Army Pfc. Ryan A. Martin

Pfc. Martin

Ryan A. Martin forever changed Cassie Seevers' life: He introduced her to her future husband.

"I'll always love him for that," Seevers said.

Both were attending the Knox County Career Center when Martin played Cupid for Cassie and Ryan Seevers. Martin studied carpentry with Ryan Seevers and often went out to a karaoke club with him for fun.

Martin, 22, of Mount Vernon, Ohio, died Aug. 20 when his Humvee was hit by an explosive near Samarra. The youngest of three boys, he was stationed in Hamilton, Ohio.

Martin worked at various jobs, including as a forklift operator and at a printing shop, before deciding to join the National Guard, where he seemed to have found his calling.

When he came home for a two-week leave in August, Martin was somewhat reluctant to leave Iraq, said his stepmother, Jackie Martin.

"He said he was looking forward to coming home, but when it came time to pack up, he didn't want to leave his buddies," she said. "He really made some good friendships and bonded with others while he was there."

He is also survived by his father, Thomas and mother, Deborah Martin.

Army Spc. Jacob D. Martir

Spc. Martir

When Jacob D. Martir told his family he wanted to become a soldier, they knew to take the 15-year-old seriously.

"He was the kind of kid who when he said he was going to do something, did it," said his aunt, Noemi Martir.

Martir, 21, from Norwich, Conn., was killed Aug. 18 by hostile fire in the Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq. He was assigned to Fort Hood.

When the future soldier expressed an interest in the military, his eldest sister bought him an Army jacket and Army pants. He wore them constantly.

"He always wanted to become a hero," Olga Gutierrez said of her son. "As a mother, you cry. You want the best for your kids. You don't want them to die that way. But Jacob did everything he needed. I feel proud."

The youngest of eight children, Martir was a native of Cagus, Puerto Rico. He came to Connecticut as an infant.

Marine Cpl. Brad P. McCormick

Cpl. McCormick

As a little boy, Brad McCormick was always taking things apart and putting them back together again. "He loved tinkering with things," said his mother, Gail. "I used to get so aggravated with him when he was little."

But it was his interest in the military as he grew older that really irked his mother. When he joined the Marine reserves, she said, "It killed me."

McCormick, 23, of Allons, Tenn., died Aug. 19 in an explosion in Najaf, Iraq. He was based in Nashville, Tenn.

McCormick joined the reserves while studying wildlife biology at Tennessee Tech and putting his tinkering skills to use with a part-time job at a hardware store.

When he learned that his Marine unit would be sent to Iraq, he moved up his planned wedding to Courtney Curtis to Dec. 20, just a couple weeks before he reported for duty.

The Marine had long been a hero to his 13-year-old brother, Blake. Their mother recalled a 4-H Club speech the younger boy gave.

"At the end of the speech, he held up Brad's picture and said that if he could be like anybody, he wanted to be like his brother," she said.

Army Spc. Donald R. McCune II

Spc. McCune

Donald McCune wanted to be a fighter. He named his pets after characters in the fighter-pilot movie "Top Gun," and when the time came, he asked to transfer to a unit that would go to Iraq.

"He felt this was something he needed to do, and I'm very proud of what he wanted to do," said his mother, Darcy Lewis.

McCune, 20, of Ypsilanti, Mich., died August 5 in Landstuhl, Germany, from injuries he sustained the day before in Balad, Iraq. He was stationed in Moses Lake, Wash.

After bouncing through high schools in Indiana and Michigan, McCune had enlisted in the Army by the time he earned his high school equivalency degree in 2002.

He enjoyed hunting, fishing, rooting for the Detroit Red Wings, country music and cars.

"He was always driving something different," said his grandfather, Rick Monier. "He would play with something and then sell or trade it."

McCune is also survived by his father, Donald McCune, and stepfather, Army Sgt. Benjamin Lewis.

Marine Lance Cpl. Nicholas B. Morrison

Cpl. Morrison

Nicholas Morrison had talked about becoming a Marine in high school, but it wasn't until the grocery store where he worked as a manager shuttered its doors several years later that he decided to enlist.

He hoped to parlay his service into a career as a Pennsylvania state trooper.

Morrison, 23, of Carlisle, Pa., died Aug. 13 when an explosive hit the Humvee in which he was riding. He was based at Camp Lejeune.

The former high school football player was brave when facing danger in Iraq. He complained about the food and the heat, but nothing else, his mother said.

