Marine 1st Lt. Joshua M. Palmer

Joshua M. Palmer sent an e-mail home asking for candy -- not for himself but for Iraqi children.

"He said he liked to see them happy, and they loved the Americans," said his mother, Jackie Palmer.

Palmer, 25, of Banning, Calif., died April 8 in a hostile attack.

Palmer enlisted in the Marines Reserves when he was 17 and worked three summers at his mother's restaurant, The Farmhouse. He earned a bachelor's degree in history from the University of San Diego and graduated last year from officer training at Quantico, Va.

He had told his mother that he'd be home by summer, but she recently learned he was trying to extend his stay.

"He wasn't going to leave until it was cleaned up," she said.

Marine Pfc. Chance R. Phelps

Pfc. Phelps

When terrorists struck the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, Chance Phelps told his mother: "I absolutely have to go. I've got to do something."

"He was very in tune politically," Gretchen Mack said. "He knew what he wanted for this country."

Phelps, 19, of Clifton, Colo., died from a gunshot April 9 while battling insurgents west of Baghdad, according to his father, John Phelps. He was based at Camp Pendleton.

Joining the military wasn't anything new for the family. John Phelps is a Vietnam veteran, and Chance Phelps' sister, Kelley, works at the Pentagon and is engaged to an Army sergeant.

Off duty, Chance Phelps loved to hunt and fish, and he spent summers with his father in Dubois, Wyo.

Friends recall Phelps as a fun-loving, hard-nosed kid who was big but didn't throw his size around to intimidate people.

"He was probably the toughest kid I knew growing up in grade school. He was probably the biggest kid, too -- well-built and strong," said Jarod Estey, 19. "But he was real easy going. He always had a smile on his face."

Army Sgt. Christopher Ramirez

Sgt. Ramirez

Christopher Ramirez dreamed of living near his family in his hometown of Edinburg, Texas. He had been saving for a plot of land and planned to build his own house.

Ramirez, 34, was one of a family of 11 children.

"He loved spending time with his family, loved being with his brothers and nephews and nieces," his sister-in-law Cynthia Ramirez said. "He loved baseball games. When he was home, almost every day we had to do something with him."

Ramirez, based in Fort Riley, died April 14 in an ambush near Fallujah, Iraq.

After graduating from high school in 1991, he joined the military and served in Kosovo and Desert Storm.

Cynthia Ramirez said her brother-in-law didn't think he'd return from his latest tour of duty.

"He called an hour before he got on the plane to say, 'Make sure I get full military honors and a funeral.' We kept telling him not to think like that, to be positive. He'd been back safe twice from a war."

Survivors also include his parents.

Marine Lance Cpl. Christopher Ramos

Cpl. Ramos

Christopher Ramos grew up in the same city as the woman he would one day marry, but they didn't meet until 2001, at the wedding of mutual friends.

They themselves married in January 2003, and Ramos shipped out for the Middle East a few months later.

Ramos, 26, of Albuquerque, N.M., was on his second tour in Iraq when he was killed April 5 in the Anbar province.

The couple last spoke about a week before his death, and they talked about their 18-month-old daughter, Malaya. "He loved her more than anything in the whole world," Dianna Ramos said.

She said her husband entered the Marines to better himself, although he also aspired to serve as a police officer in Albuquerque, where his brother is a firefighter.

"He was a wonderful husband, a great father," Dianna Ramos said. "He was supportive in everything that I did. I was always supportive of everything that he did. We were each other's two best friends."

Army Staff Sgt. George Scott Rentschler

Sgt. Rentschler

Lillian Rentschler had hoped her son, George Rentschler, would be home on leave from Iraq in time for the Kentucky Derby. Instead, she received a call from her daughter-in-law saying that her son had died.

Rentschler, 31, of Louisville, Ky., planned to go back to coaching youth teams in baseball or football after he left the Army.

The Fort Knox-based soldier was killed April 7 in Baqouba, Iraq, when a rocket hit his tank at a checkpoint.

