Freedom Remembered

Born: January 26, 1988
Died: January 25, 2008 in San Antonio, Texas

Cpl. Duncan C. Crookston of Denver, Colorado is the son of Christopher and Leesha. Duncan graduated from West High School. He entered the Army in June 2006 just after graduation and began serving with the 1st Infantry Division in November 2006. He was currently serving his first deployment. Duncan could complete a Rubik’s cube in under 56 seconds and he unofficially became his unit’s resident expert in computers and other electronic devices. In addition to his parents, he is also survived by his wife, Meaghun, siblings, Zachary, Jesse, Logan, Daniel, and Casey. Duncan died in Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations in Baghdad, Iraq. He was 19.

Army
2nd Battalion
16th Infantry Regiment
4th Brigade Combat Team
1st Infantry Division
Fort Riley, Kansas

Burial is at Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver, Colorado – Sec 29 Site 1028

Born: February 3, 1984 in Council Bluffs, Iowa
Died: October 5, 2007 in Baghdad, Iraq

Sgt. Joseph B. Milledge of Pointblank, Texas grew up in Glenwood, Iowa where he graduated from Glenwood High School in May of 2002. He later moved to Pointblank, Texas and enlisted in the Army in August of 2003. He was sent to Iraq for his first tour about a year later. He had currently been serving his second tour about two months. Joey, or Joe, as he was best known, cared deeply about the children in Iraq and the humanitarian efforts being carried out. He often played with the children and had ask his family to send toys and clothing for them. He also enjoyed reading, mostly about religion or philosophy. Joe also maintain close ties with his family and wood spend quality time with his nieces and nephews, all of whom he loved very much. He died at 23 in Baghdad of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit during combat operations. Also killed was Spc. Jason N. Marchand. He leaves behind a wife, Amanda, and son, Joseph Jr, his mother, Carla Milledge, father, Jack Milledge, brothers, Eric and Nathan; sisters, Mary and Jaclyn and eleven nieces and nephews.
Army
3rd Squadron
2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment
Vilseck, Germany

Burial is at Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent, Washington – Sec 7 Site 652

Born: October 18, 1967 in Fort Myers, Florida
Died: June 1, 2005 in Kirkuk, Iraq

Sgt. 1st Class Virgil Case of Mountain Home, Idaho graduated from high school in Collinwood, Tennessee and joined the Army in October of 1986. He met the love of his life, Claudia, and her two children, while they were in Fort Bliss, Texas in 1989. They were wed in 1991 and were later blessed with two more daughters. 1991 was also the year that he joined the Army National Guard. During his life, he served 18 years in military service. He took pride in working full time at the Mountain Home Army National Guard Armory and being a member of the 145th Support Battalion. He was called to serve in Fort Bliss, Texas in June 2004, and from there deployed to Kirkuk, Iraq in December 2004. He enjoyed being with his family, serving his country, hunting, fishing, and woodworking. He was always working on various projects in his spare time. His smile, great sense of humor, and loyalty to his family and country endeared him to his community and his fellow soldiers. Virgil is survived by his wife Claudia; their children Stevie, Randy, Danielle, and Harlee; his uncle Ken; sisters Vivian and Vicki; and his brothers Frank and Randy. He was preceded in death by his parents. Virgil died at age 37 while serving his country in Kirkuk, Iraq.

Army
National Guard
145th Support Battalion
116th Brigade Combat Team
Mountain Home, Idaho

Burial is at Shiprock Cemetery in Shiprock, New Mexico

Born: October 30, 1980 in Dallas, Texas
Died: October 10, 2007 in

Staff Sgt. Eric T. Duckworth of Plano, Texas began his senior year at Plano East High School but later graduated from Clear Lake High School in 1999. He excelled in JROTC and was selected to attend a national ROTC meeting for outstanding leaders. As a young boy he played youth baseball and football, but he was always a fan. The son of Michael Duckworth and Ila Duckworth enlisted in the Army soon after graduation at age 18. He was currently serving his first deployment to Iraq, which began in August 2006 and would have ended in November 2007. He loved sports, especially the Dallas Cowboys and NASCAR. Among his awards and decoration are the Army Service Ribbon and the National Defense Service Medal. In addition to his parents, he is survived by his wife, Sonya, and his children, Madison, Michael and Kaylynn and a brother, Andrew. He died at age 26 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.
Army
759th Military Police Battalion
89th Military Police Brigade
Fort Carson, Colorado

Burial is at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia – Sec 60 Site 8066

Born: April 18, 1980 in Russellville, Arkansas
Died: November 5, 2007 in Iraq

Petty Officer 2nd Class Kevin R. Bewley of Hector, Arkansas loved the outdoors. After his first tour in Iraq, he and his older brother, Patrick, camped in minus-28 degree Arctic weather to fulfill a promise they made to each other to try to see the Northern Lights. The brothers loved to travel together. He didn’t seem to need a lot around him to be happy, just friends and family and the chance to be outside. After first joining the National Guard, Petty Officer Bewley joined the Navy in November 2001. Kevin already had served a deployment in Iraq in 2006 where he literally had disarmed hundreds of bombs. Each one he disarmed saved someone’s life. He had been with the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 11, based in Oak Harbor, since August 2005. Other members of Unit 11 often would join Kevin and his brother on their camping or road trips. He was known for his calm demeanor under pressure and was respected as part of a tight-knit group of EOD members. Kevin died of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated while he was conducting operations in Salah ad Din province, Iraq at age 27.
Navy
Explosive Ordnance
Disposal Mobile Unit 11
Oak Harbor, Washington