"We sent him a digital camera and he'd take pictures during a gunfight," Peggy Morrison said. "We'd holler and he'd say, 'It's not that bad.' I think he tried to downplay it."

When he came home, Morrison was the one who gathered his high school friends together.

"He was the glue," said his friend Matt Swanger. "He would still make us laugh about stories from when we were growing up. I was really looking forward to when he came home."

Army Spc. Charles L. Neeley

Charles Neeley signed up for the Army reserves before he even graduated from high school.

"He wanted to go on to college," said his father, Charles Larrew. "He had signed up at Lake Land College and then he was called up in December and never had a chance to go. In February, he was shipped to Iraq."

Neeley, 19, of Mattoon, Ill., died Aug. 25 in Tikrit, Iraq, when his tractor-trailer rolled over. He was assigned to a unit in Columbus, Ohio.

Larrew said his son, known as Chuck, loved board games, paint ball and cars -- so much so that he would spend hours at used car lots just looking at them. He joined the junior ROTC in high school and learned to play the saxophone so he could join the band.

Friends at his high school signed two huge poster boards with messages to Neeley's family and pinned on yellow ribbons in his memory.

"He never knew a stranger," said Larrew.

Neeley is also survived by his mother and stepfather, Jane and Robert Tate.

Marine Lance Cpl. Joseph L. Nice

Cpl. Nice

Joseph Nice seemed to be interested in everything. The straight-A student played the saxophone, was learning the drums, drew landscapes and played several sports. He dreamed of becoming a lawyer -- and a Marine.

"He fulfilled his dream," Lloyd Nice III said of his son. "He stood his ground on what he wanted out of life."

The 19-year-old from Nicoma Park, Okla., was killed Aug. 4 in Iraq's Anbar Province. He was based at Twentynine Palms.

Mary Sneed often joked around with her grandson, gently chiding him when he'd spend an hour in the bathroom to make sure everything was "just so."

"I mean this in a good way, but he was a nerd -- very polite, very easygoing," she said of the boy who used to cook for her. The two were planning a belated birthday party for Nice on his return.

"I have been so proud of him," she said. "He just made my chest swell 200 miles every time I seen him."

The Marine is also survived by his mother, Marilyn Nice.

Marine Sgt. Harvey E. Parkerson III

Sgt. Parkerson

Amanda Parkerson easily remembers the day she met her soon-to-be husband, Harvey E. Parkerson III. It was at the beach and she drew him out of his shell.

"I thought he was great," she said. "Everybody said he was very quiet, but when we met he kept talking and talking and talking. He was quiet but anything he said had meaning behind it."

They were married four months later.

Parkerson, 27, of Yuba City, Calif., was shot and killed Aug. 18 near Najaf. He was stationed at Camp Pendleton.

Parkerson was a good student and high school wrestler who always planned to be a Marine.

"He thought it an honorable thing to do," said his principal Dan Raner.

Parkerson and his younger brother, Bennie, joined the Marines together and went to boot camp together. Bennie left the service after four years, but Harvey stayed. He joined up in 1999 and re-enlisted in 2003.

Parkerson is also survived by an infant son he had with Amanda and a 7-year-old son from a previous relationship.

Marine Pfc. Geoffrey Perez

Growing up, Geoffrey Perez had a lot of dreams. One of them was seeing his name in lights.

"He wanted to make movies and be like Jean-Claude Van Damme," said his mother, Blanca Riaheta de Perez.

Another was becoming a soldier.

The 24-year-old from Los Angeles died Aug. 15 of injuries suffered in action in Iraq's Al Anbar province. He was based at Camp Pendleton.

"He was so proud of the military. He was always singing the Marine Corps hymn," said his sister Lidia.

She described her brother as a "party person," the kind of guy who could walk into a quiet room and instantly make it fun. "He left a lot of broken hearts," she said.

Before he left, his sister gave Perez some advice: "Be careful. Keep your eyes open and watch your back."

"I'll be back," he promised.

"But he's not," Lidia Perez said.

In addition to his parents, Geoffrey Perez is survived by a 19-month-old son, Jonathan Jesus Perez.

Army Pfc. David Potter

Pfc. Potter

David Potter was carrying on a family tradition of military service, relatives said.

"My father was in the Air Force, and I was in the Army," his older brother Carlton Potter said. "He felt like he wanted to try it and do what we had done."

Potter, of Johnson City, Tenn., died Aug. 7 in Baghdad, Iraq, of non-combat related injuries.