His mother said she always had reservations about her son being sent to Iraq. Rentschler, who also served in Bosnia, would try to reassure her.

"He always told me that the only way he would get hurt was if they took a rocket to the side of his tank," she said. "That's what happened."

Survivors include his wife, Rachel, and two sons.

Army Spc. Frank K. Rivers Jr.

Frank K. Rivers Jr. craved his grandmother's cooking and was looking forward to returning home just before Mother's Day.

"He asked me to have his favorite meal ready for him, and I told him he could have whatever he wanted," said Betty Rivers, who raised her grandson. His favorite meal was fried chicken and peas and rice, she said.

The 23-year-old from Woodbridge, Va., died April 14 after his heart failed during physical training in Mosul, Iraq. He was assigned to Fort Lewis.

Betty Rivers described her grandson as sweet and brave. He enlisted right after graduating from high school in 1999, following his father into the military.

"It was his great ambition to go into the service, and he was very excited about it," she said.

Marine Lance Cpl. Anthony P. Roberts

Cpl. Roberts

At just 18, Anthony P. Roberts was barely older than the Iraqi children he asked his mother to send candy and toys for when he arrived fresh out of boot camp.

Roberts, a former leader of his high school's Air Force Junior ROTC program, wanted to make the Marines his career.

"He took his duty very seriously," said his mother, Emma Roberts. She spoke to him after he was deployed to Iraq: "He said 'Mom, send me candy to give out to the Iraqi kids, and toys."'

Roberts, of Bear, Del., died April 6 in combat in Ramadi, Iraq. He had been stationed at Camp Pendleton.

Emma Roberts said her son, known as "Little Tony," enjoyed writing "clean" rap music lyrics, reading car magazines and playing computer games.

Army Spc. Philip G. Rogers

Spc. Rogers

Every chance he got, Philip Rogers sketched, especially the Japanese animation character, Robotech, who fights an alien race in a popular TV series.

According to his family, Rogers loved to draw -- not fight -- and he joined the Army with the hope of getting a college education.

Rogers, 23 of Gresham, Ore., was killed April 4 when a roadside bomb blew up the five-ton food delivery truck he was driving to Mosul. He worked first as a cook at Fort Lewis and was then transferred to the base's Stryker Brigade.

"He didn't plan to stay in the Army. He wanted to become an artist or a cook. He just wanted to start off somewhere," said Mark Rogers, his brother.

Rogers graduated from high school in Greshman in 1999 and joined the Army right away. He re-enlisted three years later. First, he wanted to pay off his car, and then it would be time for college.

Rex Rogers remembers the first drawing his son made at age 4.

"He drew the house across the street from us in exact detail -- the big picture window. He even drew the painting that was hanging on their wall," said Rogers. "He could have made it. Now it's all over."

Marine Pfc. Dustin M. Sekula

Pfc. Sekula

Dustin Sekula was skilled at ranching and loved roping steers. He even used his high school lunch period to practice roping on a fake steer. Still, he turned down an agriculture scholarship to college to join the Marines.

"Give it to somebody that needs it," his Future Farmers of America teacher, Dan de la Vina, recalled Sekula saying.

Sekula, 18, was killed April 1 by enemy fire in the Al Anbar province of Iraq. An infantry mortarman from Edinburg, Texas, he was based at Twentynine Palms.

His mother, Lisa Sekula, signed a consent form that allowed Dustin to join the Marines at age 17.

"I had to put my 'mama' feelings aside and do what my baby wanted me to do," she said. "I'm thankful I can stand here and say Dusty loved me and I loved him and I have no regrets."

Survivors also include his father, Daniel Sekula.

Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew K. Serio

Cpl. Serio

In Matthew Serio's last e-mail to his parents from the Iraqi desert, he asked for homemade cookies and chewing tobacco.

"The guys had run out," said his father, Anthony Serio. "It was dry, dirty and hot, and he was looking out for his friends."

Serio, 21, of North Providence, R.I., was killed April 5 in fighting in Anbar province. He was stationed at Camp Pendleton.

