Army Pfc. Michael Scott Adams

Although they were eight years apart, Michael and Matt Adams were always close. After the younger Michael went into the Army, and following the Sept. 11 attacks, his older brother decided to join, too.

"Michael loved it, and that's why I do," said the 28-year-old Matt Adams, who is stationed in Korea.

Michael Adams, 20, died Aug. 21 from smoke inhalation when a fire erupted in a building during a training exercise in Iraq. Adams, of Spartansburg, S.C., was stationed in Germany.

Adams joined the Army in 2001 after graduation from high school.

"Michael was an unassuming fellow with a wonderful big, big, smile," said Gloria Close, Adams' guidance counselor. "He gave his best at every thing he did."

Adams is also survived by his parents and a sister.

Army Pfc. Timothy R. Brown Jr.

A prankster, Timothy R. Brown Jr. decided to enlist in the Army on April 1, 2001, just to see his high school friends' reactions.

"He thought it'd be funny to do it on April Fools' Day. He was one of those jokesters," said a friend, Bryan Relevant.

The 19-year-old Brown, of Conway, Pa., was killed Aug. 12 by an explosive device while traveling in a convoy just north of Baghdad. He was based at Fort Bragg.

Brown had signed up for two years of military service but was having second thoughts about leaving the military next year, Relevant said.

"He wanted to go to Iraq. When he got over there, he said he wanted to stay," he said.

Army Pvt. Matthew D. Bush

Matthew D. Bush and his sister had a friendly rivalry, their father said, so when 19-year-old Deann joined the Army last year, Matthew soon followed.

"When Matthew saw his little sister graduate from basic training, that was it, he was hooked," said Randy Bush. "I remember him looking at me and telling me that he knew he was going to do this."

Matthew Bush, of East Alton, Ill., joined the Army in January and arrived in Iraq in mid-July from Fort Hood. The 20-year-old soldier died Aug. 8 in Kirkush, Iraq, of what is believed to be a heat-related illness.

His father said he hoped his son's death would make others soldiers more alert to the signs of illness from the heat. Bush is also survived by his mother.

"There's a young man who plays sports all his life," the senior Bush said. "He's used to having football gear. It just goes to show you it can happen to anybody."

Army Spc. Zeferino E. Colunga

While he was in the Middle East, Zeferino E. Colunga called his family in Bellville, Texas, once a week and called his sister on her birthday in May and his mother on her birthday in June.

So they grew worried when he failed to call his father on his birthday on Aug. 2. They soon learned he was gravely ill with acute leukemia.

The 20-year-old Colunga, who was stationed at Fort Polk, died Aug. 6 at a hospital in Germany.

Nicknamed "Cowboy" because of a childhood habit of wearing a cowboy hat while riding a stick horse, Colunga joined the military after graduating from high school and planned to make it a career.

"He wanted everybody to be proud of him," said his sister, Teresa Colunga. "He had a lot of fun doing it."

Army Pvt. Michael J. Deutsch

Pvt. Deutsch

Michael J. Deutsch was remembered at his funeral service for his love of watermelon, roller coasters, his friends and family.

Deutsch, 21, of Dubuque, Iowa, was killed July 31 in Baghdad when his armored personnel carrier was hit by an explosive round.

Deutsch graduated from high school in 2000 and joined the Army in 2002. He was based in Germany.

Among the mourners was Judi Chandlee, who taught Deutsch when he was in the second grade. It was her first year of teaching.

"It is just a tragedy," she said. "That class was all special to me."

Deutsch is survived by his parents, two brothers and a sister.

"He was just the best friend anybody could have," T.J. Stapleton said.

Army Staff Sgt. Richard S. Eaton Jr.

As a high school student, Richard S. Eaton Jr. had his heart set on a joining the Army. Still, he visited college campuses to please his parents and talked of majoring in botany or engineering.

After the trip, his father told him he had to make his own decision. Eaton brought home a recruiter to meet his parents.

"He said, 'He's old enough to enlist himself at 18, but he really wants your approval,"' the elder Eaton said. "Then he explained that they could give him the best work that the military had to offer."

