Army Sgt. Ivory L. Phipps

Sgt. Phipps

Ivory Phipps first enlisted in the Army National Guard as a teenager to escape a rough neighborhood. He re-enlisted at the age of 43 to provide for his newborn son.

"The most important thing in his life was his family," his fiancee, LaToya Ragsdale, said.

The 44-year-old from Chicago died March 17 when a mortar round detonated inside a logistics base in Baghdad. He was based in Paris, Ill.

He had been in Iraq less than a week.

Phipps, the youngest of eight children, first joined the military when he was 18 and fought in Desert Storm, said Albert Phipps, his older brother.

"I went with him to enlist," Phipps said. "We were going to serve our country because things were getting kind of tough on the streets. "

Phipps went on to serve 15 years in the National Guard.

Phipps, who worked as a driver for a rental car company, re-enlisted in February 2003 because he wanted to provide a better life for his family, Ragsdale said. Their son was 5 months old when Phipps died.

Survivors also include Phipps' two adult sons and a teenage daughter.

Army Spc. Tracy L. Laramore

Tracy L. Laramore loved overseas military duty and after one two-year stint was up, he re-enlisted and even extended his time by five months so that he could continue service in Iraq.

The 30-year-old from Okaloosa, Fla. died March 17 in Baji, Iraq, when the vehicle he was in overturned into a river. He was most recently based in Schweinfurt, Germany.

"Everywhere he went, he had friends," his mother, Faye West, said. "He told me to keep in touch with all of them while he was in Iraq."

At age 24, Laramore was the oldest enlistee at Fort Benning, Ga., but outperformed younger recruits to the amazement of other Army soldiers, his mother said.

Army Spc. Clint Matthews

Spc. Matthews

When he learned of his son's death, Clint Matthews' father, a Vietnam veteran, said simply, "It was my turn as a parent to give up a soldier."

Matthews had always wanted to be a soldier. Besides his father, both of Matthews' brothers served in the military.

"He was just always one of those all-American kids wearing his red, white and blue and always wanted to be in the Army. It is just what he wanted to do. Clint joined up right after high school," said his brother James Matthews, who was in the Navy.

Matthews, 31, of Bedford, Pa., died March 20 after a road gave way and his vehicle tumbled into the Tigris River in Baji, Iraq.

Matthews served four years in the Army, then joined the Army Reserves. Spurred by the Sept. 11 attacks, Matthews signed up for active duty and served in Bosnia and Afghanistan before being deployed to Iraq in January.

Survivors include his parents: Rick Thomasich and Connie Nugent.

Army Sgt. William J. Normandy

Sgt. Normandy

William J. Normandy was well-loved at the school where he worked for many years as a bus driver and custodian.

"Bill was delightful around children, he was delighted by children, and they really did enjoy being around him," said Tim Crowley, one of the two principals at Barre Town Middle and Elementary School.

Normandy, 42, of East Barre, Vt., died March 15 of a heart attack while training with members of his Vermont Army National Guard unit in Kuwait. His unit had been at Fort Dix until it left for Kuwait.

Normandy cultivated "wonderful, warm relationships" with children, said co-principal Ted Riggen. He regularly drove two busloads of students to and from school before his National Guard unit was activated in January.

Marine Pfc. Leroy Sandoval Jr.

Pfc. Sandoval

Leroy Sandoval Jr. asked his mother for a prayer as his unit prepared to move into Fallujah, Iraq. He was nervous and told a family member he might not make it to age 25.

"We just never liked the name of that city," said his stepfather, Steve Walters. "Fallujah just sounded bad to all of us. I think he felt like he might not make it back from there."

Sandoval, 21, of Houston, died March 26 in Fallujah in a battle with Iraqi insurgents.

"He could make everyone in the class laugh," said Sarah Wilson, who was Sandoval's classmate in Pasadena, Texas.

"He was also a great friend. We loved Leroy. He is truly our hero. Not just for us, but our whole nation, and that just makes me so proud."

Sandoval graduated from a private Christian academy in 2000, and joined the Marines in May.

"Little Leroy ran a big race, and he ran it quick. He fell on this Earth, but he fell to rise in heaven," said Patricia Gehret, the academy's superintendent. "We have the hard part -- to carry on."

Army Pfc. Cleston C. Raney

Cleston C. Raney died in a military his family had tried to persuade him not to join -- or at least postpone enrolling in.

"But once we realized the strength of his convictions," his family said in a statement, "the family put our own fears on the back burner to support his sense of purpose and overwhelming need to make a difference 100 percent."

Raney, 20, of Rupert, Idaho, was killed March 31 in Habbaniyah, Iraq, when a bomb detonated under the armored personnel carrier he was in.

