Army Sgt. Christopher M. Pusateri

Christopher Pusateri fell in love with his wife and his work at a young age.

He was just a teenager when he met his wife, Christine, while attending high school. The two married on Valentine's Day two years ago, a month before he was sent overseas to do the work he loved in Iraq.

Pusateri, 21, of Corning, N.Y., was killed by small arms fire in Mosul, Iraq on Feb. 16. He was based at Fort Bragg.

His mother, Brenda West, said Pusateri was due home from his second tour in Iraq in about a month.

"He was a good soldier," West said. "It didn't bother him to go over there and do what he had to do. He never acted like he was afraid."

Pusateri, the oldest of five children, was born on the Fourth of July and was determined to work hard and achieve the American dream of a better life.

"When he grew up, we didn't have a lot of money," West said. "He went without a lot of things other kids had. I think that was one of the things that made him drive to better himself."

Army Spc. Joseph A. Rahaim

Joseph Andrew "Drew" Rahaim entertained his family and friends with tales of adventure and kept them smiling with humorous one-liners.

His cousin, the Rev. Jeff McCammon of the First Baptist Church in Lithonia, Ga., predicted that the guardian angels of Rahaim's comrades in Iraq would "be tied up listening to some of Drew's tall tales."

Rahaim, 22, of Laurel, Miss., died Feb. 16 when his vehicle rolled into a canal after a section of a road collapsed in Iraq. He was based out of Mendenhall, Miss.

Rahaim loved his dog, the outdoors, hunting and his country. He was destined to be a soldier from childhood, said the Rev. Phil McMinn.

"His GI Joe was never far away, and Ken and Barbie had to deal with that," McMinn said.

After high school, Rahaim went to junior college for a semester -- but quickly decided to enlist in the Army before moving on to the Mississippi National Guard.

"He decided he didn't like civilian life," said Ed Ritchey, Rahaim's uncle.

Rahaim is survived by his parents, Cheryl and Don Rahaim.

Staff Sgt. Rangel

Air Force Staff Sgt. Ray Rangel

Ray Rangel was known to his high school football teammates as "Crazy Ray." But it was his tender side that came out with family.

"I had to have surgery two years ago, and he took leave to be with me," his mother Cynthia said. "He was our only son, and he's been taken away."

Rangel, 29, of San Antonio, died in Iraq while trying to rescue soldiers from a military vehicle that rolled into a canal.

Rangel married and enlisted in 1994 after high school and became a firefighter in Abilene. He bought a house there just before deploying.

He coached his oldest son's youth football team, while his wife, Selena, coached cheerleaders. Their three sons, ages 7 to 11, played football, and their daughter, 5, cheered on the sidelines.

"He told me, 'If anything should happen to me, remember I was doing what I wanted to do,"' said his father, Federico Rangel.

Army Staff Sgt. William T. Robbins

William Robbins called his 5-year-old stepdaughter from Iraq the day before he died and said he couldn't wait to swing her around like an airplane.

"Every time we had a family get-together, he was the one all the children would go play with," said his brother, Darren.

But when Robbins returned home to Arkansas for a visit last fall, he sat the girl down and told her he might not be back again.

Robbins, 31, of North Little Rock, Ark., died Feb. 10 of non-combat injuries that were under investigation. He was based in Little Rock.

An avid outdoorsman, Robbins was an 11-year military veteran and a full-time employee of the Arkansas National Guard. He was devoted to his duties as an adviser to the Iraqi national guard and even learned to speak some Arabic, said his wife, Kimberly.

Robbins is survived by his stepdaughter, Tristan Ellis, and his 1-year-old daughter, Abigail Robbins.

"He was looking forward to coming home," his wife said. "He felt what he was doing in Iraq benefited the family."

Army Sgt. 1st Class David J. Salie

Even after 17 years in the Army, David J. Salie maintained a playful appetite for mischief.

He loved to wrestle his children and engage them in french-fry sword fights at McDonald's. As a soldier, he relished the adrenaline rush of explosions.

"My husband said he was the ultimate Dennis the Menace," said Salie's wife, Deanna. "His job was wonderful because he got to blow up stuff, break things and do things that he got spanked for as a kid."

Salie, 34, of Columbus, Ga., died Feb. 14 when a bomb hit his Humvee in Baqouba. He was based at Fort Benning.

Salie's father recalled an early sign that David wanted to be a soldier: While serving in Vietnam, the elder Salie received a photograph of 2-year-old David, naked in the bathtub, saluting the camera.

David served in the U.S. invasion of Panama in 1989 and the 1991 Persian Gulf War. When he deployed to Iraq, he left videotapes for his wife and their three children -- Chyna, 11, Luke, 6, and Hunter, 2.

"He made videos for my children for every important event in their life -- their wedding days, birthdays," Deanna Salie said. "That's the kind of father he was."

Army Sgt. Stephen R. Sherman

Stephen R. Sherman lived for adventure: He scaled the rocks of Arizona, rafted the rivers of Colorado and sky-dived above a glacier in New Zealand. He headed west for college and spent a semester in Australia before moving to the Cayman Islands to manage a rental car agency.

