Photos: Service Members with Southern Arizona ties who have died in Iraq, Afghanistan
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Dozens of soldiers with Southern Arizona ties have died during the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo courtesy of Henry Gonzales
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Air Force Airman 1st Class Raymond Losano, 24, a former Pima Community College student, was killed in an ambush in Afghanistan on April 25, 2003.
Fallen soldiers
- Courtesy of Fort Bliss / US Army
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Command Sgt. Maj. Martin R. Barreras, 49, of Tucson, died Tuesday at San Antonio Military Medical Center. Barreras was wounded May 6, in Harat Province, Afghanistan, when his unit was attacked with small arms fire, according to the Department of Defense.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo courtesy of www.azrunforthefallen.org
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U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Ernesto G. Cimarrusti, a 2000 graduate of Douglas High School and father of two, spent his youth with his mother in Cananea, Sonora, then moved back to Douglas when he was 12 to live with his oldest brother. The staff sergeant was on his third tour in Iraq when he died March 10, 2008.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo courtesy of www.azrunforthefallen.org
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U.S. Army Sgt. Thomas F. Allison was killed at sea Feb. 22, 2002 when the MH-47E Chinook helicopter he was in took off from the Philippine Islands in the Bohol Sea off Negros island and crashed into the ocean. He was a member of Company E, 160th Soar during Operation Enduring Freedom. Allison was a Night Stalker, a member of a skilled, secretive commando force that was seeking to rescue a nurse and an American missionary couple when he died. His body was never recovered.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo courtesy of www.azrunforthefallen.org
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U.S. Army Sgt. Sean K. Cataudella, a Tucson native, was killed Aug. 30, 2003, while on patrol in Iraq. He drown after the Humvee he was driving rolled into a water-filled canal in Ba'qubah near Tikrit. He was a member of H Troop 10th Cavalry Regiment out of Fort Hood, Texas, during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Cataudella and his wife had three children, the youngest of whom was born after the sergeant died.
Fallen soldiers
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Army Spc. Isaac Campoy, 21, a Douglas resident who graduated from Douglas High School in 2001, was killed when his tank hit a land mine in Iraq on Oct. 28, 2003.
Fallen soldiers
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Chief Warrant Officer Christopher Nason, 39, left, of Los Angeles, stationed at Fort Huachuca, died Nov. 23, 2003, when the vehicle he was in collided with a tanker truck in Iraq.
Fallen soldiers
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Army Sgt. Benjamin Biskie, 27, of Tucson, was killed when a makeshift bomb hit his convoy north of Baghdad on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 2003. He had a then-6-year-old son.
Fallen soldiers
- ARIZONA DAILY STAR
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Army Sgt. Michael Merila of Sierra Vista was killed in an explosion when his convoy was attacked in northern Iraq the day before his 24th birthday, on Feb. 16, 2004.
Fallen soldiers
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Marine Lance Cpl. Robert Zurheide Jr., 20, of Tucson, whose wife was nine-months pregnant at his funeral, was killed in hostile fire in Iraq on April 12, 2004. He graduated from Desert View High School.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo courtesy of U.S. Marine Corps.
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Marine Cpl. Jeff Lawrence, 22, of Tucson, was hit by a homemade bomb near Fallujah on July 6, 2004, days before his wife gave birth.
Fallen soldiers
- Staff Photographer
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Army Spc. Robert Unruh, 25, a combat engineer from Tucson, died Sept. 25, 2004, when enemy forces attacked his unit in Iraq. His 45-year-old mother died of a heart attack hours after seeing his body.
Fallen soldiers
- JEFFRY SCOTT
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Marine Lance Cpl. Joshua Lucero, 19, a 2003 graduate of Sunnyside High School, was killed Nov. 27, 2004, by hostile fire in Iraq. Survived by a fiancŽe and then-16-month-old son.
Fallen soldiers
- Courtesy of Samoa News
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Army Reserve Sgt. Tina Time, 22, a native of American Samoa and a Pima Community College student, was killed Dec. 13, 2004, in a vehicle accident in Iraq.
Fallen soldiers
- ARIZONA DAILY STAR
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Army Pfc. Sam Huff, 18, a 2004 graduate of Mountain View High School, died April 17, 2005, when a roadside bomb hit her convoy in Baghdad.
