Books that I have made

These are my heros. I have made books for their families. I call them memory books. Our group calls them Condolence books.

Marine 1st Lt. Matthew R. Vandegrift --28, of Littleton, Colo.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died April 21 in Basra, Iraq, from wounds sustained while conducting combat operations. Matthew is the soldier on the far left.

Marine 1st Lt. Matthew R. Vandegrift28, of Littleton, Colo.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died April 21 in Basra, Iraq, from wounds sustained while conducting combat operations.
Marine 1st Lt. Matthew R. Vandegrift rememberedThe Associated Press
Growing up in Texas, Matthew R. Vandegrift was the kid in the middle of the rock fight, the one who dropped a cat out a second-story window to see if it really would land on its feet, and the one who put the emergency brake on a car that was rolling down a hill after he saw it in a James Bond movie.
“He was never the guy to start the fight,” said his brother, Barrett. “But he was always the one to finish it.”
Vandegrift, 28, of Littleton, Colo., died April 21 from wounds sustained during combat in Basra. He was a 2003 graduate of Texas A&M, where he was part of the school’s Midshipmen Battalion NROTC program, and was assigned to Camp Lejeune.
Vandegrift fulfilled a lifelong desire to serve his country and to follow in the footsteps of his father, who served in the Marine Corps from 1963 to 1971. “That boy thought I hung the moon,” said his father, John Vandegrift. “It’s the proudest thing I can claim.”
Mary Jane Vandegrift described her son as a charismatic child who grew into a caring man, someone who was determined to better the lives of those around him.
“He was the perfect kid,” she said. “One in a million.”

Corporal Jason L. Dunham was 22 years old when he left us. He came from the small town of Scio (sigh-oh) population 1900. It’s the kind of town where everyone knows your name... where values and respect still mean something. It was here, along a winding country road filled with rolling-meadows, and a swift moving creek, that Jason L. Dunham was brought into this world.

Army Pfc. Andrew T. Engstrom22, of Slaton, Texas; assigned to 1st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died July 4 in Taji, Iraq, of injuries sustained in a non-combat-related incident. His death is under investigation.

Pfc. Brandon C. Smith 20, of Washington, Ark.; assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.; killed in action March 18 in Qaim, Iraq.

LCpl Bobby L. Twitty, 20, of Bedias, Texas; assigned to Combat Logistics Battalion 6, Combat Logistics Regiment 2, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died July 22 from a nonhostile vehicle accident in Ramadi, Iraq.

Lcpl Dennis J. Veater
Saturday, March 17, 11 p.m.
Lance Corporal Dennis Veater was supposed to come home to Lackawanna County next week. Instead of that joyous homecoming, loved ones gathered Saturday to pay tribute to the 20- year-old Marine, who was killed in Iraq.

Cpl. Christopher Degiovine 25 of Lone Tree, Colo.Degiovine died April 26 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

. Dustin J. Lee 20, of Quitman, Miss.; assigned to Headquarters Battalion, Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, Ga.; died March 21 from wounds received while conducting combat operations in Anbar province, Iraq.

Marine Gunnery Sgt. Herman J. Murkerson Jr.35, of Adger, Ala.; assigned to Marine Wing Headquarters Squadron 2, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C.; died Oct. 1 while conducting combat operations in Baghdad, Iraq.

-NavyMatthew Michael Flocco
Age: 21
Hometown: Newark, Del., USA
Occupation: Aerographer's mate second class, U.S. Navy
Location: Ground, Pentagon
"He was teaching himself to play his guitar. He'd play constantly. He was real soft, not one of those loud guys. You could hardly hear him it was so low. That was his first love, music. I always played to him all his life. I played harmonica and accordion." -- Michael Flocco, father

Lance Cpl. Casey L. Casanova
Lance Cpl. Casey L. Casanova, 22, of McComb, Miss. died May 2 in Al Anbar province, Iraq, supporting combat operations. She was assigned to the Combat Logistics Battalion 1, Combat Logistics Regiment 1, 1st Marine Logistics Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Sgt. Melvin "Jay" Horn
Jays father and I are friends and have been since he was a teenager. Jay came home from Iraq and died in a hospital in California. He was hurt in Iraq and was never able to get over it.

DoD Identifies Marine CasualtyThe Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.Master Sgt. Brian P. McAnulty, 39, of Vicksburg, Miss., died Dec. 11 when the CH-53 helicopter he was riding in crashed just after takeoff in Al Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif. Submitted by Alan H Barbour, Historian, USMC Combat Helicopter Association

Marine Pfc. Bufford K. Van Slyke22, of Bay City, Mich.; assigned to Marine Forces Reserve’s 1st Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Saginaw, Mich.; died Feb. 28 while conducting combat operations in Anbar province, Iraq.

Marine from Hawthorne was killed while fighting in Iraq, state and federal officials announced Friday.Lance Cpl. Ryan L. Mayhan, 25, died Dec. 21 in combat in Anbar province.

Honoring our Hero
On 11/22/2006 our lives came to a screeching halt. On that day we were notified that our son, Pvt. Heath D. Warner had been killed by a roadside IED (improvised explosive device) in the Al An bar province in Iraq. That was the saddest day of our lives and has forever changed our family. Heath believed in the mission he was fighting in. He told us before he left for Iraq that he was going over there to fight so we would not have to fight the terrorist over her. We know that while Heath was on top of his humvee, he was thinking of us, his family, friends and fellow Americans. He died thinking of us and we live thinking of him.

Army Command Sgt. Maj. Marilyn L. Gabbard46, of Polk City, Iowa; assigned to Joint Forces Headquarters, Iowa Army National Guard, Camp Dodge, Johnston, Iowa; died in Baghdad on Jan. 20 when the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter she was in crashed. Also killed were Col. Brian D. Allgood, Staff Sgt. Darryl D. Booker, Sgt. 1st Class John G. Brown, Lt. Col. David C. Canegata, Command Sgt. Maj. Roger W. Haller, Col. Paul M. Kelly, Staff Sgt. Floyd E. Lake, Cpl. Victor M. Langarica, Capt. Sean E. Lyerly, Maj. Michael V. Taylor and 1st Sgt. William T. Warren.