in Arkansas in 1991. He joined the Army in 1994.

Staff Sgt. Jeffrey J. Hansen, 31, of Cairo, died Aug. 27, 2006, from wounds suffered during a Humvee accident near Balad, Iraq, on Aug. 21, 2006. He was a member of the Fremont-based portion of Troop B, 1st Squadron, 167th Cavalry Regiment. Hansen graduated from high school in 1993, earned a bachelor's degree in athletic training from the University of Nebraska at Kearney in 1997 and was an officer in the Kearney Police Department, 2001-03.

Spc. Joshua Ford, 20, of Pender died July 31, 2006, near An Numaniyah in south-central Iraq. He was a member of Nebraska Army National Guard's 189th Transportation Company. Ford graduated in 2004 from Pender High School, joined the Nebraska National Guard as a heavy-vehicle driver while still in high school and finished basic training between his junior and senior years.

Army Spc. Jeremy Jones, 25, of Omaha was killed in Iraq on June 27, 2006, by a roadside bomb. He was serving in Iskandariyah with the 1st Battalion of the 67th Armor Regiment based in Fort Hood, Texas, and had been in Iraq since November after re-enlisting in April. Jones graduated from Millard West High School in 1999 and was the father of two.

Army Reserve Pfc. Benjamin Slaven, 22, of Plymouth was killed by a roadside bomb June 9, 2006, near Kirkuk. He was serving with the 308th Transportation Company of Lincoln and had been with the Reserves for 17 months. He had earned his GED and worked at a lawn mower factory in Beatrice. Slaven was remembered as a jokester who was generous and caring.

Marine Lance Cpl. Brent Zoucha, 19, of Clarks, died June 9, 2006, after an explosion in Anbar province. He was an infantryman with 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, and worked with mortars. Zoucha graduated from High Plains Community High School in 2005; his brother Dyrek was serving with the same unit when the land mine exploded.

Army Sgt. Lonnie Calvin Allen, 26, of Bellevue was killed May 16, 2006, when his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb near Baghdad. The 1998 Bellevue East graduate was serving with the Army's 10th Mountain Division. He was remembered as a compassionate and courageous person who was lovable and gentle.

Special agent Daniel J. Kuhlmeier, 30, of northern Virginia, died Feb. 20, 2006, when his convoy was hit by an explosive in Baghdad. He was a civilian assigned to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations at Offutt Air Force Base. Kuhlmeier joined the Marines in 1994 and was a counterintelligence agent with the Army Reserve, 2000-03. In 2003, he earned an associate degree in Farsi.

Army 1st Lt. Garrison Avery, 23, of Lincoln was killed in Iraq on Feb. 1, 2006, when a roadside bomb exploded. He was stationed with the 101st Airborne Division from Fort Campbell, Ky., deployed in October and stationed south of Baghdad. Avery was a 2004 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., and a 2000 graduate of Lincoln High School. He was remembered as a person with an analytical mind who was devoted to the military but sometimes frustrated by its procedures.

Army Capt. Joel Cahill, 34, of La Vista, was serving his third stint in Iraq when he was killed by a roadside bomb Nov. 6, 2005. He was a member of the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry from Fort Benning, Ga., and a graduate of the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Creighton University and Papillion-La Vista High School. He was the father of two daughters.

Army Staff Sgt. Jason Fegler, 24, of Harrisburg, was killed Nov. 4, 2005, while serving with the 101st Airborne out of Fort Campbell, Ky. He was a 1999 graduate of Banner County High School, where he excelled in basketball and was remembered as an amazing soldier who loved to make people laugh.

Army Spc. Darren Howe, 21, of Beatrice died at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, on Nov. 3, 2005, from injuries he suffered when a roadside bomb exploded in Iraq on Oct. 17. Howe joined the Army Reserve during his junior year of high school, days before the Sept. 11 attacks, and wanted to make a career of the military. He graduated from Beatrice High School in May 2003 and had two small children.