Fallen soldiers
- AP Photo/U.S. Army
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Pfc. Seferino Reyna, an Army combat engineer and father of two, died Aug. 7, 2005, when his vehicle was hit by a homemade bomb near Taji, about 20 miles northwest of Baghdad. Reyna was a member of the Tohono O'odham Nation.
Fallen soldiers
- AP Photo
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Army Sgt. Kenneth Ross, 24, a 1999 graduate of Mountain View High School, died Sept. 25, 2005, in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo courtesy U.S. Marine Corps.
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Marine Master Sgt. Kenneth Hunt Jr., 40, a father of two and a 1983 Santa Rita High School graduate, died Oct. 12, 2005, of burns sustained July 24 when his vehicle hit an anti-tank mine in Iraq.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo courtesy of www.azrunforthefallen.org
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U.S. Army Cpl. Scott J. Mullens, a Tucson native, was serving with Company B, 5th Psychological Operations Battalion out of Fort Bragg, NC, during Operation Enduring Freedom when he died in the Philippines Oct. 14, 2005, from injuries sustained in a non-combat related accident.
Fallen soldiers
- Staff Photographer
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Army Spc. Tommy Byrd, 21, a 2003 graduate of Santa Rita High School, was one of five soldiers killed Oct. 15, 2005, when their assault vehicle was blown up by a roadside bomb in Ramadi, about 70 miles west of Baghdad.
Fallen soldiers
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Marine Cpl. Brandon Scott Schuck, 21, the father of an infant son and a Safford High School graduate, was killed by a homemade bomb Feb. 6, 2006, as his unit patrolled the violent streets of Baghdad.
Fallen soldiers
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Army 1st Sgt. Bobby Mendez, 38, a father of three and former Fort Huachuca soldier, was killed in action in Baghdad on April 27, 2006, on his son's birthday, when his vehicle was hit by a homemade bomb.
Fallen soldiers
- AP Photo/File
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Army Sgt. Mark R. Vecchione, 25, was a Massachusetts native who moved to Tucson as a teen and graduated from Sahuaro High School in 1999. He died on July 18, 2006, in Ramadi, Iraq, of injuries sustained when a homemade bomb detonated near his M1A1 Abrams tank.
Fallen soldiers
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Navy Hospitalman Chadwick T. "Chad" Kenyon, 20, a 2004 graduate of Mountain View High School, died when an explosive struck the vehicle in which he was riding during combat operations in Anbar province on Aug. 20, 2006.
Fallen soldiers
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Army Cpl. Casey L. Mellen, 21, of Huachuca City, died Sept. 25, 2006, in Balad, Iraq, after his patrol group was hit with small arms fire during combat in Mosul, Iraq. Mellen was assigned to Fort Lewis, south of Tacoma, Wash.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo courtesy of Zoraida Cote
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Marine Lance Cpl. Budd M. Cote, 21, of Marana, was killed Dec. 11, 2006, along with two other Marines while the three men conducted combat operations in Anbar province. He died less than two weeks before his first wedding anniversary.
Fallen soldiers
- STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
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Marine Sgt. Aron Cody Blum, 22, died Dec. 28, 2006, at Naval Medical Center in San Diego following an illness. He had been evacuated from Anbar province, Iraq, on Dec. 8. The 2002 Sahuaro High School graduate joined the Marines after graduation and was assigned to an aerial re-fueler squadron.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo provided by KHOU
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Spc. Collin R. Schockmel, 19, who spent much of his childhood in Sierra Vista and attended Buena High School, died Jan. 16, 2007, in Ramadi, Iraq, when his unit came under grenade attack during security and observation operations.
Fallen soldiers
- AP Photo/U.S. Army
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Sgt. 1st Class Russell Borea, 38, a 1986 graduate of Catalina High School, died on Jan. 19, 2007, in Mosul, Iraq, when a homemade bomb detonated during combat operations. Borea had been in Iraq since November.
