Army Spc. Dwayne James McFarlane Jr.

Dwayne McFarlane Jr. had seen soldiers die all around him in Iraq, but he put on a brave face for the aunt and uncle who raised him.

"He was always on the up beat. He'd say, 'Don't worry about me,"' said his uncle, Don Bellanger.

McFarlane, 20, of Cass Lake, Minn., died Jan. 9 when he was on foot near Baghdad when a roadside bomb went off. He was based at Fort Drum.

Bellanger began raising McFarlane when he was 6 years old, after his parents gave him up. He ran track and played basketball in high school and was a well-liked student, humorous student who had it together.

"Dwayne was somebody who always just did what he was supposed to do," said guidance counselor Jennifer Voge.

Bellanger said McFarlane joined the Army to get money for college.

"He liked school," Bellanger said. He said after the military McFarlane wanted to move to California for college, maybe to learn to work on computers or design cars.

Army Spc. Jeremy W. McHalffey

Spc. McHalffey

If you were looking for Jeremy McHalffey during hunting season, it was easy enough to find him.

"He loved going on hunting trips with Dad," said his older brother, Mike. "If the two of them got together, they were either talking about hunting, getting ready to go hunting or out in the woods hunting."

McHalffey, 28, of Mabelvale, Ark., was killed Jan. 4 in a roadside bombing in Iraq. He was based in Little Rock.

McHalffey grew up grew up in Springfield, Mo. and spent four years in the Marines after high school. He decided to join the National Guard last year and wanted to go to Iraq.

"When he was told he could be there in a month, he enlisted," Mike McHalffey said. "He was the type of guy to volunteer. If something needed to be done, Jeremy would jump in."

Jeremy McHalffey met his fiancee, Lacey Tindle, at a firefighters' training camp in 2002. The couple moved close to Little Rock so he could be near his job as a detention deputy at the Pulaski County jail.

"He was the best guy ever," Tindle said.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Otie J. McVey

Otie McVey saw a lot of changes in the U.S. military since the Vietnam War, when he was stationed in Okinawa, Japan and isolated from his future wife.

While in Iraq, he got to talk to his family in real time in a video conferencing call within days of his 26th wedding anniversary.

McVey, 53, of Oak Hill, W.Va., died Nov. 7 of a non-combat related illness at the VA Medical Center in Beckley, W.Va. He had been airlifted out of Iraq in September.

He is survived by his wife, Teresa, and two sons.

McVey first enlisted in the Marines in 1971 and joined the West Virginia National Guard in 1975. In 1983, he became an Army Reservist and served as a Supply Sergeant before being called back to active duty and sent to Iraq.

He was employed by the West Virginia Department of Highways.

Army Pfc. James H. Miller IV

Pfc. Miller

After his mother died of breast cancer, James H. Miller IV turned to music for solace and started playing with a Metallica-loud band.

In later years he found a new way to conquer adversity: helping others.

"He took to being a medic and decided that was what he wanted to do with his life," James H. Miller III said. "He wanted to come home someday and make a living helping treat trauma victims."

The 22-year-old from Cincinnati was killed on Jan. 30 in an explosion while guarding a polling place during the Iraqi election. He was stationed at Fort Sam Houston.

Miller was a creative student in high school who took courses including digital imaging and music theory, said Diana Carter, principal of the high school Miller attended.

"He was a very creative and energetic young man, very mature," she said.

He joined the military after graduating from high school to help find discipline and a path to a new career.

"He loved what he was doing over there," his father said. "He really believed in the mission we have over there."

Marine Cpl. James L. Moore

When he found out one of his comrades in Iraq didn't have family at home writing to him, James Moore asked his own family to write the Marine and send him packages.

"The Marine Corps toughened him up, but he was still very sensitive," said his stepmother, Suzanne.

Moore, 24, of Roseburg, Ore., was among the 31 killed Jan. 26 when a helicopter crashed in bad weather in Iraq. He was stationed at Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

A 1999 high school graduate, Moore enlisted shortly after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. When his time in the Marines was up, he had thought of going to Montana to train to become a hunting or fishing guide.

"James was just an awesome kind of person," Suzanne Moore said. "He could come over and just show up out of the blue, bring you a cappuccino and know exactly how you like it. He was really generous, really good."

He is also survived by his father, Garry, and mother, Darlene.

Marine Cpl. Nathaniel K. Moore

Nathaniel Moore came from a line of military men. His father, grandfather and great-grandfather served in the U.S. armed forces, and he went to a military high school before joining the Marines.

