U.S. troops who have died recently in Iraq and Kuwait:
Spc. Donald Samuel Oaks Jr., 20, Harborcreek, Pa.
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Spc. Oaks
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Donald Samuel Oaks' father, Donald Sr., remembers the last time he talked with his son, on a call from Kuwait in January.
"He said, 'Dad, I'll never take anything for granted again. People don't know what they have in the United States. All I want to do is come home, take a shower, be with my family and go fishing."
Oaks, 20, of Harborcreek, Pa., and stationed at Fort Sill, was killed in action in Iraq April 3.
"As a teacher, you know, you can pick out students that you would really like to have in class all the time," said Jeff Harvey, Oaks' high school economics teacher. "He was one of those students for me."
After graduating in 2000 and joining the Army, Oaks returned to his high school to address a student assembly about the military.
"You could see the passion in him," the assistant principal, Andrew Krahe, remembered.
Marine Pfc. Christian Gurtner, 19, Ohio City, Ohio
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Pfc. Gurtner
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Gurtner, who joined the Marines in June when he graduated from high school, was killed when his gun accidentally fired and he was hit in the chest, the military said Thursday.
Gurtner was an infantry scout assigned to the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion. He had arrived in Kuwait in February.
Gurtner was engaged in combat when the accident happened Wednesday, said Marine Chief Warrant Officer Suzanne Handshoe. She did not know where in Iraq he was killed.
Jeff Hood, a coach at Van Wert High School, said Gurtner took his strength-training course during his last semester to prepare for the Marines.
"It's not an easy course because it involves four days a week of weightlifting, cardiovascular work and other things," he said. "You've got to be really devoted to want to get into it."
Staff Sgt. Eryck Little, who recruited Gurtner and is serving as a family spokesman, said Gurtner was single and had a 2-month-old daughter.
"He was young, motivated, hard-charging," Little said. "He was the type of guy who stepped up to the plate to a challenge."
Army Sgt. 1st Class Randy Rehn, 36, Longmont, Colo.
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Sgt. Randy and Raelynn Rehn
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As a career military man, Randy Rehn believed in what he did and never expressed fear about going into war. But he also yearned for the day he could return home to his wife and infant daughter.
"I hope this is the last time I'm leaving my family for so long," he wrote in a letter before the war started. "See ya' in August," he concluded.
Rehn, 36, a Longmont, Colo., native based at Fort Sill, died April 3 in combat.
He leaves his wife, Raelynn Rehn, and 7-month-old daughter, Megan.
"She's quiet and she looks just like her daddy," Raelynn Rehn said.
Joe Rehn described his brother as a prankster who loved to golf and hunt.
"He was very outgoing, a joker and always looking for somebody to play a practical joke on," he said.
Marine Lance Cpl. Joseph B. Maglione, 22, Lansdale, Pa.
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Lance Cpl. Maglione
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An architectural engineering major at Drexel University, Maglione was activated March 7 and stationed at Camp Pendleton, Calif., before being deployed to Kuwait on Sunday, his mother said.
Maglione called home several times to say goodbye before he left.
"I told him that our prayers were with him, and I was proud of him," said his mother, Rosemarie Corr. "He said he loved me and he'd miss me."
Maglione died Tuesday in a "non-combat weapon discharge" at Camp Coyote, Kuwait, the Defense Department said. His death was under investigation.
Maglione joined the reserves in 2000 because "he wanted to serve his country. He was so proud of being a Marine. He thought the Marines were the best, the bravest," his mother said.
Maglione was assigned to Bridge Company B, 6th Engineer Support Battalion, 4th Force Service Support Group, based in Folsom, Pa. His mother said he was ready to go to war.
"He thought he was going to fix everything," she said.
Army Sgt. Jacob Butler, 24, of Wellsville, Kan.
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Sgt. Butler
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As Jacob Butler's family bands together, his father is reminded of the reason his son was serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
"He was kind, care-giving and loving," Jim Butler said. "He'd give you the shirt off his back. I guess it goes back to the way he was raised. We're a tight-knit family. We believed in things that were right."