Fallen soldiers
- ARIZONA DAILY STAR
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Army Sgt. Sean Fennerty, 26, who lived in Tucson as a child, died Jan. 20, 2007, in Anbar province in Iraq when the vehicle in which he was riding was hit by a roadside bomb.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo provided by the U.S. Army
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Army Cpl. Victor Langarica, a 29-year-old single dad, was one of a dozen soldiers killed when their UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Baghdad on Jan. 20, 2007. Langarica was a Georgia native stationed at Fort Huachuca in Sierra Vista since 2004.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo courtesy of the McPeek family
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Army Spc. Alan McPeek, 20, of Tucson, was killed in action Feb. 2, 2007, on his last day in Iraq, which also was his mother's birthday. The 2004 Mountain View High School graduate and another soldier were killed in Ramadi. Officials initially told families the pair died from enemy fire, but an investigation later determined the pair were killed by fellow soldiers.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo courtesy of AZ National Guard.
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Arizona Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Darrel Kasson, 43, was killed in Iraq on March 4, 2007, when a bomb exploded near his vehicle. Kasson was born in Tucson and graduated from Amphitheater High School in 1982. He lived in Florence and worked for the Arizona Department of Corrections.
Fallen soldiers
- AP Photo/U.S. Army
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Army Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Brevard, 31, died in Baghdad on March 16, 2007, after a roadside bomb detonated near his unit. The father of two young girls lived in Alaska but grew up in Tucson and attended Palo Verde High School.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo courtesy of Pueblo High School
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Army Pfc. Damian Lopez Rodriguez, 19, of Tucson, was killed in action in Baghdad on April 6, 2007, when his Humvee was hit by a homemade bomb. The 2005 graduate of Pueblo High Magnet School was a native of Mexico and was awarded U.S. citizenship after his death.
Fallen soldiers
- AP Photo/Arizona Army National Guard
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Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Charles R. Browning, 31, who was raised in Tucson, died June 1, 2007, in Mehtar Lam, Afghanistan, when a homemade bomb detonated near his vehicle. The 1994 Palo Verde High School graduate and father of two lived in Florence and worked for the Arizona Department of Corrections.
Fallen soldiers
- ARIZONA DAILY STAR
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Army Spc. Adam J. Davis, 19, who went to high school in Tucson but moved to Twin Falls, Idaho, to live with his father and later enlist, was killed July 23, 2007, in Sarobi District, Afghanistan, when his vehicle was hit by a homemade bomb. Davis, who attended Santa Rita High School, enlisted on his 18th birthday. Three other members of Davis' unit also were killed by the bomb.
Fallen soldiers
- AP Photo/Courtesy of U.S. Department of Defense
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Army Sgt. Gary D. Willett, 34, whose parents live in Tucson, died on Feb. 8, 2008, along with three other soldiers when a roadside bomb struck their Stryker combat vehicle. Willett's former wife and his son live in Alamogordo, N.M., and he considered that his home, though he visited his parents often in Tucson, where they moved in 2002.
Fallen soldiers
- Staff photographer
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Army Staff Sgt. Victor M. Cota, 33, died May 14, 2008, in Baghdad of wounds suffered when his vehicle encountered a homemade bomb in Kadamiyah, Iraq, on May 13. The father of two enlisted in 2000 as an armor crewman. He was assigned to the Special Troops Battalion, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Hood, Texas.
Fallen soldiers
- AP Photo/Dept. Of Defense
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Army Chief Warrant Officer Robert Hammett, 39, was one of two soldiers and eight civilians felled June 24, 2008, in Iraq by a bomb blast at a municipal office in Sadr City. The father of five girls, ages 1 to 15, was part of a team working to restore local government and services in the former Shiite militia stronghold.
Fallen soldiers
- ARIZONA DAILY STAR
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Marine Cpl. Stewart S. Trejo, 25, died Aug. 7, 2008, while supporting combat operations in Anbar province, Iraq. Trejo listed his hometown as Whitefish, Mont., but spent his childhood in Arizona and Mexico and has many relatives still in Tucson. He left behind a wife and two young children. Also killed was Cpl. Adam T. McKiski.
Fallen soldiers
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Army Pfc. Joseph F. Gonzales Jr., 18, died Sept. 20, 2008, in Afghanistan along with another soldier when their vehicle struck a homemade bomb in the Korengal Valley. Gonzales was born and raised in Tucson, wrestling for Sierra Middle School and playing football his freshman year for Sunnyside High School.