A former high school football player who was considering a career in law enforcement, Serio enlisted in the Marines in 2001, after high school.

"He wanted to be a part of a team. He found that in the Marines," Anthony Serio said.

Serio's unit was one of the first into Iraq at the start of the war, his family said. During his last trip home, around Thanksgiving, he brought Iraqi cigarettes as gifts and told stories about combat, ruined cities and soldier life.

"He was always good to have around. He was always upbeat and could get along with anybody," his father said.

Army Spc. Casey Sheehan

Spc. Sheehan

Casey Sheehan always gave his heart to whatever he did, whether it was the Boy Scouts, the church, school plays or the Army.

"He told us, 'I'm trained. I'm ready. Don't worry.' He was always ready to serve," said his mother, Cindy Sheehan.

After two weeks in the Iraqi desert, Sheehan, 24, of Vacaville, Calif., was killed along with seven other soldiers in a fire fight in Baghdad. He was stationed at Fort Hood.

Raised the Los Angeles suburb of Norwalk, Sheehan and his family moved in 1993 to Vacaville, Calif., between San Francisco and Sacramento. After high school, he studied theater at Solano Community College.

"He was a rock," said sister Carly Sheehan, 23. "He was always the strong, silent type. He never freaked out about anything."

He is also survived by his father, Patrick Sheehan.

"Casey was such a special man -- the perfect son," family friend Estella Tucker said.

Marine Lance Cpl. Brad S. Shuder

Brad S. Shuder signed up for the Marine Corps soon after his 18th birthday, making for a dramatic change in lifestyle: He was a gourmet cook who wanted to open a bakery, a man who wore designer fashions and took dates to the opera.

"He was a genuine person," said his longtime friend Kurt Hall. "He was someone who you could trust to be a real friend when you needed one."

The 21-year-old Camp Pendleton Marine from El Dorado Hills, Calif., was killed April 12 from hostile fire in Anbar province.

Shuder seemed to know he might die on his second tour in Iraq.

"He told us that he felt he wouldn't be coming back," his father, Glenn Shuder, said.

But he wouldn't listen to his family's pleas to request a change in assignment. He felt it was his duty to return, his parents said.

"From the time he was a youngster, he always wanted to be in the military," his father said. "He always said it was every American's duty to serve in the military."

Marine Lance Cpl. John T. Sims Jr.

Cpl. Sims

John T. Sims was a good-natured prankster who kept his friends in stitches.

"You couldn't be sad around J.T.," said one of his best friends, Phillip Ashworth. "He just would not allow it."

Sims, 21, of Alexander City, Ala., died April 10 from hostile fire in the Anbar province. He was based at Camp Pendleton.

Sims was a good student in high school, and a wrestler. One of his favorite sayings was, "That doesn't hurt."

When he saw friends in the drive-through lane at the Arby's where he worked, Sims would get on the loudspeaker and tell them there was no food left and to try Wendy's, friends recalled. While visiting Wal-Mart, he got on the intercom and asked Ashworth and another good friend, Mickey Griggs, to marry him.

At some point, he decided he needed some direction, and joined the Marines.

"He said that if he'd a stayed here, that he would've never made anything out of himself ... and the Marines were the only ones who could force him to make something out of himself," his mother, Margaret Kellum, said.

Marine Cpl. Michael R. Speer

Cpl. Speer

Michael R. Speer wasn't one of the loud kids, but that didn't keep him from being a leader.

"Sometimes you appreciate those quiet leaders a lot more than other types, and Mike fit that mold," said Tracy Smith, principal of the Uniontown, Kan., high school from which Speer graduated in 1997.

Speer, 24, was shot and killed April 9 in Anbar province. He was based at Camp Lejeune and made his home in Davenport, Iowa.

Born in Fort Scott, Kan., he had moved to Davenport in 2001, where he "walked in the office and wanted to join the Marine Corps," said Gunnery Sgt. Charles Rohm. He enlisted the same day, he said.

He married Eliza Davenport last Aug. 16, and she survives him in Kingsport.