"He just liked to go far away," said his father, Richard Sherman. "Oregon wasn't far enough, so he went to Australia."

Sherman, 27, of Neptune, N.J., was killed Feb. 3 by a homemade bomb that hit the armored Stryker combat vehicle in which he was riding near Mosul. He was based at Fort Lewis.

Sherman graduated from the University of Oregon and joined the Army in 2003 to get job skills and do some good, his father said. He talked of opening a restaurant with his brothers or doing emergency relief work after completing his four-year commitment to the military.

In his calls home, Sherman told his parents not to read the news or worry about him.

"If he could talk to us now, he would likely say: 'Don't make such a fuss over me. I had my time, and it was good,"' Richard Sherman said. "That was his way."

Army Staff Sgt. Kristopher L. Shepherd

Kristopher Shepherd managed to keep his eye on the future while thoroughly enjoying the present.

A husband and father of two, Shepherd married his high school sweetheart and decided to join the military at 17, figuring a military career would offer them a good future. He never passed up an opportunity to laugh, said his mother, Sheila Campbell.

"If he could pull a practical joke on you, he would," she said.

Shepherd, 26, of Lynchburg, Va., an explosives ordnance disposal specialist based at Fort McNair, died Feb. 11 when an explosive detonated during clearing operations in Baghdad.

His unit had already been to Afghanistan, where his hands and face were burned in an explosion, before shipping out to Iraq in January, his family said.

Shepherd started as a mechanic after joining the Army, but decided to go into the explosives disposal unit -- later turning down other opportunities to stay with the tight-knit group.

"He was an exceptional soldier with a positives 'can do' attitude," said Charles Barley, who supervised Shepherd before retiring from the Army explosives unit.

Army Staff Sgt. Eric M. Steffeney

Eric M. Steffeney was always curious about how things worked. As a boy, he took his bicycle apart; as a soldier, he disarmed explosive devices.

"He was interested in everything," Annette Crowe said about her son.

Steffeney, 28, of Waterloo, Iowa, died Feb. 23 when an explosive detonated in Tuz. He was based at Fort Bragg.

In high school, Steffeney worked hard in class and on the school's football team. "I remember he was a good student, and more importantly, a good person," said Bob Weaton, Steffeney's former football coach and government teacher.

Jamie Forsythe, one of Steffeney's childhood friends, said they spent hours together fishing for catfish on the Cedar River. One year, when the boys were about 13, they built a three-level tree fort in Forsythe's yard, he said.

"It took us the whole summer," he said.

Steffeney, a tall, stocky man, loved fishing, hunting and reading, his family said. He taught his children about gun safety and took the oldest two hunting for squirrel and deer.

He is survived by his wife, Theresa, children Benjamin, 13, Dennis, 6, and Caitlin, 11.

Army Capt. Christopher J. Sullivan

Christopher J. Sullivan never wanted his family to worry about him, so he told them the situation in Iraq was not as grim as it appeared. A week before his death, he passed joke e-mails back and forth with his sister.

"He was always trying to protect everybody ... (saying the conditions) were not as bad as they seemed," his sister Amy Lilley said.

Sullivan, 29, of Princeton, Mass., was killed Jan. 18 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his parked vehicle.

Sullivan was stationed at Fort Hood and had been scheduled to return home to his wife Sandy and their 19-month-old son David in a few weeks.

He joined the Civil Air Patrol at age 14 and was in the ROTC while attending the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, where he majored in mechanical engineering.

An enthusiastic skier and golfer, Sullivan also served in Kosovo and Germany, where he met his wife. He was remembered for a great sense of humor and a willingness to help out.

"He was a peach," said Alice Halloran, a friend of the Sullivan family.

1st Lt. Timmerman

Army 1st Lt. Jason Timmerman

For the Rev. Paul Hadusek, the best story about Jason Timmerman involves a clothes dryer.

A few years ago, Timmerman was selling his and a woman stopped by to ask about it. She mentioned that her dryer had broken. So Timmerman went to her house and repaired hers, rather than making a sale.

Timmerman, 24, of Tracy, Minn., died Feb. 21 when a bomb detonated near his convoy in Baghdad. He was based in Montevideo.

"He had a wonderful personality, just related to everyone and had such a big smile," said Roman Catholic Sister Teresita Schaefbauer. "He was very, very giving all the time I knew him."

Timmerman built houses with Habitat for Humanity, served meals at a soup kitchen, helped with a Goodwill truck, sponsored a foster child overseas and helped paint the church.

Timmerman was a high school math and computer teacher last year. He received a bachelor's degree in math education in 2002 and a master's in computer and education technology in 2004, both from Dakota State University. At the time of his deployment, he was a computer technician at Northstar Mutual Insurance Co.

He is survived by his wife, Teresa.