An Army counterintelligence analyst, Eaton spent 10 years in South Korea and had appointments in Honduras, Panama and El Salvador.

Eaton, 37, from Guilford, Conn., died in his sleep Aug. 12 in Iraq from what was believed to be fluid buildup in his lungs. The cause of death remains under investigation.

He was in the Army Reserves and deployed to Iraq in March.

Army Staff Sgt. Bobby C. Franklin

Staff Sgt. Franklin

After Bobby Franklin was called up by the North Carolina National Guard, his colleagues at the Carlton Colwell Probation and Detention Center made sure he periodically received care packages filled with comforts from home.

Franklin supervised inmates working on construction projects in the community.

The 38-year-old Franklin of Mineral Bluff, Ga., was killed Aug. 20 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle in Iraq.

Family members had tried to talk the longtime reservist into calling it quits last year.

"He was within a year of retirement," said Tim Nicholson, his brother-in-law. "That's why he went back this time."

Franklin is survived by his wife, Brenda, and two children.

Army Pfc. Kyle C. Gilbert

Pfc. Gilbert

When high school senior Kyle Gilbert couldn't get into the military because of occasional headaches, he turned to Vermont's Sen. James Jeffords.

"I was used to people asking me to help them get out of the military, not the other way around," Jeffords said.

Gilbert, 20, was one of two soldiers killed Aug. 6 when their unit was fired on from a passing vehicle in Baghdad. Gilbert, who excelled in martial arts, grew up in Brattleboro, Vt., and was stationed at Fort Bragg.

Regina Gilbert said her son wanted to be in the military like his father, Robert, and jump out of planes. She fondly recalled their telephone conversation after his first jump.

"There was excitement in his voice," she said. "It was just like I was talking to my husband."

Army Spc. Kenneth W. Harris Jr.

The last time Kenneth W. Harris Jr. talked to his twin brother, he seemed more concerned about folks back home than about himself.

"I can't even explain it. I just talked to him last weekend," Nathan Harris said. "He didn't even think about himself. He just wanted to know that everybody (at home) is OK."

The 23-year-old Harris was driving on a supply route when he was fatally injured in a traffic accident in Scania, Iraq, on Aug. 20. Another soldier was injured in the two-vehicle accident, which is under investigation.

Harris, of Charlotte, Tenn., was in the Army Reserves.

Army Sgt. Nathaniel Hart Jr.

Sgt. Hart

The Army was a family tradition for Nathaniel Hart Jr., whose father and grandfather both served. But his loved ones remember him as much more than a soldier.

To them, Hart, a devout Christian, was a family man who loved to take his two sons fishing and camping. But now his wife, Erica, will be raising Nathaniel III, 7, and Gabriel, 5, without him.

Hart, 29, died July 28 in an accident in Tillil, Iraq, when his vehicle went off the road and rolled over.

Hart, who grew up in Valdosta, Ga., was a heavy wheel mechanic based at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Ga.

"I believe he was as big a hero in life as he is in death," said Hart's sister, Valarie Lowry. "He was a good example for everybody. His love and kindness were what he was known for."

Army Spc. Justin W. Hebert

The cornfields of Silvana, Wash., had little to offer an ebullient 17-year-old like Justin W. Hebert, who had never even been on a plane before.

He wanted to go to college, but his family didn't have the money, and he worried his grades would suffer if he tried to work his way through. So five days after graduating from high school, he shipped out with the Army.

Hebert's parents signed the paperwork for him to enlist; he was too young to do it himself.

On Aug. 1, four days after his 20th birthday, he was killed when a rocket-propelled grenade hit his vehicle during a night patrol near Kirkuk, Iraq.

Hebert was stationed at Camp Ederle in Italy and met his girlfriend there, but the military was never his dream, said his 21-year-old sister, Jessica.

"He wanted to get out of this area and make something of himself. He was in Iraq just so he could get out and have an education," she said.