"Ours is a time of mixed emotions. First and foremost, pride. Always pride for our boy's courage, honor and a belief in a level of duty we may never comprehend," Raney's family said.

Raney's death, his survivors said, "has left a deep heartache that makes it difficult to swallow or even breathe."

Army Spc. Matthew J. Sandri

Spc. Sandri

Kareen Murray calls Matthew J. Sandri the strongest of her friends, a sincere, honest and genuine person willing to go out of his way to help a friend in need.

"There's just something special about Matt. When you look into his eyes for the first time -- he just has a way with people," Murray said. "It's like he's so inviting. He had a love for people, he loved life. I could just look at him and start laughing because I knew he was thinking of something funny."

Sandri, 24, of Shamokin, Pa., died March 20 in a rocket attack outside Fallujah, Iraq. He was stationed at Fort Bragg, and had completed three years of study at Bloomsburg University with a concentration in biology.

Murray recalled the time she met him: "He just started talking to me as if he already knew me," she said. "From then on, we were like best friends. I had so many years of fun with him; there's nothing but good memories of Matt."

Survivors include his parents.

Army Pfc. Sean M. Schneider

Pfc. Schneider

Sean M. Schneider had no doubts about his work with the Army, but he wanted to make sure his family understood the risk that came with the job he loved.

"He said, 'You know, Mom, I may not be coming back.' He told us that so many times. He was preparing us for the worst-case scenario," Kim Schneider said.

The 22-year-old from Janesville, Wis., was killed March 29 when an explosive caused his vehicle to run off the road near Baghdad, Iraq. He was based at Fort Hood.

The mechanic left an impression on teachers when he graduated from high school in 2000.

"He was probably one of the most caring individuals I've had in 27 years of teaching," said Sam Loizzo, who taught the soldier in a humanities class. "He was the kind of kid you'd like to have in class, the kind you'd like as an employee, the kind of kid you'd want as a friend."

Kim Schneider said her son planned a military career, and his position as a mechanic suited him. "He was always tinkering with vehicles and motorcycles. He liked to run, hunt and canoe, do the guy thing," she said.

Survivors include his wife.

Army Staff Sgt. Wentz Jerome Henry Shanaberger

In his 14 years in the Army, Wentz Jerome Henry Shanaberger did tours in Kuwait during Desert Storm, and in Bosnia, Korea and Panama.

"He's been to every hot spot since he joined. He and I would have many, many heated discussions about it," said his mother, Cheryl Shanaberger of Port St. Lucie, Fla. "He was glad that he was able to be over there. That was his job. He thought he was making a difference."

Shanaberger, 33, of Naples, Fla., was killed March 24 in an insurgent attack. He was a military policeman stationed at Fort Bragg.

He joined the Army right after high school graduation. While his primary duties had always been as a military policeman, he had also trained with the 82nd Airborne and the elite Ranger program, his mother said.

Survivors include his wife and five children.

Marine Pfc. Brandon C. Smith

At 16, Brandon C. Smith knew he wanted to join the Marines, but his father wouldn't give the teenager his permission. So Smith waited, enlisting in September 2003.

"He was stubborn, like his granddad," Gordon Smith said of his son. "He made up his mind years ago that he was going into the Marines."

The 20-year-old from Fayetteville, Ark., was trying to help comrades under attack when he was killed by mortar fire March 18 in Qaim, Iraq. He was assigned to Twentynine Palms.

The Marine made a point of spending time with his friends, choosing jobs that allowed him to work with his buddies. "He was more outgoing and spontaneous around his friends," Gordon Smith said.

Brandon Smith was driven to succeed, his father said. "He wanted to be the best, and the Marines were the best," Gordon Smith said. The Marine planned to attend college and become an officer.

Army Pfc. Ernest Sutphin

Ernest Sutphin relished playing practical jokes on friends and family.

"We'd switch yards on people," his friend Jim Vaughn said of their school days. "We'd take everything from one yard and move it down one house."

Sutphin, 21, of Parkerburg, W.V., and stationed in Hawaii, died March 18, one week after the Humvee he was riding in was struck by a homemade bomb in Kirkuk, Iraq. His mother and father were at the hospital with him when he died.

The fan of "Star Wars" and comic books joined the Army to get an education and see the world, said his aunt, Faye Pennell.

"He wanted to make something of his life," Faye Pennell said. "He wanted a career." He hoped to earn money for college, where he planned to major in either psychiatry or law, she said.

Though Sutphin grew up in Parkerburg, his family later relocated to North Carolina.

"He was such a wonderful role model," Pennell said. "All his cousins and his sister looked up to him."

Army Maj. Mark D. Taylor

Maj. Taylor

When Mark D. Taylor left for Iraq he gave his 6-year-old son Conner a set of dog tags, saying, "Wear them until Daddy comes home."