Fallen soldiers
- Department of Defense photo
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Army Cpl. Charles P. Gaffney Jr., 42, who moved to Tucson as a teen and lived most recently in Phoenix, died Dec. 24, 2008, in Paktika, Afghanistan, when his combat outpost received enemy rocket fire. He was the father of twin 4-year-old girls.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo courtesy of the U.S. Army
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U.S. Army Master Sgt. David L. Hurt, 36, a Green Beret who grew up in Tucson, was one of two troops killed Feb. 20, 2009, in Kandahar, Afghanistan, when their military vehicle was struck by a homemade bomb followed by small arms fire attack by enemy forces. He was a father of two.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo courtesy of www.azrunforthefallen.org
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U.S. Army Specialist Nathan Spangenberg, a native of Tucson, died Sept. 8, 2009, in Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. He had recently returned from serving in Iraq where he was part of the 2nd Stryker Brigade, 25th Infantry Division.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo courtesy of the U.S. Air Force
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Air Force Staff Sgt Timothy Bowles, 24, was killed in action in Afghanistan on March 15, 2009, when a homemade bomb hit his vehicle as his convoy was checking on a school. Bowles, who grew up on Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, had volunteered for the mission when a comrade fell ill.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo courtesy of the Department of Defense
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Army Sgt. Justin Gallegos, 27, died Oct. 3, 2009, in Kamdesh, Afghanistan, one of eight soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division who were killed when hundreds of insurgents stormed a remote outpost near the Pakistan border. Gallegos attended Tucson High Magnet School, and had a 5-year-old son.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo courtesy of the White family
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Davis-Monthan Air Force Base pararescuer, Sr. Airman Benjamin White, 24, was killed in action June 9, 2010, when his helicopter crashed during a rescue mission in Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 48th Rescue Squadron.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo courtesy of USAF 48th Rescue Squadron
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Davis-Monthan Air Force Base pararescuer, Tech Sgt. Michael Flores, 32, was killed in action June 9, 2010, when his helicopter crashed during a rescue mission in Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 48th Rescue Squadron.
Fallen soldier
- Photo courtesy of the U.S. Army
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U.S. Army Specialist Christian M. Adams 26, of Sierra Vista, died June 11, 2010, in Kandahar, Afghanistan of wounds from a non-combat-related incident. He was assigned to the 20th Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade at Fort Hood, Texas.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo courtesy of the 82nd Airborne Division
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Army Sgt. Christopher J. Moon, 20, a star baseball player at Tucson High who walked away from a University of Arizona sports scholarship to enlist, died July 13, 2010, of wounds received when he stepped on a roadside bomb in Arghandab, Afghanistan.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo courtesy of the U.S. Army
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Army Ranger Sgt. Martin A. Lugo of Tucson died Aug. 19, 2010, in Afghanistan while leading a team of Rangers in a clash with the Taliban that killed 14 enemy fighters. He was serving with the 75th Ranger Regiment, on his sixth combat deployment.
Fallen soldiers
- AP Photo
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Army Sgt. 1st Class Todd M. Harris, 37, of Tucson, died Nov. 3, 2010, during hostile fire in Afghanistan, where he served with the 10th Mountain Division based at Fort Drum, N.Y.
Fallen soldiers
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Marine Lance Cpl. Randy R. Braggs of Sierra Vista, was killed in action in Afghanistan on Nov. 6, 2010 . The Buena High School grad was based at Camp Pendleton, Calif., and was deployed overseas with the I Marine Expeditionary Force.
Fallen soldiers
- AP Photo/Farmington Police Department
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Army National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Jim Thode, 45, of New Mexico, who grew up in Tucson, was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan on Dec. 2, 2010. He was serving with the 204th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade based in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo courtesy of the U.S. Army
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Army Pfc. Robert Near died Jan. 7, 2011, in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The Idaho native, who operated and maintained communication equipment, was serving overseas with the 86th Signal Battalion, part of the 11th Signal Brigade based at Fort Huachuca.
Fallen soldiers
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Air Force Capt. Nathan J. Nylander, 35, with the 25th Operational Weather Squadron at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, was one of nine airmen killed April 27, 2011, at Kabul International Airport when an Afghan air force officer opened fire on them after an argument. Nylander was a father of three.
Fallen soldiers
- Department of Defense photo
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Staff Sgt. Orion N. Sparks, 29, was killed Sept. 26, 2012, in Pul-E Alam, in eastern Afghanistan, when an insurgent detonated a suicide vest near his patrol.
Fallen soldiers
- Department of Defense photo
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Sgt. 1st Class Ryan J. Savard, 29, from Sierra Vista and based at Fort Bragg, died Oct. 13, 2012, from small arms fire while on patrol during combat operations in the Khanabad District in Afghanistan. He was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, U.S. Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg.
