Birth: September 11, 1982 – Emerson, New Jersey
Died: May 30, 2003 – Iraq
Spc. Griffin was assigned to the 519th Military Intelligence Battalion, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He was traveling from Mosul to Tikrit in a three-vehicle convoy – two humvees and a light medium tactical vehicle during a storm. A civilian vehicle dodged a pothole causing the humvees to swerve. He graduated in 2000 from Emerson High School and “pretended” he was going to Bergen Community College for a year before he enlisted in the Army on July 17, 2001.
Burial: George Washington Memorial Park, Paramus, New Jersey
Birth: July 9, 1970 – Texas
Died: April 14, 2003 – Iraq
Spc Goward was assigned to 1460th Transportation Company, Midland, Michigan. He was killed when his truck entered a dust cloud and rear-ended the truck in front of him. Richard served on active duty with the Army from 1990 to 1996, and then began working at the Saint Louis Correctional Facility. He joined the Michigan National Guard after the September 11 terrorist attacks and felt by joining the military.
Burial: Richland Lutheran Cemetery, Saginaw, Michigan
Birth: July 19, 1961 – Wurzburg, Germany
Died: March 9, 2004 – Tampa, Iraq
Sgt 1st Class Gottfried was assigned to the 1st Division Support Command, 1st Infantry Division, Kitzengen, Germany. He was killed when his Humvee was hit by an improvised explosive device. Richard had been in the Army for almost 20 years and was about to retire. He had stayed in Iraq because there was a shortage of workers in his military career, water-treatment specialist. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart.
Burial: Riverview Cemetery, Jefferson City, Missouri
Birth:
Died: September 19, 2009 – Balad, Iraq
Spc Cote was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment, Task Force 49, Fort Wainwright, Alaska. He died of wounds sustained when the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter he was in crashed.
Burial: Denham Springs Memorial Cemetery, Denham Springs, Louisiana
Birth: June 14, 1980 – Jamaica
Died: April 4, 2003 – Iraq
Cpl Gooden was assigned to 2nd Tank Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He was killed in action during a firefight in central Iraq. The last time Bernard saw his mother was on Christmas when she cooked his favorite Jamaican food. They sat on the floor and talked about his dream to become a lawyer. He had been stationed overseas for a few months and the straight-A student had been excited to go.
Burial: St. Ann Parish, White Sands, Jamaica
Birth: September 22, 1980 – Linares, Mexico
Died: April 12, 2003 – Baghdad, Iraq
Cpl Gonzalez was assigned to 1st Tank Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Twenty-Nine Palms, California. He died when he was shot in the chest while manning a checkpoint.
Jesus graduated from Indio High School and attended the College of the Desert in nearby Palm Desert.
Burial: Coachella Valley Public Cemetery, Coachella, California
Birth: June 7, 1977 – Cuba
Died: April 14, 2003 – Iraq
Cpl Gonzalez was assigned to Marine Wing Support Squadron (MWSS)-273, Marine Wing Support Group (MWSG)-27, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina. He was killed in a non-hostile accident when a commercial refueler collapsed at Logistics Supply Area Viper in southern Iraq. He died in Southern Iraq nine years later, part of an American military force dedicated to providing freedom for others. The family settled in Florida and Armando joined the Marine Corps in August 2000. He learned English at Miami-Dade Community College in Florida. Armando loved this country and he loved this freedom because he knew what it meant. He and his wife, Liudmila, were expecting their first child and Armando was excited about the prospects of being a father.
Burial: Vista Memorial Gardens, Hialeah, Florida
Birth: October 25, 1982 – Los Angeles, California
Died: March 23, 2003 – An Nasiriyah, Iraq
Cpl Gonzalez was assigned to 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Pallbearers pushed the coffin of Jorge up the aisle of a simple Catholic church in Rialto as hundreds of mourners rose to sing “God Bless America” for the young Marine who was killed fighting for his country. Jorge was given citizenship posthumously.
Burial: Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego, California – Section A-B, Site 1341-A
Birth: November 9, 1977 – New York
Died: January 8, 2004 – Fallujah, Iraq
Spc Golby was assigned to the 571st Medical Company (Air Ambulance) based in Fort Carson, Colorado, as a helicopter crew chief. He was killed while on board a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter when it was shot down during a Medevac mission. Christopher was a graduate from a Pennsylvania high school and enlisted in the Army shortly afterwards.
Burial: Richland Cemetery, Johnston, Pennsylvania
Birth: October 1, 1977 – Warren, Pennsylvania
Died: May 30, 2003 – Iraq
Spc Gleason was assigned to 519th Military Intelligence Battalion, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He was traveling in a three-vehicle convoy during a storm from Mosul to Tikrit (2 HUMMVs, 1 light medium tactical vehicle) when a civilian vehicle dodged a pothole causing the HUMMVs to swerve. There was not enough stopping distance between the vehicles causing the LMTV to swerve off the road and turn over, causing the death of Gleason and two other soldiers.
Burial: Oakland Cemetery, Warren, Pennsylvania