Army Sgt. Maj. Michael B. Stack

Sgt. Maj. Stack

Michael B. Stack had a reputation for attention to detail, earning the nickname "No Slack Billy Jack Stack" in the early years of his service.

"He led with a sense of humor, but there was no doubt in anyone's mind that he meant business," said Col. Hector Pagan.

The 48-year-old Green Beret from Lake City, S.C., was killed April 11 by hostile fire south of Baghdad. He was stationed at Fort Campbell.

Stack was a devout Christian who led by example, family members said.

"I'm a Christian today because of my little brother as I know are many others," Cecil Stack said.

Survivors include his wife, Suzanne, six children and three grandchildren.

Marine Lance Cpl. Torrey L. Stoffel Gray

Cpl. Stoffel Gray

Torrey L. Stoffel Gray left home at 16 to enter a military-style alternative school, and the experience turned his life around.

Before he left, "he was struggling in school a little bit, both academically and behavior-wise," said Brian Guthrie, one of Gray's teachers. "When he came back, we didn't recognize him."

The 19-year-old from Patoka, Ill., was killed April 11 by hostile fire in Iraq's Anbar province. He was stationed at Twentynine Palms.

Gray planned to devote himself to a military career, his family said.

"He realized it was his calling," Brandon Stoffel Gray said of his brother. "He was a great leader. ... He always found the best in everyone -- even if they didn't see it in him."

The soldier planned to ask girlfriend Kari Atchison, 16, to marry him on his next leave, his brothers said.

Other survivors include his mother, Mary Stoffel, and stepfather, Jerry Stoffel.

Army Pfc. William R. Strange

Pfc. Strange

For William Strange, being in the military was the first step toward success.

"He told me, 'I was going down the wrong road; I'm going into the service,"' said Daniel McCoy, police chief of Adrian, Ga. Strange's girlfriend, Teri Peebles, said he had a plan to serve in the military, go to college and eventually marry her.

Strange, 19, of Adrian, was killed April 2 when an improvised explosive device detonated in Baghdad where he was setting up an observation point. Strange, who graduated from high school in Swainsboro, Ga., was based at Fort Hood.

"You could have given him a million dollars and I don't think that would have made him as happy as being in the military," said his sister, Tawanna Davis.

Strange was an outgoing person who loved people and looked out for his family.

"He would do crazy stuff just to make us laugh," Davis said. "He would make funny faces. He didn't like seeing people sad."

Marine Cpl. Jesse Thiry

Cpl. Thiry

The Marines had assigned Jesse Thiry the safety of a stateside training assignment. He volunteered to go to Iraq, his family said.

"He wanted to serve his country and protect his country," said Sue Thiry, his stepmother. "He wanted to fight for his country, so he asked for a transfer."

Thiry, 23, of Casco, Wis., was killed April 5 in combat in Falujah, Iraq.

He was one of eight children, and most of a day was spent notifying his family, as well as his fiancee, Jamie Johnson.

When Thiry's parents called her at work, "I knew," Johnson said. "There were no questions asked. I knew right away. I said, 'Don't say it, because I don't want it to be true."'

Thiry was set to leave the Marine Corps in November.

He and Johnson, who had dated for nearly five years, became engaged last August.

Army Sgt. Lee D. Todacheene

Sgt. Todacheene

Lee D. Todacheene was a proud Navajo who harnessed his quiet strength into helping others as a medic in the Army.

"He was a quiet man, he was a strong man, a gentleman," said his brother, Rydell Todacheene. "He respected himself and everybody. He was generous and kind, and he loved his family above everything else."

Todacheene, 29, of Lukachukai, Ariz., was killed April 6 when mortar fire hit his guard post in Iraq. He had been stationed in Schweinfurt, Germany, where he lived with his wife and sons.

The nephew of Navajo Nation Vice President Frank Dayish Jr., Todacheene is believed to be the first Navajo killed in the Iraq war.

He is survived by his wife, Jacqueline, and his 8- and 9-year-old sons.

Marine Pfc. George D. Torres

Pfc. Torres

George D. Torres seemed to charm his way through life before the Marines.

