One of Florida Trend's traditional roles has been to seek out issues of statewide importance and to help develop a sense of community in a state where it is frequently difficult to find. Each of Florida's thriving, growing metropolitan areas has its own interests and challenges; Jacksonville often has little in common with Miami; Orlando often has little in common with northwest Florida.
In one regard, however -- the willingness to serve and sacrifice for the nation -- the citizens of Florida's communities are very much united.
It is in that spirit, and in its role as the only true statewide journalistic voice, that Florida Trend, in the pages that follow, tells the stories of the Floridians who have given their lives in the fighting in Afghanistan and in Iraq.
In addition to ceremonies honoring the soldiers in their communities, the state Legislature and Gov. Jeb Bush have also recognized a number of the fallen Floridians.
The list includes those who were killed between 2001 and April 2004.
Marc A. Anderson
age 30, Army specialist -- Fort Myers
Marc A. Anderson was big (FSU discus and shot put), smart (straight A's) and a good math teacher. Before classes started at his Fort Myers middle school, students could come for math help and Anderson's doughnuts, bagels and juice.
He enlisted to pay off his student loans. On leave, he chaperoned school events. "He was always a teacher," says fellow teacher David Childress. A Ranger, he died in Afghanistan on March 4, 2002, trying to rescue a fellow soldier. He named a former student, now at UF, as a life insurance beneficiary. "He saw a lot of himself in the girl," says his father, David. The Andersons lost a second son, Steve, to cancer in March 2003. Their third son, John, is a Marine.
Andrew Aviles
age 18, Marine lance corporal -- Tampa
According to his plan -- and he knew how to plan -- Andy Aviles should be done with his sophomore year at FSU. Student council president at T.R. Robinson High in Tampa, Aviles graduated third in his class, wrote the commencement invocation and got an academic scholarship to FSU.
He had the magic way of putting a smile on your face," says his father, Oscar Aviles. To challenge himself, Andy joined the Marine Reserves. It challenged his plans. The Marines moved the start of basic training, and he missed the start of college. He elected to start college a year late. A lance corporal, he was killed by enemy fire on April 7, 2003, two weeks shy of his 19th birthday.
Matthew J. Bourgeois
age 35, Navy chief petty officer -- Tallahassee
As a 14-year veteran of the Navy SEALs, Matt Bourgeois knew the difficulties and dangers of his career, his widow says. Still, she and others best remember him for something far lighter: His remarkable humor and wit. "Matt was quick-witted and sharp," Michelle Bourgeois said in a statement. "He could bring a smile to your face with a comical phrase in a snap of a second."
Originally from Tallahassee, Bourgeois graduated from Leon High School and served in the Florida National Guard from 1984 to 1987 before enlisting in the Navy. He joined the SEALs in 1989 and had served in the Persian Gulf War.
He'd been in Afghanistan about two months when he was killed by a land mine on March 27, 2002. He was a month shy of returning home to Virginia Beach, Va., to be with his wife and their newborn son, Matthew Jr.
Thomas Broomhead
age 34, Army sergeant -- Fort Myers
Thomas Broomhead quarterbacked his Fort Myers high school team. He coached Pop Warner before he had kids. He served in the Marines in the first Gulf War, became a prison guard, met the woman he would marry, had three boys and coached Little League. But he missed the service so much that he enlisted in the Army in 2000.
Broomhead was gunned down on May 27, 2003, by two Iraqis at a checkpoint.
He is survived by his wife, Kelli, and sons, Jacob, Zachary and Jason, all under age 12. They live in Colorado near her family.
"He was just the typical American guy," says brother Michael Broomhead. "He loved his wife. He loved the boys. He died a hero."
Charles H. Buehring
age 40, Army lieutenant colonel -- Winter Springs
Highly trained in special and psychological operations, Lt. Col. Chad Buehring was one of the highest-ranking officers killed so far in Iraq. He provided daily military intelligence briefings to L. Paul Bremer, the top U.S. civilian official there. But when it came to his home life, Buehring had simpler pursuits. He, his wife, Alicia, and sons, Nick, 12, and Drew, 9, had recently moved into the house where Buehring was raised in Winter Springs. In addition to the military and his family, he was devoted to the Boy Scouts and to his church.