The 41-year-old surgeon from Stockton, Calif. died March 20 in a rocket attack in Fallujah, Iraq. He was based at Fort Bragg.

Taylor loved skiing and finding ways to make people laugh, friends said.

"He was very intelligent, had a great sense of humor, and was a compassionate person," said longtime family friend Cathy Conrad. "There were lots of people who just loved him, and he was a very driven individual," she said.

He joined the Army National Guard before graduating from UC Davis with a degree in biochemistry in 1982.

In 1991, Taylor received a pharmaceutical degree from UC San Francisco and earned a medical degree four years later from George Washington Medical School in Washington, D.C.

In the late 1990s, Taylor met his wife and had his son, Conner, while doing his residency at the UC Irvine Medical Center. The couple later divorced.

Survivors also include his parents.

Army Master Sgt. Thomas R. Thigpen

M. Sgt. Thigpen

Thomas Thigpen was a dedicated soldier who always put his unit first.

"He was true to his men," said his wife, Theresa. "He said he knew I'd suffered from him being over there, but he wouldn't have had it any other way. There was no way he would let his men go over there without him."

Thigpen, 52, died March 16 at Camp Virginia, Kuwait. His wife said he died of either a massive heart attack or a stroke during a game of tag football. He was based in Greenville, S.C.

Thigpen was deployed last spring. His family in Augusta, Ga. had expected him home in April. Theresa Thigpen had plans to surprise him with a Caribbean cruise.

Before his unit was activated, Thigpen was a civilian worker at Fort Gordon, a budget analyst for the 15th Signal Brigade. He had planned to retire from the guard last June after 20 years, but got called up.

Survivors also include Thigpen's daughter and two granddaughters.

Marine Master Sgt. Timothy Toney

As if he didn't have his hands full with all of his regular Marine duties, Timothy Toney found time to contribute even more: coaching a Marine Corps basketball team, as well as children's baseball, basketball and softball teams.

The 19-year Marine Corps veteran was "a great humanitarian, a great person, a loving husband and also a Marine," Master Sgt. Guy Williams said.

"You never give up the competitiveness of being a Marine. That's one of the things that he really cherished. That and helping out junior Marines, and Marines above him and his peers."

Toney, 37, of Columbia, S.C., died March 27 of non-combat causes in Kuwait. He was stationed at Camp Pendleton.

"I tell you it's real hard for me to hear heart attack or collapse because like we all said, we shoot ball, basketball, probably five or six days a week on top of Marine Corps physical fitness training," said 1st Sgt. Richie Harris, a friend of Toney.

Survivors include his wife, Delores Baise, twin 4-year-old daughters, Tiara and Tiana, and three stepchildren.

"He was the best son, brother, father, husband anyone could ever ask for," said his father, Richard Holmes.

Army 1st Lt. Michael W. Vega

Lt. Vega

When Michael Vega joined the California National Guard three years ago, he was following in the footsteps of his father and brothers, who had all served in the military.

"He was a soldier at heart," said Vega's girlfriend, Marisol Vazquez.

The 41-year-old from Lathrop, Calif., died on March 20 after being wounded when his military vehicle rolled on top of him during fighting with Iraqi insurgents nine days earlier in Diwaniyah, Iraq. He was based in Sacramento, Calif.

Vega, a high school football star, was "an upbeat person, outgoing, really happy. He could make anybody laugh," Vazquez said.

Vega enlisted in the Army after graduating from high school. He served as a helicopter mechanic for three years, going on to earn a degree in aeronautics at Cal State Hayward several years later.

Survivors also include his father, mother and stepfather.

Marine Lance Cpl. William J. Wiscowiche

Cpl. Wiscowiche

To family and friends, William J. Wiscowiche was all about life, fun and energy -- not to mention his exuberance and affectionate nature.

"He couldn't just say hello," said family friend Theresa Kay, "he had to give you a big hug."

His mother, Patricia, remembered the teen with his radio blasting who would jump out onto the driveway to dance to his current favorite song "singing along, and he couldn't sing a lick," she said, laughing and crying at the same time.

Wiscowiche, 20, of Victorville, Calif., died March 30 when his vehicle drove over an explosive device in Iraq. He joined the Marines in August 2001 and was stationed at Camp Pendleton.

Wischowiche had been married to his high school sweetheart, Veronica, for a month before being sent back to Iraq. Their daughter, Arrianna, was born during his first tour in Iraq.

Wiscowiche had been a football running back in high school.

"He had a lot of heart and a lot of character it was always 'yes, sir' and 'no, sir' with Willie," said Leland Eudy, one of his football coaches. "He had a lot of heart, and gave football the same kind of dedication and commitment that he gave to serving his country."

Other survivors include his father, Joseph.