"If he wanted to go to Mexico, or a toy, he would get it," said his sister Oralia Cisneros, recalling how her brother's easygoing demeanor disarmed his family and friends.

The 23-year-old from Long Beach, Calif., was killed April 11 by hostile fire in Iraq's Anbar province. He was assigned to Camp Pendleton.

Torres dropped out of high school to travel to his parents' hometown of Urequio in Mexico's Michochan state, but he returned home to fulfill his longtime dream of becoming a Marine.

He "was very proud" when he earned the high school diploma he needed to enlist, Cisneros said. He joined the Marines in March 2003.

Survivors include his parents, Fernando and Genoveda Torres.

Marine Lance Cpl. Elias Torrez III

"He was funny. He could take a bad situation and make you laugh no matter what," said stepbrother Rigo Ramirez, 20. "He was a free soul. He had a zest for life."

Torrez, 21, of Veribest, Texas, died April 9 in hostile fire in Iraq. He was based in Twentynine Palms, and was on his second stint in Iraq, Ramirez said.

Ramirez described Torrez as an easygoing, lovable guy with a lot of friends.

Torrez graduated from high school in 2001 and started boot camp the day before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Ramirez said he last heard from his stepbrother a month before his death, when he left a message telling his father and stepmother that he loved them and everything was going OK.

Torrez's parents are Elias Torres Jr., of Veribest and Veronica Norris of Grape Creek. Torrez spelled his last name differently than his family.

Army Spc. Richard K. Trevithick

Spc. Trevithick

When Richard Trevithick learned he would be posted in Iraq, he moved up his wedding to his high school sweetheart, Kristin, 21.

"He thought the world of me, and I thought the world of him," Kristin Trevithick said. The couple married Dec. 12 while Richard Trevithick, 20, was on leave from his base in Schweinfurt, Germany.

"He said that if anything happened (to him), he wanted to know that he was married to the woman he loved," said his father, Richard Trevithick.

The Gaines, Mich., soldier was killed April 14 by an explosive near his convoy vehicle in Balad, Iraq.

He graduated from high school in 2002 and enlisted in the Army after deciding he wasn't ready for college. He wanted to go to college after his discharge and pursue a career in law enforcement.

The young soldier had arranged for his wife to receive a bouquet of roses if anything happened to him. The flowers arrived April 15.

"He talked to her the day before he died and told her he'd spoil her when he got home," his father said.

Army Spc. Allen J. Vandayburg

Spc. Vandayburg

His father had offered him a trip to Las Vegas to celebrate his 21st birthday in August, but Allen "A.J." Vandayburg was leaning toward keeping a family tradition of going to Myrtle Beach, S.C.

His mother, Chantil, and 11-year-old sister, Taylor, would have gone along, and they would have swung through Virginia to see his brother, Chris Vandayburg, a Marine stationed at Quantico.

A.J. Vandayburg, 20, of Mansfield, Ohio, was killed when a rocket-propelled grenade struck his vehicle April 9 in Barez, Iraq.

Vandayburg played golf and baseball for the same high school attended by his father, and graduated in June 2001. The next month he signed on for a three-year stint in the Army, serving in Kosovo and Germany before being deployed to Kuwait and on to Iraq. He had been in Iraq about two weeks, his father said.

Days before his death, his family got a letter from him.

"He said 'I'm not dying,' " his father said. "He knew I was worried about him, but he was the one worried about me."

Marine Lance Cpl. Michael B. Wafford

A week before he died, Michael B. Wafford sent a letter to his mother with good news about his experience in Iraq.

"He said that the people over there were very proud (that) Americans were helping, and that the media only shows the bad things," family neighbor Cindy Willis said.

Wafford, 20, was killed by hostile fire on April 8 in Anbar province. He was stationed at Camp Pendleton.

He enlisted when he was a high school senior in Spring, Texas, and died during his second deployment to Iraq. His family last saw him when he came home for Thanksgiving, Willis said.

"He always wanted to be a soldier," she said. "He was a nice kid and very intelligent."