Buehring was killed on Oct. 26, 2003, when a rocket blasted into the Al-Rashid Hotel where he was staying on the 11th floor. One floor below him was Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, who was not injured. Buehring's funeral at Arlington National Cemetery was the first in the war attended by Wolfowitz.
Brian Rory Buesing
age 20, Marine lance corporal -- Cedar Key
To gauge the impact Brian Rory Buesing's death had on the tiny island where he grew up, consider that 800 mourners attended his funeral -- 80% of Cedar Key's population.
His mother, Patty Steve, says Buesing always knew he would follow his father and grandfather into the Marines. She says she had little choice but to sign the papers to let him enlist at 17, when he was still a senior at Cedar Key High, the smallest public high school in Florida. "He was very clear about what he wanted to do with his life," Steve says, "just as he was very clear in his letters home that he believed in what he was fighting for."
Buesing headed for basic training less than a month after graduating and celebrated his 18th birthday at Parris Island, S.C. He was killed March 23, 2003, when he and nine other Marines, including Floridian David Fribley, were ambushed near Nasiriyah. The island that misses him has opened a teen center in his memory.
In addition to his mother, Buesing is survived by his father, Bill, of New Port Richey.
Christopher R. Cobb
age 19, Marine private first class -- Bradenton
Chris Cobb was a whiz on the computer and played violin all through middle school and Bayshore High School in Bradenton, says his mother, Sheila Cobb. He also wanted to travel. When he was 17 and a high school junior, Cobb signed up for the Marines' delayed entry program. A month after graduating from high school, Cobb left for basic training at Parris Island, S.C.
"He joined because one of his friends joined," says his mother, who adds that the friend is now serving in Iraq and does not know that Cobb has been killed.
Cobb died during hostile fire in Al Anbar province, west of Baghdad, on April 6, 2004. The family's church has set up a memorial fund that may be used to fund a violin scholarship.
Russell Creighton-Weldon
age 20, Army private first class -- Palm Bay
Russell Creighton-Weldon followed in his mother's footsteps when he enlisted in the Army. His mother, Sgt. Maj. Jean Weldon of Palm Bay, had retired after 20 years in the service. She told the Associated Press that her son had been "the strength of the household," taking over as man of the house after his parents divorced.
Creighton-Weldon died March 29, 2003, in the first suicide attack of the war. He and three other members of the Army's 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division were killed when a taxi drove up to an Army checkpoint north of Najaf and exploded after the driver waved for help. In addition to his mother, he is survived by a 15-year-old brother, 23-year-old sister and his fiancee.
Bradley Crose
age 22, Army sergeant -- Orange Park
What a mix of interests Ranger Sgt. Bradley Crose had. At 14, he competed in the Men's Tae Kwan Do Nationals. He was second in Florida in black belt. He loved the classics. Before leaving for Afghanistan, he used a $100 bookstore gift certificate to load up on the likes of "Tobacco Road," "Moby Dick" and the "Grapes of Wrath." Religious, he read classics of faith from Calvin, Luther and Jonathan Edwards. "It's one of the things that made his passing easier for us, knowing at some point in time we will see him in heaven," says his father, Ricky Crose.
A 1998 graduate of Orange Park High, Bradley Crose died March 4, 2002, on the same rescue mission as Marc Anderson.
Wilbert Davis
age 40, Army staff sergeant -- Tampa
Wilbert Davis had an arm. At age 12, the kid from the College Hill neighborhood in Tampa, pitched for his Belmont Heights Little League in the Little League World Series in 1975. Later, he graduated from Tampa Bay Tech and then worked at Tampa Electric Co. He joined the Army in 1985 and served in Germany, Korea, Bosnia, Kosovo and Kuwait. He was killed on April 3, 2003, when the Humvee he was driving flipped and landed in a canal.
In August 2003, Davis was inducted into the Little League Hall of Excellence.
