Army Sgt. Jarrod Black

Jarrod Black wasn't able to talk with his family in Peru, Ind., very often. But two days before he died, he got a chance to call home.

"He said he loved me and he was being safe. Then he called his dad at work and got to speak with him for a little while," said his mother, Jane Black. "God wanted me to have one more conversation with my son."

Black, 26, died Dec. 12 in Ramadi, Iraq, when insurgents detonated a bomb alongside a road. He was stationed at Fort Riley and his brother, Brandon, has served in Iraq since February.

Black and his wife, Shawna, found out recently they were to be the parents of their first child together, a girl, in April. He also was the father of two sons, ages 2 and 3, from a previous relationship.

Bill Shuey, a longtime English teacher at Peru High School, said much of the community would mourn Black's death.

"Jarrod was a huge (Peru) Tiger fan," Shuey said. "He was always in the front row cheering on Peru, supporting the Tigers. He was an energetic young man who was full of life."

Army Spc. Joseph M. Blickenstaff

When Joseph M. Blickenstaff started struggling in high school, he turned to the Army to find discipline in his life.

"He was missing a lot of school, and he needed somebody to put an arm around him," said his former teacher, Jim Phillips. "I think the military was the right choice for him. He was just one of those quiet boys who was looking for direction."

Blickenstaff, 23, of Corvallis, Ore., died Dec. 8 when his Stryker combat vehicle tumbled off a dirt road in central Iraq and landed upside down in an irrigation canal. He was based at Fort Lewis.

Teachers remembered Blickenstaff as quiet and well liked, although he missed enough school days to land in a program for at-risk teens, Phillips said.

Blickenstaff "was proud to protect our freedoms and died helping to create them for others he will never meet. He will always be our hero," his family said in a statement.

Chief Warrant Officer 4 Clarence E. Boone

Clarence E. Boone, a 30-year Army veteran from Fort Worth, Texas, died Dec. 2 after suffering a heart attack in Kuwait City, Kuwait.

Boone, 50, served as a property accounting technician and was stationed at Fort Hood.

Boone joined the Army in 1973 and joined the 4th Infantry in October 2002.

Army Sgt. Steven Bridges

Friends and family remember Steven Bridges as a man who loved family and was proud to be part of the Army, which he joined right after graduating from high school in 1988.

But his mother, Loretta Bridges, said that what really made her shy, reserved son come alive was acting on stage. He revealed a different side of himself when he performed.

"He loved anything that would get him up there on the stage," Loretta Bridges said.

Bridges, 33, of Tracy, Calif., died Dec. 8 in a vehicle accident in Iraq. A veteran of Operation Desert Storm, he was stationed at Fort Lewis.

Survivors include his wife, Debbie, 6-year-old daughter, Sarrah, and three stepchildren.

Army Staff Sgt. Richard Burdick

Going to war has been a tradition for Richard Burdick's family: His father served in Vietnam, his grandfather in World War II and Korea, and his great-grandfather in World War I.

Iraq was Richard Burdick's war. And on Dec. 10, the 24-year-old from National City, Calif., was fatally injured when his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in Mosul, Iraq. He was stationed at Fort Campbell.

"He was a quiet professional. He wasn't a Rambo," said Burdick's father, Michael, who lives in Andover, N.Y. "That made me very proud."

His parents' divorce and a lack of adult supervision contributed to his being "a little wild in his younger days," his father said. But he changed his life at an alternative school, taking up poetry and creative writing and earning 31 class credits in a single year.

"He squared himself away," Michael Burdick said, and when he left for boot camp, he was "clear-eyed and looking forward to his new life."

Survivors include his wife, Jennifer, daughter Angelynn, 6, and son Michael Sean, 4.

Army Spc. Arron R. Clark

Arron R. Clark left high school early to join the Army, dreamed of becoming an elite Airborne Ranger and was part of the first wave of soldiers deployed to Iraq.

But by December, he was anxiously awaiting his return home.

"He wanted out of Iraq so bad. All he was seeing was dead soldiers," said his mother, Lyne.

Clark, 20, of Chico, Calif., was killed Dec. 5 by a remote-control bomb that struck his convoy riding through Baghdad. He was stationed in Darmstadt, Germany.

Clark received a General Equivalency Diploma so he could leave high school to enlist in the army, where he specialized in detection and decontamination of biological warfare agents. He had just been accepted to the Airborne Ranger training school, his mother said.

Clark's aunt, Robin Clark, said he always wanted his family to be proud of him.