Marine Staff Sgt. Allan K. Walker

Sgt. Walker

Allan K. Walker was a fun-loving guy, but the recruits he knew as drill sergeant might not have guessed it.

"His nickname was 'The Beast' because he was hardcore and very good at it," said his stepsister Jamie Doucette, 26. "But he treated everyone equally."

Walker, 28, of Lancaster, Calif., died April 6 in fighting in the Anbar province. He is survived by his fiancee, April Diorio.

In high school, Walker was outgoing and eclectic: a football player and wrestler who also enjoyed drama, Celtic music and punk rock. He joined the Marines because he was tired of flipping burgers, Doucette said.

"If he was going to have someone bark commands at him, why not do something to support our country," she said he told her.

Marine Lance Cpl. Christopher B. Wasser

After Christopher B. Wasser graduated from high school in 2001, he needed money for college, so he joined the Marines. It was the only military branch for him, his mother said.

"If he was going into the military, he wanted to go all the way, and that meant the Marines," Candy Wasser said.

Wasser, 21, of Ottawa, Kan., died April 8 from wounds suffered in an attack in Anbar province, Iraq, family members said. He was stationed at Twentynine Palms.

His mother said he began basic training on Sept. 11, 2001, the day terrorists hijacked four planes on the East Coast.

"He believed in the country. I don't think at the time he could actually imagine going to war, but he was OK with it," she said.

Other survivors include his father.

Army Spc. Michelle M. Witmer

Spc. Witmer

When Michelle M. Witmer was 10 years old, she told her two sisters she wanted to be a hero.

"Seriously, I could push someone off a bridge and save them," the little girl told her identical twin Charity and older sister Rachel as they talked about what they wanted to be when they grew up.

All three sisters have served in Iraq with the National Guard. Michelle Witmer, 20, of New Berlin, Wis., died April 9 when her Humvee was attacked in Baghdad.

In e-mails home, she said she was working night shifts and rarely got a day off but said she enjoyed volunteering at an orphanage.

"It was when I was holding one of these children that I realized I have so much to be thankful for," she wrote.

Witmer was trying to return fire when she was hit, said Brig. Gen. Kerry Denson, commander of the Wisconsin National Guard, quoting an e-mail from Sgt. Nate Olson, who was in the Humvee with Witmer.

Charity said her twin got her childhood wish. "She was a hero when she died," she said.

Marine 2nd Lt. John T. Wroblewski

Lt. Wroblewski

When John T. Wroblewski graduated from Rutgers University, there was no question what he would do next. The son of a Marine, his lifelong interest in the military only intensified after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"He was going to be a Marine for life," said his father, John Walter Wroblewski.

Wroblewski, 25, of Oak Ridge, N.J., died April 6 after he was wounded during a shootout with insurgents. He was days from his 26th birthday.

Known as "J.T.," Wroblewski was deployed shortly after being married last July. He is survived by his wife, Joanna.

The elder Wroblewski said his son was a World War II expert who "loved what he was doing."

"He became my hero. He became my role model," Wroblewski said of his son. "He was a true Marine, through and through."

Marine Lance Cpl. Robert P. Zurheide Jr.

Cpl. Zurheide

Robert and Elena Zurheide met as eighth-graders and dated as students in high school. On March 1, just before the couple's second wedding anniversary, Zurheide left for his second tour in Iraq.

He died less than a month before his wife was due to deliver their first child.

The 20-year-old Marine from Tucson, Ariz., was killed April 12 in hostile fire in Al Anbar province. He was stationed at Camp Pendleton.

Zurheide joined the Marine Corps in 2001. Chief Master Sgt. Armando Liendo of the Air Force junior ROTC at Desert View High said he had known Zurheide since he was a high scool freshman.

"His intent all along was to be a Marine," Liendo said.

Zurheide's father is a former Marine, and one of Robert Jr.'s two younger brothers also joined the Marines, according to Liendo.

Liendo said Zurheide "wasn't doing it to get noticed; he was doing it to do it. He was very attentive and structured in everything he did."