Potter, 22, originally enlisted as a reservist to pay for college, recruiter and Sgt. Rusty Hicks said. Potter studied art at East Tennessee State University.

But he liked the reserves enough to consider turning it into a career -- and request active duty. He arrived at Fort Hood on New Year's Day and deployed to Iraq in March, his family said.

"He said the reason he put on his uniform was so we could sleep safely at night," his brother Carlton said. "That's what he said kept him going."

Marine Lance Cpl. Caleb J. Powers

Cpl. Powers

Caleb J. Powers was helped by Child Help USA as a young boy and wanted to return the favor.

Powers, who at 7 was cared for by the children's group until farming relatives in Washington state adopted him five years later, was a virtual poster boy for the nonprofit organization that helps abandoned children.

He dreamed of one day giving back by helping other children, like the ones who swarmed over him when he visited disadvantaged children, said Jay Cooper, a charity worker.

"He was our poster Marine, just an amazing young man, a fine, inspirational young man who loved life," Cooper said.

Powers, 21, of Manfield, Wash., died Aug. 17 in enemy action in Al Anbar Province. He was based at Camp Pendleton.

Born in Pacific City, Ore., Powers went to live with his aunt and uncle in Manfield and fell in love with the farming community, enjoying tinkering with vehicles and working on the family's wheat farm.

Among the survivors are his parents and the aunt and uncle, Jackie and Mike Tupling.

Marine Cpl. Dean P. Pratt

Deborah Stokes remembers lying awake and waiting for her son, Jason, and his best friend Dean Pratt to come sneaking home, gliding into the driveway with the car's headlights off, thinking they were fooling everyone.

Both boys became Marines and perhaps just in time: Pratt, it seemed, was on a first-name basis with the area's Montana Highway Patrol officers.

"To be honest, they caused their share of trouble," Stokes said.

Pratt, 22, of Stevensville, Mont., died Aug. 2 in an explosion outside Fallujah. A 2000 high school graduate, he was based at Camp Pendleton.

"I don't know how to condense Dean to a sheet of paper," his mother, Geri Morris, wrote in a note read at her son's funeral. "He always had a smile on his face, even when he was in trouble ... He is responsible for 80 percent of our gray hair ... He is safe now."

The Rev. Jim Carlson said Pratt had a fondness for camping, fishing, soccer and baseball, and a great sense of humor. "He had an aversion to tying his shoes, and the Marines dealt with that," Carlson said.

Pratt is also survived by his father, Dan Pratt.

Marine Sgt. Yadir G. Reynoso

Sgt. Reynoso

A one-time high school wrestler whose body was lean and heavily tattooed, Yadir G. Reynoso was anything but dangerous. He would take money out of his pocket to pay the grocery bills of a stranger at the checkout counter.

Reynoso, 27, of Wapato, Wash., died Aug. 5 in a firefight with Iraqi insurgents in Najaf. He was based at Camp Pendleton.

"He was the kind of person who loved challenges," said his sister Patty. "My brother always knew the strength he needed to do anything. He knew he would serve honorably no matter what he did."

Reynoso was an eight-year veteran of the Marine Corps, which he joined shortly after graduating from high school in 1997. At school, he was active in sports, especially the wrestling team.

"When he came home after he graduated from boot camp, my mother remembers when he looked in a mirror at himself in his uniform and said, 'I used to be a boy; now I can confirm I've become a man,"' Patty Reynoso said.

Among his survivors is a 4-year-old son.

Army Pfc. Henry C. Risner

Pfc. Risner

People who knew Henry C. Risner said it was no surprise to learn what he was doing during the last moments of his life.

Risner, 26, of Golden, Colo., was distributing candy to Iraqi children when a sniper's bullet struck him down Aug. 18.

"That's the exact kind of person that he was," said Risner's brother, Jesse. "He loved children, and he would do everything he could to help people who were less fortunate than himself."

Risner, who was stationed at Fort Drum, enjoyed hunting, fishing and rooting for the Denver Broncos. As the oldest of seven siblings and half-siblings, he also developed strong protective instincts.

"He taught me some self-defense moves," said younger sister Ellen, 24. "But he always said if a guy ever hurt me, to just tell him and he'd take care of it."

Risner loved being stepfather to his wife Emily's 4-year-old son, Skyler. So when his wife said she was pregnant, Risner quickly expressed his preference for a girl and picked out his favorite name: Katelynn. The baby is due early next year.

They never talked about boy names, but Emily knows now what she would name a son: Henry.