"He blossomed in that military atmosphere. He was a leader there. He really was," said Sgt. Dennis Brannon, of Lincoln's Challenge Academy.

Moore, 22, of Champaign, Ill., was among the 31 killed Jan. 26 when a helicopter crashed in bad weather in Iraq.

Moore was stationed at Marine Corps Base, Hawaii, and had learned to surf while he was there.

"He loved sports. Nathan was really into gymnastics -- I remember him doing flips around the house -- and baseball," said his aunt, Jodee Bean. "He wasn't going to let nothing stop him."

Moore was very close with his mother, Amber, and younger sister.

"He's just very caring and giving and that's why it's so upsetting that this had to happen to him," Bean said.

Army Spc. Warren Murphy

Spc. Murphy

Warren Murphy worked as a tugboat deckhand on the Mississippi River and dreamed of earning a captains license.

Murphy, 29, of Marrero, La., was killed Jan. 6 when a roadside bomb exploded in Baghdad. He was based in Lafayette, La.

As a child, Murphy traveled the country as the son of a Navy man until the family settled in Marrero in 1983, said his father Larry Murphy. He joined the Army in 1994 after graduating from high school and served on a United Nations peacekeeping force in Macedonia.

After four years of active duty, Murphy joined the Louisiana National Guard and served as an infantryman, his father said. He wanted to have a family but "he just hadn't found the right girl."

Murphy is survived by his parents.

"Were proud of him," his father said. "He gave his life for what he believed in."

Army Pfc. Francis C. Obaji

Francis Obaji was waiting for a ferry in lower Manhattan on Sept. 11, 2001, when he heard the awful explosion of glass and metal. He walked past billows of smoke as he joined the frightened masses moving away from the World Trade Center and across the Brooklyn Bridge.

It was that experience that drove him to join the Army National Guard in 2002.

"It wasn't that he went in for vengeance," said his father, Cyril Obaji. "He just wanted to set things right. It was just his wanting to fulfill his duty."

Obaji, 21, of Queens Village, N.Y., died Jan. 17 at a Baghdad hospital after his vehicle came under attack. His unit was based in New York.

Obaji grew up in Nigeria but moved to New York in 1994 to join his father. He is also survived by his mother, Violet Obaji.

At the time of the terrorist attacks, Francis Obaji was a sophomore at Staten Island University, where he was studying microbiology. He wanted to be a doctor, but left his studies temporarily to serve in the National Guard.

When Obaji last called his family, he reminded them he'd be home for Easter.

Marine Sgt. Jayton D. Patterson

Jayton Patterson was so close to returning from Iraq that he had sent a package of his things home to his wife, Stephanie.

She got it the same day she got word of his death.

Patterson, 26, of Sedley, Va., was killed Jan. 15 by an improvised explosive device in Iraq's Babil province. He was based at Camp Lejeune.

Drawn to the uniform in part because both his grandfathers served in the Navy, Patterson told his parents that serving in the military was something he was called to do.

He spent his first four years in the Marines on White House security detail and went with the president to the Pentagon and the World Trade Center after the Sept. 11 attacks.

He is also survived by a 15-month-old daughter, Claire.

"He left us a beautiful granddaughter," said his father, Frank Patterson. "We can see him in her eyes."

Marine Lance Cpl. Mourad Ragimov

Cpl. Ragimov

Dinara Ragimov believed her son Mourad was still in Hawaii when she got a call from him on Christmas Eve. He broke the news that he had, in fact, been fighting in Fallujah for weeks.

"He said, 'Mom, I can tell you the truth now because the worst part is past. There will be no more danger,"' she said.

Ragimov, 20, of San Diego, was among the 31 killed Jan. 26 when a helicopter crashed in bad weather in Iraq. He was stationed at Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

Ragimov's family fled civil war in Soviet-controlled Azerbaijan in 1989. His parents initially objected to their son's plans to join the Marines because they oppose war.

When he was 16, he quit high school and took classes at a nearby college and worked around the neighborhood repairing computers. Soon after, he told his parents he wanted to move on with his life and join the Marines. The couple eventually gave in, figuring they had no real choice.

"When we asked him why, he used to say: 'While you are sipping your coffee and enjoying your life, someone needs to be protecting this country,"' said his father, Rufat. "We couldn't escape this destiny, the destiny of my son."

Marine Lance Cpl. Rhonald Dain Rairdan

When he last called home, Rhonald Dain Rairdan was preparing for his last mission before his Marine Corps unit rotated out of Iraq.