Sgt. Torres

Army Sgt. Daniel Torres

Daniel Torres and his girlfriend, Sofia Maldonado, used to talk about getting married and starting a family, and Maldonado recalled the joy they both shared when she recently told Torres she was pregnant with their child.

"He said he would pray for me and the baby every night," said Maldonado, 18. "I knew that he was going to be with me forever."

But Torres, 23, of Fort Worth, Texas, died two days later -- on Feb. 4 -- in an explosion in Iraq. He was stationed at Fort Stewart.

Rick Saldivar, Torres' uncle, said his nephew was ecstatic about impending fatherhood. He said Torres placed great value on family.

"He was thrilled. He was so happy," Saldivar said. "He asked all the family members to help her with anything she needed."

Torres' father, Sergio Torres, said his son wanted to help make Iraq a better place for the children and young men there. He also planned to use the money he earned in the military to help pay for college.

"The last time we saw him, he told us not to worry if the Army came to his house to tell us he had died," Torres said. "He had a hunch it would happen."

Army Spc. Seth R. Trahan

Seth R. Trahan's phone calls with his father were routine in their simple emotions.

"I'd always tell him, 'I love you, Bub,"' recalled Randy Trahan. "He'd say, 'I love you, Dad.' I'd say 'I'm proud of you.' He'd say, 'Thank you, sir."'

Trahan, 20, of Crowley, La., died Feb. 19 by a bomb while on patrol in Baghdad. He was stationed in Crowley.

"I truly believe with my whole heart that his whole mission was accomplished on Earth," said his mother, Emma Trahan. "We're broken, we're sad, but we're at peace."

Seth Trahan was an active member of Northside Assembly of God, where his father is an associate pastor and his mother teaches in the church school. He was a 2002 high school graduate and was majoring in criminal justice at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

"Seth was a leader," said his church pastor, Loyd Singley. "He would lead his squad in prayer as they would go out on a mission. You'll hear many stories about Seth's impact on his fellow soldiers."

In one e-mail, Seth wrote: "Every time I put on this uniform I take pride in it because I love the American flag on my right shoulder."

Army Sgt. 1st Class Mark C. Warren

Mark C. Warren served in Iraq alongside his own son, Lt. Christopher Warren.

"Being able to be up there with someone in your family is very comforting. It's nice to have someone you can go and vent to," said the son.

Mark Warren, 44, of La Grande, Ore., was discovered dead Jan. 31 of non-combat related causes. His death was under investigation.

The father of three enlisted in the Marines in 1981 and served in Lebanon and Grenada. He left in 1985 and worked as a railroad conductor.

He joined the National Guard in 1990 and was the noncommissioned officer in charge of officer training at Eastern Oregon University in La Grande. He also taught military science at the school.

He is survived by three sons, Christopher, Michael, 16, and Ryan, 12.

Christopher Warren said his father's last days were happy ones -- he felt elation at helping Iraqi authorities monitor polling places during their election.

Lance Cpl. Wichlacz

Marine Lance Cpl. Travis M. Wichlacz

When he was a Boy Scout, Travis M. Wichlacz was nearly unbeatable at one test of strength and guile: the greased watermelon contest, which he won four years in a row.

"They would throw the greased watermelon out into the water and the boys were supposed to bring it back in," said his stepmother, Virginia Wichlacz. "When they were all tired of swimming and wrestling with it, when it was almost back to shore, Travis would just grab it out of their arms and bring it up to the shore."

Wichlacz, 22, of West Bend, Wis., was killed Feb. 5 by a roadside bomb in Babil province. He was stationed at Milwaukee.

A high school track, wrestling and football star who graduated in 2002, Wichlacz impressed teachers with his leadership skills and his ability to cooperate with teammates and other students.

"He was a committed, loyal and hardworking man," said high school Principal Pat Gardon. "He always had this radiant smile and this twinkle in his eye that would light up any room he walked into."

His death comes barely nine months after he was married to Angela Coakley, a student at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Staff Sgt. Wobler

Army Staff Sgt. Zachary R. Wobler

When Zachary Wobler was shot three times during a firefight with insurgents, medics had to sedate the angry staff sergeant, who demanded that he be taken back to his troops instead of transported for surgery.

"He was just so mad they had got him," Wobler's stepfather, Tim Poston, said. "He was wanting to get back out there."

Wobler, 24, of Ottowa, Ohio, was killed Feb. 6 by insurgent fire in Mosul, Iraq. He was based at Fort Bragg and is survived by a 3-year-old daughter, Trinity.

Wobler grew up in Snowflake, Va., and clung to his roots after he moved to Ohio. "He told people he was a southern boy from Virginia," said his mother, Jeanette Poston.

He joined the Army full time in 2000 after serving in Ohio's National Guard. In 2002, he was selected as the 82nd Airborne's paratrooper of the year. In a newspaper interview at the time, Wobler attributed his success in the Army to his father.

"My father was big on honesty when I was young," he said.

During his first tour of duty in Iraq, Wobler injured his knee and was told he needed knee surgery. He refused, opting instead to return to Iraq the next month.