Sgt. Jason T. Palmerton, 25, of Auburn, died July 23, 2005, in Qal'eh-Yegaz, Afghanistan, after coming under enemy fire during a foot patrol. Palmerton was a Green Beret assigned to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group. He was a native of Hamburg, Iowa, and remembered as a dedicated, professional soldier.

Staff Sgt. Tricia L. Jameson, 34, of Omaha was killed July 14, 2005, near Trebil, Iraq, when a roadside bomb exploded near her ambulance as it approached wounded Marines. Jameson, a member of the 313th Medical Company of Lincoln, had been in Iraq for just three weeks. She was a 1989 graduate of Millard South High School and attended Central Community College in Columbus.

U.S. Army Pfc. Eric Paul Woods, 26, of Omaha was killed by an explosion on July 9, 2005, in Iraq when he stopped to help a wounded soldier on the side of a road. Woods was a medic assigned to G Troop, 2nd Squadron of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, based out of Fort Carson, Colo. Woods graduated from Urbandale (Iowa) High School in 1997 and had a 3-year-old son.

Marine Sgt. Nick Nolte, 25, a native of Falls City, died Nov. 24, 2004, at National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Md., from injuries received when his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb near Baghdad on Nov. 9. He served with the 2nd Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion, under Marine Air Control Group 28, part of the 2nd Marine Air Wing. Nolte enlisted in the Marines after graduating from Falls City Sacred Heart in 1998 and re-enlisted following his original four-year commitment. He had a 3-year-old daughter.

Marine Lance Cpl. Shane E. Kielion, 23, of La Vista, died Nov. 15, 2004, in action in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. He was assigned to the 1st Marine Division based in Camp Pendleton, Calif. Kielion was the starting quarterback at Omaha South High School and attended Peru State College for a short time on a football scholarship. He died not knowing that his son had been born just hours before.

Army 1st Lt. Edward D. Iwan, 28, Albion, died Nov. 12, 2004, in Fallujah when a grenade hit his vehicle. He was assigned to the Army's 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, Vilseck, Germany. Iwan joined the Army after graduating from high school in 1994 and served three years as an enlisted man and then studied criminal justice at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He rejoined the Army in December 2001 as a second lieutenant.

Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Eric L. Knott, 21, Grand Island, died Sept. 4, 2004, in an attack in Iraq. He was assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 4, Port Hueneme, Calif. He was on the Navy's construction force and was building a gate at the time of the attack. Friends remembered Knott as a bright spot in sometimes dark times. He was a 2001 graduate of Grand Island Senior High School.

Sgt. 1st Class Linda Tarango-Griess, 33, of Sutton, was killed July 11, 2004, by a roadside bomb in Iraq. She was with the Nebraska National Guard's 267th Ordnance Company based in Lincoln. Tarango-Griess graduated from Kearney High School. Her death marked the first of a woman in the war.

Sgt. Jeremy Fischer, 26, of Lincoln, was killed July 11, 2004, when a roadside bomb exploded in Iraq. He was a mechanic with the  Nebraska National Guard's 267th Ordnance Company based in Lincoln. Fischer was a 1996 graduate of Harvard High School, joined the guard in 1999 and was remembered as a great soldier.

Marine Lance Cpl. Kyle Codner, 19, of Shelton, was killed along with two other Marines in Iraq's Al Anbar province on May 26, 2004, while conducting security and stability operations. He was in the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force based at Camp Pendleton. Codner graduated from Shelton High School in 2003 and was remembered for his smile, humor and selflessness.

Marine Cpl. Matthew Henderson, 25, of Bennet was killed May 26, 2004, with two other Marines when a homemade bomb exploded in Iraq's Al Anbar province. He was assigned to 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton. Henderson graduated from Palmyra High School in 1998. His family said he was a hero who grew up making his mom laugh, tormenting his sister and pushing his dad's buttons.