Army Staff Sgt. Brian R. Hellermann

When Brian R. Hellermann joined the military after high school in Minnesota, it was his way of honoring his father, who died when Hellermann was about 15.

"Throughout high school and even after, there were several times when he was talking about his dad and how he wanted his dad to be proud of him and the life he was living," Scott Middendorf, a former classmate who is now a recruiter for the Minnesota National Guard. "I'm pretty sure that was his whole reason for joining the military in the first place."

Hellermann, 35, of Freeport, Minn., was killed Aug. 6 in an ambush in Baghdad. He is survived by his wife, Michelle, and two children -- son Travis, 14, and daughter Katelynn, 9.

Stationed at Fort Bragg, Hellerman had been in the military for 17 years and planned to retire sometime after 20 years.

In a Feb. 13 e-mail to a friend, Hellermann wrote, "I'm still in because I want to provide the freedom to all those I love and care about."

Army Sgt. Eric R. Hull

When they were young, Eric R. Hull's sister loved to help their father in the garage. Hull liked to follow his mother, aunts and grandmother around in the kitchen. Sometimes he would surprise his family with fresh-baked bread or other treats, his mother said.

"He made the best Alfredo you'll ever taste," Deborah Hull said.

Hull ended up becoming a cook and went to Iraq with the Army Reserves. The 23-year-old from Uniontown, Pa., died Aug. 18 when his vehicle rode over a land mine while hauling supplies.

He is survived by his wife, Missy, and two children, Mia Nicole, 2, and Dominic, 1.

"He always had a grin on his face," his mother said. "He was such a happy-go-lucky person. The only thing he wanted to do was be at home with his children and his wife."

Navy Lt. Kylan A. Jones-Huffman

From an early age, Kylan Jones-Huffman showed what would be a lifelong talent for languages, learning his mother's native German along with English.

"When he started talking, he was speaking both, and he knew who to speak English to and who he should speak German to," his father, James Huffman said.

That natural ability with languages -- he eventually learned French, Farsi and Arabic as well -- combined with a voracious intellectual curiosity about the Middle East landed Jones-Huffman, 31, a spot with Naval Intelligence in Bahrain before the war in Iraq.

He was on a trip Aug. 21 to Al Hillah, Iraq, when his SUV came under fire and he was killed.

Jones-Huffman was born in Santa Cruz, Calif., while his Army officer father was serving in Vietnam. He attended the Naval Academy, where he later taught history courses for two years. Before his reserve unit was called up, he had planned to go back to get a doctorate in Turkish studies.

Jones-Huffman and his wife, Heidi, lived in College Park, Md.

Army Spc. Levi B. Kinchen

Barbara Kinchen said her son, Levi, once tearfully acknowledged that he was afraid of combat. Nevertheless, he wanted to go to Iraq.

"He was ready to go. That's what he wanted to do. He knew the consequences," Barbara Kinchen said.

She said he insisted on being baptized before he left for the war.

Levi Kinchen, 21, was found dead Aug. 9 on his cot in Baghdad. Autopsy results have not yet been released. He joined the military after high school in Albany, La., and was stationed at Fort Polk.

Kinchen loved the outdoors, his relatives said, and started hunting as a child, killing his first deer when he was 9.

"He had this magnetic personality," Louise O'Sullivan said of her nephew. "You just had to love Levi."

Army Pfc. David M. Kirchhoff

To his two young sons, David M. Kirchhoff was a father with a streak of playfulness that led to water balloon fights and wrestling matches.

"He was always goofy," said his 12-year-old son, Sean Lekin.

Kirchhoff, 31, suffered heat stroke while driving a truck in northern Iraq and died five days later on Aug. 14 at a hospital in Germany. A truck driver, Kirchhoff, of Anamosa, Iowa, was a member of the Iowa Army National Guard.

"Sometimes he'd chase us all around the house and we'd always end up in the living room ...and do like a tag-team wrestling match," 11-year-old son David Kirchoff Jr., wrote in letters read during a service for his father.

Kirchhoff is also survived by his wife, Brooke, whom he married in April.