Butler, 24, of Wellsville, Kan., and based at Fort Riley, was killed April 1 by a rocket-propelled grenade.
"I just know for a fact that he died fighting for our freedom and doing something that he loves to do," said Butler's twin brother, Joe.
Though the war claimed his son, Jim Butler said he is a staunch supporter of what the coalition troops are doing.
"Can you imagine what it would be like if we didn't have young men like this all over the world?" Butler said.
Marine Capt. Aaron J. Contreras, 31, of Sherwood, Ore.
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Capt. Contreras
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Contreras was so devoted to his wife and three children that he chose to fly a helicopter over his dream craft -- a fixed wing airplane -- because they were deployed less often, his brother said Wednesday.
Contreras, 31, was assigned to the Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 169, Marine Aircraft Group 39, at Camp Pendleton, Calif. He and two other servicemen were killed March 30 when their UH-1 Huey crashed in Iraq.
Family members said Contreras was a devout Roman Catholic and loving father who put his wife, Janelle, and children -- ages 11, 8 and 4 -- before military service whenever possible.
"He made every effort to stay on the West Coast because that's where his family was and he wanted his kids to be close to his family," said his older brother, Dave Contreras.
"He chose helicopter knowing that they didn't get deployed as much," he said.
As a boy, Aaron dreamed of flying, said his father, Edward Contreras.
"Something about getting up in the air just captivated him," he said.
Aaron was one of five brothers born in San Jose, Calif., and the family moved to suburban Portland in 1979. He played football, basketball and baseball at Sherwood High School and later graduated from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Ariz., before joining the Marines.
Marine Sgt. Michael V. Lalush, 23, of Troutville, Va.
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Sgt. Lalush
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Lalush could hardly wait to send home pictures of his new job helping transport wounded soldiers in southern Iraq. Those pictures will be the last images Lalush's family will have of their son.
Lalush was killed March 30 in a Huey helicopter crash while serving in the Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron in southern Iraq. He had been deployed from the Marine Corps Air Station at Camp Pendleton, Calif.
"He was a wonderful child," said Lalush's mother, Becky. "He was going to be career military. He felt they were doing the right thing."
Lalush was always trying to fix things, said Linda McMillan, a family friend. He tinkered with lawnmowers and cars, and as a teenager once brought home a pink 1965 Volkswagen Beetle that he rebuilt and repainted and was soon driving around the neighborhood.
More than anything, McMillan said, Lalush wanted to be a pilot and he wanted to be a Marine. After graduating from Lord Botetourt High School, Lalush left for boot camp. In his final message to his family, Michael told his mother he was finally using his skills to help people.
"He said, 'Momma, this is what it's all about,"' McMillan said.
Marine Sgt. Brian McGinnis, 23, St. Georges, Del.
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Sgt. McGinnis
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McGinnis' high school wrestling coach tried to convince him to attend college, but he had other plans.
"He said the Marines were the best, and that's what he wanted to be a part of. He welcomed the challenge," said Jack Holloway, who coached McGinnis at William Penn High School in New Castle.
It was there that McGinnis met Megan Mahoney, whom he married in 1999.
McGinnis died March 30 when a Marine UH-1 Huey helicopter crashed at a supply and refueling point in southern Iraq. Enemy fire wasn't involved, the military said.
"He had just gotten his crew wings Saturday, the day before the accident," said his mother, Mildred Williams. "I am sure it was a big moment for him. He just loved flying. He was always so excited. He'd call me and tell me about all the stuff they were doing."
McGinnis joined the Marines in 1998 after a hearing problem prevented him from joining the Air Force.
"He was supposed to leave the Marines in March, but the war stopped that," Williams said in a telephone interview from her home in Port Charlotte, Fla. "He wanted to get a job and start a family, do it right."
At the Woodbury Heights, N.J., home of McGinnis's father, William McGinnis, a sign in the front yard with McGinnis' picture read: "In loving memory of Sgt. Brian McGinnis who made the ultimate sacrifice."