Spc. Dennis Morgan, 22, of Valentine, was killed April 17, 2004, when a roadside bomb exploded south of Baghdad. He was a member of the 153rd Engineer Battalion of Winner, S.D. Morgan was a 2000 graduate of Winner High School and was the first casualty of the war involving the South Dakota National Guard. 

Pvt. Noah Lee Boye, 21, of Grand Island, was killed April 13, 2004, when his Marine unit came under fire near Fallujah, Iraq. He was a member of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force based at Camp Pendleton. A graduate of Grand Island Senior High School, Boye was remembered as the life of the party.

Sgt. David McKeever, 25, of Buffalo, N.Y., was killed April 5, 2004, in ambush outside of Baghdad and buried in his wife's hometown of Kearney. McKeever was a member of the Army's 1st Armored Division and stationed at Fort Carson. He was the father of one son.

Sgt. Cory R. Mracek, 26, of Hay Springs, was killed Jan. 27, 2004, when a roadside bomb exploded near Iskandariyah, Iraq. He was a paratrooper assigned to 3rd Battalion, 319th Field Artillery, Fort Bragg. Mracek was born in Chadron and grew up in Hay Springs. He had been in Iraq just eight days.  

Sgt. Dennis A. Corral, 33, of Kearney, died Jan. 1, 2004, when his vehicle traveling in a convoy to Baghdad International Airport rolled over. He was assigned to Company C, 1st Engineer Battalion, 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, based at Fort Riley. Born in San Diego, Corral moved to Kearney in 1994 and joined the Army for the second time in 1997.

Spc. James R. Wolf, 21, of Scottsbluff, was killed Nov. 6, 2003, when a homemade bomb exploded near his convoy in Mosul, Iraq. He was an engineer assigned to the Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the 52nd Engineer Battalion of the 43rd Area Support Group, based in Fort Carson. Wolf had already committed himself to serving his country when he graduated from Scottsbluff High School in 2000.

Staff Sgt. Daniel Bader, 28, of York, was one of 15 U.S. soldiers killed Nov. 2, 2003, in a missile attack on a CH-47 Chinook helicopter near Fallujah, Iraq. He was assigned to Tiger Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment based at Fort Carson. Bader grew up in York and had one daughter. He was remembered as an All-American good kid.

Staff Sgt. Christopher W. Swisher, 26, of Lincoln, was one of two soldiers killed when their patrol was ambushed and hit by small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades on Oct. 9, 2003, in Baghdad. He was assigned to the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armored Division, based in Fort Polk, La. Swisher graduated from Lincoln Northeast High School in 1995 and loved the military so much he dressed in camouflage most of his senior year.

Petty Officer 3rd Class David J. Moreno, 26, of Gering, formerly of Lincoln, died July 17, 2003, in Al Hamishiyah, Iraq, from an accidental gunshot wound. He was a Navy medic assigned to the Naval Medical Center, San Diego, 4th Marine Division Detachment. Moreno went by the nickname D.J. and was a 1995 graduate of Lincoln Southeast High School.

Spc. Nathaniel A. Caldwell, 27, of Omaha, was killed May 21, 2003, when his vehicle rolled over in Baghdad. He was a tank mechanic assigned to the 404th Air Support Battalion, 4th Infantry Division. Caldwell was born in Germany but had made his home in Nebraska. He got married just six months before his death and had a son and a daughter.

Capt. Travis A. Ford, 30, of Ogallala, died April 4, 2003, when the helicopter he was flying crashed near Ali Aziziyal in Iraq. He was assigned to the Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron-267, Marine Aircraft Group 39, based at Camp Pendleton. Ford was born in St. Paul and grew up in Ogallala. He enlisted in the Marines in 1991 and earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln while in the Reserves. He was an avid Huskers fan and a member of the Nebraska Yell Squad. He had a young daughter.

Sgt. Philip J. Svitak, 31, of Joplin, Mo., formerly of Fremont, was one of seven soldiers killed March 4, 2002, during fighting in Afghanistan. He was an aircraft repairman with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment of Fort Campbell, Ky. He graduated in 1989 from Fremont High School and had two young sons.