"He told us that they were getting ready to get on a helicopter to go someplace for the (Iraq national) election," his father David said. "Then they were going to go back to their ships."

Rairdan, 20, of San Antonio, was among the 31 killed Jan. 26 when a helicopter crashed in bad weather in Iraq. He was stationed at Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

Known as Dain, Rairdan was personable and made friends easily.

He dropped his weight from 230 to 200 pounds so he could join the Marines after graduating from high school, and weighed 146 pounds by the end of boot camp. His father is a retired master sergeant in the Air Force, and his grandfathers and uncles were military men.

In his letters, Rairdan wrote he was doing what he wanted to do, and that he enjoyed what he was doing, David Rairdan said. He is also survived by his mother, Kimberly.

"We're looking at their positive things, that we had as much time with him as we did," David Rairdan said.

Marine Lance Cpl. Hector Ramos

Cpl. Ramos

Hector Ramos gave his mother, Nancy, a green teddy bear when he left for Iraq, telling her, "You can hug the bear and think about me."

His tour of duty matured him. When he called from Iraq and his mother suggested he rest because he had a fever, he assured her he was "not a wimp."

"I'm a man and I'm a Marine," his mother recalled him saying. "I'm going to do what I have to go do."

Ramos, 20, of Aurora, Ill., was among the 31 killed Jan. 26 when a helicopter crashed in bad weather in Iraq. He was stationed at Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

The 2003 high school graduate was inspired to join the Marines after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

"When 9-11 happened, the first day he went to go sign up. He came home from school, and he told me, 'I signed up. I need to do this. I always wanted to,"' Nancy Ramos said.

In high school, he was a "sheer ball of energy" with a passion for art and theater.

"He was constantly smiling," said school district spokesman Clayton Muhammad. "He was the kind of kid who wanted to help save the world."

Army Spc. Christopher J. Ramsey

Former teacher James Thibodeaux remembers Christopher J. Ramsey giving him a little bit of heartburn.

"I would see his hand shoot up and he would be grinning," said Thibodeaux, who taught Ramsey military science. "Sometimes he was right, sometimes wrong, but it always gave me a teachable moment."

Ramsey, 20, of Batchelor, La., died Jan. 28 while on patrol in western Baghdad. He was based at New Roads.

His father, Jeff Ramsey, said that joining the service had been a longtime dream for his son. "He had been wanting to do that ever since he was old enough, wanted to join some type of service," Ramsey said. "This is just what he wanted to do, and it didn't work out."

Sgt. Cedron Webb said he'd grown up with Christopher Ramsey and they were very close, joining the National Guard together.

"There wasn't anything I couldn't tell him," Webb said. "He was always there for us."

He is survived by a 15-month-old daughter.

Army Staff Sgt. Jose C. Rangel

Jose Carlos Rangel joined the military at the age of 19 and went on to serve in the first Gulf War a decade later. He was just three years away from qualifying for a retirement pension.

"He said he wanted to buy a place in Ensenada (Calif.) and retire there," said his wife, Noemi.

Rangel, 43, of Saratoga, Calif., died Jan. 23 after he collapsed during a training drill in Kuwait. He was stationed in Fresno, Calif.

Born in Mexico, Rangel was the youngest of 10 children. His family moved to California when he was 13.

At 19, he joined the Marines after earning dual citizenship. In his later years, he worked full-time at Fresno's Army Reserve depot, overseeing the tool room.

Rangel was an avid jogger and spent his free time playing with his three young sons.

Marine Lance Cpl. Jason C. Redifer

A prankster who wore 10-gallon hats, big, shiny belt buckles and cowboy boots, Jason C. Redifer had a way with horses and a calling -- though not much of a talent -- for riding bulls.

He wore his cowboy boots beneath his preppy khakis during high school and once rode his horse to a drive-through at an Arby's restaurant.

"He always knew exactly what to say to make you laugh," said Beth Hinkle, his math teacher. "He seemed to have this inner sense about people that he could know what to say when somebody needed him to say something to make them feel better or make them feel important."

Redifer, 19, of Stuarts Draft, Va., was killed Jan. 31 when his Humvee hit bomb in Babil Province. He was based at Camp Lejeune.

He joined the Marines months after graduating high school in 2003 and turned down the chance at a cushier assignment in the White House guard. "Jason said he felt the heart and soul of the Marines was the infantry, and this is where he felt he could make the most difference," said his mother, Rhonda Winfield.

He also is survived by his father, Cecil Redifer, and stepfather Scott Winfield.