Marine Cpl. Robert M. Rodriguez, 21, of New York
As the baby in a family of five children, Rodriguez looked up to his brothers and sisters and wanted to make them proud.
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Cpl. Rodriguez
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His family valued education, but he found school boring, and so after he received his high school diploma, Rodriguez joined the Marines at age 17. He became a member of the 1st Tank Battalion, 1st Marine Division, based at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, Calif. He was sent to Kuwait in January as a corporal.
"He loved the Marines," said his sister Hyda Hernandez-Lopez. "We were all so very proud of him. He was our hero."
Rodriguez was killed March 25 when the tank he was in plunged off a bridge and into the Euphrates River.
Rodriguez thought he might make a career out of the Marines, or pursue a career in law enforcement. He hated being short -- he was just under 5 feet tall -- but loved jogging and lifting weights and never smoked or ate junk food, his sister said.
Rodriguez had 17 nephews and nieces. A package of gifts that arrived last week included rugs for his nieces and nephews, and animal figurines for his mother and sisters. The last time his family saw him was when he came home in June for the Puerto Rican Day Parade.
One of his several tattoos depicted the Puerto Rican flag. Others included the raising of the American flag at Iwo Jima, firefighters raising the flag at ground zero after Sept. 11, and the amaryllis flower, which was also his mother's name.
"He wanted to keep her close to his heart," Hernandez-Lopez said.
Army Spc. Brandon Rowe, 20, Roscoe, Ill.
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Spec. Rowe
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Rowe sent his mother a letter that arrived last week and a day later left a message on the answering machine, asking for extra supplies in a care package.
"In his last letter he included a little note to say he hadn't gotten very much mail; letters were like gold," Wendy Borowski said.
Rowe was killed March 31 in fighting near the Iraqi city of Najaf. He is believed to be the first person from the 101st Airborne Division to die in the war.
"He was a very caring, sensitive person," Borowski said. "He was always smiling. Everybody liked him because he was just fun to be around."
Rowe, a 2000 Hononegah High School graduate, joined the Army to earn money for a career in computers after hearing about a friend who had joined. He ended up liking the camaraderie of the Army.
"He cared about the guys that he was in the platoon with," said his mother.
Army Sgt. Roderic A. Solomon , 32, Fayetteville, N.C.
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Sgt. Solomon
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Solomon lived the Army life long before he ever enlisted.
He was born in Womack Army Hospital at Fort Bragg, N.C. He was the son of a soldier, his grandfathers and a great-uncle fought in World War II, and his older brother served in the Army. Roderic Solomon, who served during the first Gulf War, was the first in the family to die on duty.
The infantryman was killed March 28 when his Bradley fighting vehicle rolled off a cliff in Iraq, military officials said. He was assigned to the 27th Infantry, 3rd Infantry Division out of Fort Stewart, Ga.
His father, retired Sgt. Maj. Robert Solomon, said his son joined the military after graduating from Pine Forest High School in Fayetteville. At the time, he wanted to test different fields to see what suited him.
Roderic Solomon served for six years, including time in the Persian Gulf during the first clash between the United States and Iraq.
He left the Army in 1996, but remained in the National Guard until he re-enlisted in May 2002, finally sure that he wanted to make a career in uniform, his father said Monday.
"It provided the experience, the different cultures, different languages and different career fields," Robert Solomon said.
His son had been promoted to sergeant in February.
Army Spc. William A. Jeffries, 39, Evansville, Ind.
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Spec. Jeffries
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Jeffries spent a decade with the Air Force before he joined the 152nd Infantry Regiment of the Indiana National Guard. He fell ill while with his unit in Kuwait and was taken to a hospital in Spain, where he died March 31.
A military official told Jeffries' family that he suffered a blood clot in his lung and acute pancreatitis, said his mother, Marie Jeffries.
"Bill was liked by everybody. Old people. Young people," she said. "He was an outgoing individual. He never met a stranger. Everyone liked him, right on sight. He was big, and he was kind."
He graduated from Evansville Reitz High School in 1982 and was married.
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