Fallen soldiers
- Courtesy of Fort Bliss / US Army
Command Sgt. Maj. Martin R. Barreras, 49, of Tucson, died Tuesday at San Antonio Military Medical Center. Barreras was wounded May 6, in Harat Province, Afghanistan, when his unit was attacked with small arms fire, according to the Department of Defense.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo courtesy of www.azrunforthefallen.org
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Ernesto G. Cimarrusti, a 2000 graduate of Douglas High School and father of two, spent his youth with his mother in Cananea, Sonora, then moved back to Douglas when he was 12 to live with his oldest brother. The staff sergeant was on his third tour in Iraq when he died March 10, 2008.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo courtesy of www.azrunforthefallen.org
U.S. Army Sgt. Thomas F. Allison was killed at sea Feb. 22, 2002 when the MH-47E Chinook helicopter he was in took off from the Philippine Islands in the Bohol Sea off Negros island and crashed into the ocean. He was a member of Company E, 160th Soar during Operation Enduring Freedom. Allison was a Night Stalker, a member of a skilled, secretive commando force that was seeking to rescue a nurse and an American missionary couple when he died. His body was never recovered.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo courtesy of www.azrunforthefallen.org
U.S. Army Sgt. Sean K. Cataudella, a Tucson native, was killed Aug. 30, 2003, while on patrol in Iraq. He drown after the Humvee he was driving rolled into a water-filled canal in Ba'qubah near Tikrit. He was a member of H Troop 10th Cavalry Regiment out of Fort Hood, Texas, during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Cataudella and his wife had three children, the youngest of whom was born after the sergeant died.
Fallen soldiers
- AP Photo/U.S. Army
Pfc. Seferino Reyna, an Army combat engineer and father of two, died Aug. 7, 2005, when his vehicle was hit by a homemade bomb near Taji, about 20 miles northwest of Baghdad. Reyna was a member of the Tohono O'odham Nation.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo courtesy of www.azrunforthefallen.org
U.S. Army Cpl. Scott J. Mullens, a Tucson native, was serving with Company B, 5th Psychological Operations Battalion out of Fort Bragg, NC, during Operation Enduring Freedom when he died in the Philippines Oct. 14, 2005, from injuries sustained in a non-combat related accident.
Fallen soldiers
- Staff Photographer
Army Spc. Tommy Byrd, 21, a 2003 graduate of Santa Rita High School, was one of five soldiers killed Oct. 15, 2005, when their assault vehicle was blown up by a roadside bomb in Ramadi, about 70 miles west of Baghdad.
Fallen soldiers
- AP Photo/File
Army Sgt. Mark R. Vecchione, 25, was a Massachusetts native who moved to Tucson as a teen and graduated from Sahuaro High School in 1999. He died on July 18, 2006, in Ramadi, Iraq, of injuries sustained when a homemade bomb detonated near his M1A1 Abrams tank.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo courtesy of Zoraida Cote
Marine Lance Cpl. Budd M. Cote, 21, of Marana, was killed Dec. 11, 2006, along with two other Marines while the three men conducted combat operations in Anbar province. He died less than two weeks before his first wedding anniversary.
Fallen soldiers
- STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Marine Sgt. Aron Cody Blum, 22, died Dec. 28, 2006, at Naval Medical Center in San Diego following an illness. He had been evacuated from Anbar province, Iraq, on Dec. 8. The 2002 Sahuaro High School graduate joined the Marines after graduation and was assigned to an aerial re-fueler squadron.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo provided by KHOU
Spc. Collin R. Schockmel, 19, who spent much of his childhood in Sierra Vista and attended Buena High School, died Jan. 16, 2007, in Ramadi, Iraq, when his unit came under grenade attack during security and observation operations.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo provided by the U.S. Army
Army Cpl. Victor Langarica, a 29-year-old single dad, was one of a dozen soldiers killed when their UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Baghdad on Jan. 20, 2007. Langarica was a Georgia native stationed at Fort Huachuca in Sierra Vista since 2004.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo courtesy of the McPeek family
Army Spc. Alan McPeek, 20, of Tucson, was killed in action Feb. 2, 2007, on his last day in Iraq, which also was his mother's birthday. The 2004 Mountain View High School graduate and another soldier were killed in Ramadi. Officials initially told families the pair died from enemy fire, but an investigation later determined the pair were killed by fellow soldiers.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo courtesy of AZ National Guard.