"He knew if he didn't get out of Chico, he wasn't going to get anywhere," Robin Clark said. "He wanted to make something of himself."

Army Spc. Raphael S. Davis

Raphael S. Davis and his older brother joined the Mississippi National Guard under the buddy system and were both called to duty in Iraq.

But Davis' girlfriend, another guard member, stayed behind to gave birth to the couple's first child. Two weeks later, Davis called his father to say he was coming home.

"I never heard him sound so happy," Clifton Bailey said. "He told me he was coming home. We all assumed he meant Tutwiler, but he knew he was going to his heavenly home. He was calling me to say goodbye."

Davis, 24, of Tutwiler, Miss., was killed Dec. 2 when an explosive device ripped through the Humvee he was driving in a convoy in Tampa, Iraq.

His death came less than a month after his girlfriend, Deetra Tucker, gave birth to a boy, Razavier Seon. Davis also had two other children, 6-year-old Raphael Jr. and 5-year-old Ravin.

While serving in the guard, Davis had studied engineering at Holmes Community College and worked at a Circuit City.

"As a soldier, student and member of this community, he was top-notch," said Col. Ruyel West, who led Davis into battle.

Army Sgt. Marshall Edgerton

Sgt. Edgerton

Marshall Edgerton played defensive end in football for awhile -- but it was when he decided to focus on wrestling that he really blossomed.

"I think that's where a lot of his characteristics came out. He was very energetic," said Don Murray, who was head football coach and assistant principal at Edgerton's high school in Dalton, Ga.

"In wrestling you have to be self-disciplined, and he was very good at that."

Edgerton, 26, died Dec. 11 in an attack by suicide bombers west of Baghdad. Stationed at Fort Bragg, he left for Afghanistan in late 2000, then was home for a few months before going to Iraq.

High school teacher Martha Jo Cook described Edgerton as a "purpose-driven young man of very high character."

"He was a wonderful young man and a credit to his school and his community," Cook said.

Survivors include his wife, Amy, and children Hunter, 7, and Alyssa, 2.

Army Spc. Rian C. Ferguson

After news broke Dec. 14 of Saddam Hussein's capture, Jimmy Ferguson told his wife that perhaps their son, Rian Ferguson, would be coming home soon. A few hours later, his wife spotted two soldiers headed to their home. She had her husband answer the door.

"She didn't want any part of it," he said. "I knew it was something ugly."

Ferguson, 22, of Taylors, S.C., died from injuries suffered when he was thrown from a vehicle when it hit a bump. He was stationed at Fort Carson.

Ferguson graduated from high school in 2000 and joined the Army before telling his parents. "It was a decision he made on his own," said his father, a truck driver.

Rian Ferguson worked in the transportation unit and occasionally asked questions about the trucking business. Jimmy Ferguson was surprised his son followed his career path: "I kind of wasn't expecting him to do that."

Army Sgt. Timothy L. Hayslett

At age 26, Timothy L. Hayslett had already served eight years in the Army and had just re-enlisted with the idea of spending his entire career in the military. From Iraq, he complained about the heat but otherwise seemed to be enjoying his job and was in good spirits.

"He said, 'Don't worry about me, Mom. My guys and I take care of each other. We're all going to come out of this alive. We'll be all right,"' said his mother, Mary Hayslett.

Hayslett, who was from Carlisle, Pa., and stationed in Germany, died Nov. 15 when the Humvee he was in was hit by a grenade in Baghdad. Survivors include his wife, Kori, and daughters Gracy and Kaitlyn.

"When I found out that he was going to Iraq, I was worried that he was afraid," Mary Hayslett said. "Then he called from Germany and he said, 'Mom, I'm not afraid. I'm ready to drive my tank right onto Saddam's front steps.'

Army Pfc. Ray Joseph Hutchinson

For a soldier, Ray Joseph Hutchinson was known as a remarkably gentle and sensitive young man.

"He wouldn't even kill an insect, which is so strange given the military career he went into," said his older brother, Lee.

But when Hutchinson set his mind to something, he dedicated himself entirely, said his father, Michael. "He was selfless and was more than willing to give his all for others, and he did that all throughout his life," Michael Hutchinson said.

Hutchinson, 20, of League City, Texas, was killed in Iraq Dec. 7 when he drove a Humvee over an explosive device that was detonated by remote control. He was stationed at Fort Campbell.

Hutchinson graduated from high school in 2000 and attended what is now Texas State University in San Marcos. After a year or so, he decided to join the Army.

His family had gained approval for him to return home in December for his grandmother's heart surgery, which took place the day after he was killed.