Burial is at Crossroads Cemetery in Appleton, Arkansas

Born: December 13 1978
Died: June 5 2004 in Baghdad, Iraq

Sgt. Humberto F. Timoteo of of Newark, New Jersey had emigrated with his family from Portugal and grew up in the city’s Ironbound section. He was a graduate of East Side High School. Humberto joined the military in 1996 and trained as a field artilleryman at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He was married to Army Sgt. Silvia Timoteo and the couple have a son. He died at age 25 in Baghdad, Iraq, when his vehicle hit an improvised explosive device.
Army
National Guard
Battery A
3rd Battalion
112th Field Artillery
Morristown, New Jersey

Burial is at Holy Cross Cemetery in North Arlington, New Jersey

Born: December 22, 1958
Died: December 4, 2004 in Baghdad, Iraq

Sgt Joseph O. Behnke of Brooklyn, New York worked in the engineering department at the Manhattan Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and along with his sons, they started their own construction company. Joseph’s father was in the Navy and Joseph, himself wanted to also serve his country. He even tried to join the Army at age 13 so he could go to Vietnam. Finally at age seventeen he got permission to enlist and he served with the 82nd Airborne to 1976 through 1980. In 1982 he signed up with the Army National Guard. Before going to Iraq in March 2004, he trained by running up and down the beach at Coney Island with a backpack full of sand. In Iraq while living in a tent with other Army National Guard soldiers, he did what came naturally to him. He used his expertise in carpentry to build the other soldiers bed frames, closets and bookcases. But he did not build any for himself. Also while serving in Iraq, he gave out clothes, books and candy to the Iraqi children. His heart went out to the children over there, he he did what he could to brighten their lives. Yes, Joseph was always putting others first. He always did. He was last home during a two week leave in October 2004. Joseph died at age 45 in Baghdad, Iraq, when he was in a vehicle accident. He was awarded the Bronze Star.

Army
National Guard
1st Battalion
258th Field Artillery Regiment
Brooklyn, New York

Burial is at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York

Born: June 13, 1986
Died: August 19, 2009 in Iraq

Pfc. William Z. Vanosdol of Pinson, Alabama attended Pinson Valley High School where he was typically a quite student. However, he would light up in English class when discussing British Literature. The subject was a real passion for the fan of Beowulf and Lord of the Rings. He graduated from the school in 2005 with plans of enlisting in the military. Will was originally from Charleston, South Carolina. He was preceded in death by his father, William Kent VanOsdol; grandfather, Leland C. VanOsdol; grandfather, Henry Ervin Murphree; grandmother, Arlene Dirks Finch; and great-uncle, Neil Dirks. He is survived by his loving mother, Susan Murphree VanOsdol; and sisters, Brandi, and Sabrina; and his “4-legged brother” Bubba and three nephews as well as his Grandpa Robert Finch, and grandmother, Barbara Stegall Murphree. Will joined the Army in 2007. He had previously served a tour in Germany before heading to Iraq. He died at age 23 at Ad Diwaniyah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when enemy rocket fire struck his quarters.

Army
172nd Support Battalion
Schweinfurt, Germany

Burial is at Jefferson Memorial Gardens East in Trussville, Alabama

Born: May 28 1976 in Spring Lake, North Carolina
Died: August 8, 2009 in Afghanistan

Staff Sgt. Tara J. Smith of Nashville, North Carolina Graduated from Northern Nash High School in 1994 and enlisted in the Army in February 1997. Her past duty assignments include Arifjan, Kuwait; Camp Casey, South Korea; and Fort Huachuca, Arizona. Her military schooling included the Warrior Leader, Nuclear Biological and Chemical Defense, Combat Lifesavers, Basic NCO and Advanced NCO courses. Her awards and decorations include the four Army Commendation medals, five Army Achievement Medals, four Army Good Conduct Medals, a National Defense Service Medal, a Korea Defense Service Medal, a Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, a Global War on Terror Service Medal, three Non-Commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbons, a Army Service Ribbon, three Overseas Service Ribbons and the Driver and Mechanic Badge. She died at age 33 in Bagram, Afghanistan, from an unspecified medical condition at Camp Phoenix, Afghanistan. Tara is survived by her husband, Deron Smith, and her children David and Jordan.

Army
50th Signal Battalion
35th Signal Brigade
XVIII Airborne Corps
Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Burial is at Oakland Cemetery in Nashville, North Carolina

Born: August 22 1984 in Germany
Died: July 20, 2009 in Afghanistan

Sgt Gregory Owens Jr, of Garland Texas joined the Army in January 2007 and arrived at Fort Drum in June 2007. Greg was a field artillery automated tactical data systems specialist with the 4th Battalion, 25 Field Artillery Regiment. His awards and decorations include the Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with Campaign Star, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, and the Army Service Ribbon. He died at age 24 in Wardak Province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle followed by an attack from enemy forces using small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fires. Also killed were Spc. Anthony M. Lightfoot, Spc. Andrew J. Roughton and Pfc. Dennis J. Pratt. He is survived by his parents, Gregory Owens, Sr. and LaDonna Owens, two brothers Lamar and Jonathon, and one sister Shelena.
Army
4th Battalion
25th Field Artillery
3rd Brigade Combat Team
10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry)
Fort Drum, New York

Burial is at Republican Baptist Church in Mooringsport, Louisiana