Arizona Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Darrel Kasson, 43, was killed in Iraq on March 4, 2007, when a bomb exploded near his vehicle. Kasson was born in Tucson and graduated from Amphitheater High School in 1982. He lived in Florence and worked for the Arizona Department of Corrections.
Fallen soldiers
- AP Photo/U.S. Army
Army Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Brevard, 31, died in Baghdad on March 16, 2007, after a roadside bomb detonated near his unit. The father of two young girls lived in Alaska but grew up in Tucson and attended Palo Verde High School.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo courtesy of Pueblo High School
Army Pfc. Damian Lopez Rodriguez, 19, of Tucson, was killed in action in Baghdad on April 6, 2007, when his Humvee was hit by a homemade bomb. The 2005 graduate of Pueblo High Magnet School was a native of Mexico and was awarded U.S. citizenship after his death.
Fallen soldiers
- AP Photo/Arizona Army National Guard
Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Charles R. Browning, 31, who was raised in Tucson, died June 1, 2007, in Mehtar Lam, Afghanistan, when a homemade bomb detonated near his vehicle. The 1994 Palo Verde High School graduate and father of two lived in Florence and worked for the Arizona Department of Corrections.
Fallen soldiers
- ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Army Spc. Adam J. Davis, 19, who went to high school in Tucson but moved to Twin Falls, Idaho, to live with his father and later enlist, was killed July 23, 2007, in Sarobi District, Afghanistan, when his vehicle was hit by a homemade bomb. Davis, who attended Santa Rita High School, enlisted on his 18th birthday. Three other members of Davis' unit also were killed by the bomb.
Fallen soldiers
- AP Photo/Courtesy of U.S. Department of Defense
Army Sgt. Gary D. Willett, 34, whose parents live in Tucson, died on Feb. 8, 2008, along with three other soldiers when a roadside bomb struck their Stryker combat vehicle. Willett's former wife and his son live in Alamogordo, N.M., and he considered that his home, though he visited his parents often in Tucson, where they moved in 2002.
Fallen soldiers
- Staff photographer
Army Staff Sgt. Victor M. Cota, 33, died May 14, 2008, in Baghdad of wounds suffered when his vehicle encountered a homemade bomb in Kadamiyah, Iraq, on May 13. The father of two enlisted in 2000 as an armor crewman. He was assigned to the Special Troops Battalion, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Hood, Texas.
Fallen soldiers
- AP Photo/Dept. Of Defense
Army Chief Warrant Officer Robert Hammett, 39, was one of two soldiers and eight civilians felled June 24, 2008, in Iraq by a bomb blast at a municipal office in Sadr City. The father of five girls, ages 1 to 15, was part of a team working to restore local government and services in the former Shiite militia stronghold.
Fallen soldiers
- ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Marine Cpl. Stewart S. Trejo, 25, died Aug. 7, 2008, while supporting combat operations in Anbar province, Iraq. Trejo listed his hometown as Whitefish, Mont., but spent his childhood in Arizona and Mexico and has many relatives still in Tucson. He left behind a wife and two young children. Also killed was Cpl. Adam T. McKiski.
Fallen soldiers
Army Pfc. Joseph F. Gonzales Jr., 18, died Sept. 20, 2008, in Afghanistan along with another soldier when their vehicle struck a homemade bomb in the Korengal Valley. Gonzales was born and raised in Tucson, wrestling for Sierra Middle School and playing football his freshman year for Sunnyside High School.
Fallen soldiers
- Department of Defense photo
Army Cpl. Charles P. Gaffney Jr., 42, who moved to Tucson as a teen and lived most recently in Phoenix, died Dec. 24, 2008, in Paktika, Afghanistan, when his combat outpost received enemy rocket fire. He was the father of twin 4-year-old girls.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo courtesy of the U.S. Army
U.S. Army Master Sgt. David L. Hurt, 36, a Green Beret who grew up in Tucson, was one of two troops killed Feb. 20, 2009, in Kandahar, Afghanistan, when their military vehicle was struck by a homemade bomb followed by small arms fire attack by enemy forces. He was a father of two.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo courtesy of www.azrunforthefallen.org
U.S. Army Specialist Nathan Spangenberg, a native of Tucson, died Sept. 8, 2009, in Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. He had recently returned from serving in Iraq where he was part of the 2nd Stryker Brigade, 25th Infantry Division.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo courtesy of the U.S. Air Force
Air Force Staff Sgt Timothy Bowles, 24, was killed in action in Afghanistan on March 15, 2009, when a homemade bomb hit his vehicle as his convoy was checking on a school. Bowles, who grew up on Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, had volunteered for the mission when a comrade fell ill.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo courtesy of the Department of Defense
Army Sgt. Justin Gallegos, 27, died Oct. 3, 2009, in Kamdesh, Afghanistan, one of eight soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division who were killed when hundreds of insurgents stormed a remote outpost near the Pakistan border. Gallegos attended Tucson High Magnet School, and had a 5-year-old son.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo courtesy of the White family
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base pararescuer, Sr. Airman Benjamin White, 24, was killed in action June 9, 2010, when his helicopter crashed during a rescue mission in Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 48th Rescue Squadron.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo courtesy of USAF 48th Rescue Squadron
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base pararescuer, Tech Sgt. Michael Flores, 32, was killed in action June 9, 2010, when his helicopter crashed during a rescue mission in Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 48th Rescue Squadron.
Fallen soldier
- Photo courtesy of the U.S. Army
U.S. Army Specialist Christian M. Adams 26, of Sierra Vista, died June 11, 2010, in Kandahar, Afghanistan of wounds from a non-combat-related incident. He was assigned to the 20th Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade at Fort Hood, Texas.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo courtesy of the 82nd Airborne Division
Army Sgt. Christopher J. Moon, 20, a star baseball player at Tucson High who walked away from a University of Arizona sports scholarship to enlist, died July 13, 2010, of wounds received when he stepped on a roadside bomb in Arghandab, Afghanistan.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo courtesy of the U.S. Army
Army Ranger Sgt. Martin A. Lugo of Tucson died Aug. 19, 2010, in Afghanistan while leading a team of Rangers in a clash with the Taliban that killed 14 enemy fighters. He was serving with the 75th Ranger Regiment, on his sixth combat deployment.
Fallen soldiers
- AP Photo/Farmington Police Department
Army National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Jim Thode, 45, of New Mexico, who grew up in Tucson, was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan on Dec. 2, 2010. He was serving with the 204th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade based in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Fallen soldiers
- Photo courtesy of the U.S. Army
Army Pfc. Robert Near died Jan. 7, 2011, in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The Idaho native, who operated and maintained communication equipment, was serving overseas with the 86th Signal Battalion, part of the 11th Signal Brigade based at Fort Huachuca.
Fallen soldiers
Air Force Capt. Nathan J. Nylander, 35, with the 25th Operational Weather Squadron at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, was one of nine airmen killed April 27, 2011, at Kabul International Airport when an Afghan air force officer opened fire on them after an argument. Nylander was a father of three.
Fallen soldiers
- Department of Defense photo
Sgt. 1st Class Ryan J. Savard, 29, from Sierra Vista and based at Fort Bragg, died Oct. 13, 2012, from small arms fire while on patrol during combat operations in the Khanabad District in Afghanistan. He was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, U.S. Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg.
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A soldier from Sierra Vista and based at Fort Bragg has died from small arms fire while on p…
A soldier from Sierra Vista who was based at Fort Bragg was killed Saturday in Afghanistan, …
Some were teens just out of high school. Others, veteran service members on a second, third or fourth tour. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have claimed 54 service members with ties to Southern Arizona.
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Viral fruit ice cream and strawberry Oreos: the $25 challenge at Sandyi Oriental Market
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Taste 'Mexico in a bottle' at Tucson agave fest this weekend
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New Eats! 20 new restaurants that opened up in Tucson this winter 🍽️
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44 things to do in Tucson this weekend, April 10-12
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Vintage band tees take center stage at Tucson’s new shop Almandel
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Bloomfest celebrates palo verde blooms and Tucson culture
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Cheer on the Wildcats in the Final Four at these local restaurants and bars 🐻⬇️
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OaxaRico opened their first brick-and-mortar, serving up delicious mole and gorditas
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Maker Monday: Carly Quinn Designs brings Sonoran Desert to life in ceramic tiles