Jason Dwelley
age 31, Navy petty officer second class -- Apopka
Just a few credits from earning his associate's degree from Valencia Community College, Jason Dwelley had recently re-enlisted in the Naval Reserves to help pay for a bachelor's degree in civil engineering at the University of Central Florida. The Apopka native had been in Iraq less than a week when he was killed April 30, 2004, by insurgents firing rocket-propelled grenades at his convoy.
The only boy of the six Dwelley children, Jason was soft-spoken "and incredibly sweet to everyone," says one of his sisters, Dara Delaney.
Dwelley had served in the Navy for 10 years, the last four as a reservist. He was a member of the Jacksonville-based Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 14, part of the famous "Fighting Seabees."
In addition to his five sisters, he is survived by his mother and father, Quennell and John Dwelley.
Jeremy Ricardo Ewing
age 22, Army private first class -- Miami
Jeremy Ricardo Ewing joined the Army a few months after graduating from Miami Central Senior High. He wanted to go to college, but his family said they couldn't afford it, according to local media accounts. He was jubilant when his time in Iraq was nearly up, but his stay was extended. He was killed in the same April 29, 2004, suicide bomb attack as Floridian Justin Schmidt. Ewing is survived by his parents, Hilda and Arthur Ewing of Miami.
David K. Fribley
age 26, Marine lance corporal -- Fort Myers
Buff, health conscious and handsome, David K. Fribley was the inspiration of Shell Point Retirement Community in Fort Myers. As activity manager, he had a reputation for getting the seniors outside -- kayaking, hiking, anything. "He was a bundle of energy and always had a big, giant smile on his face," says co-worker Lynn Schneider. "The residents loved having someone around with that much energy."
The Indianan always wanted to be a Marine but took his dad's advice and finished college first. He earned a degree in recreation and sports management from Indiana State in 2001 and took the job at Shell Point, where he'd interned. He was happy there until 9/11. He felt an urgent calling to serve.
Fribley enlisted in April 2002. On March 23, 2003, he was shot by Iraqis pretending to surrender near Nasiriyah. Shell Point's seniors are still heartbroken. "It has been especially devastating to our many veterans," Schneider says. "Even though it's been a year, people talk about him all the time."
Armando Ariel Gonzalez
age 26, Marine corporal -- Hialeah
In 1994, at age 14, Armando Ariel Gonzalez left Cuba on a raft with his father. The Coast Guard intercepted him and took him to the U.S. base in Guantanamo, where he saw Marines and got an idea.
He learned English and eventually went to Miami Dade College. He joined the Marines in 2000 and made corporal. He got married. He was killed in Iraq on April 14, 2003, when a truck he was working on collapsed. He was awarded U.S. citizenship posthumously. A few months later, his wife, Liudmila, gave birth to their first child, a daughter.
"It has been very, very difficult. Both me and his parents are devastated but try to stay strong," Liudmila says. The city of Hialeah, their home, and Marines in Beaufort, S.C., where he was stationed, set up a trust fund for the baby.
Jonathan N. Hartman
age 27, Army sergeant -- Orange Park
Jonathan Hartman was born in Portsmouth, Va., and moved to Orange Park, near Jacksonville, in 1996 when his mother, Judy Hartman, went to work for the Jacksonville Naval Air Depot. He enlisted in the Army in October 1999 and was assigned as a tank crew member with the 2nd Battalion, 37th Armored Regiment, 1st Armored Division based in Friedburg, Germany.
He specifically wanted to serve in Iraq and had been there for a year. "He saw that as his mission," says family friend Mike Weinstein.
Hartman died April 17, 2004, near Diwaniyah, Iraq, when his convoy was ambushed.
A memorial fund has been set up to honor Hartman, an avid reader. The fund is being administered by the non-profit organization Take Stock in Children.
Raymond E. Jones Jr.
age 31, Army staff sergeant -- Gainesville
Raymond Jones was an animal lover, raising and showing miniature horses as a teenager and dreaming of becoming a veterinarian one day. His father, Raymond Edison Jones Sr., says he was surprised when, in 1991, his eldest son told him he was leaving the University of Florida to join the Army. "But I always backed him on what his vision was," his father said. "He was good-hearted and wanted to put his heart into everything he did."
That included the Army. Jones thrived in the military. He also fell in love with a German woman named Katia who lived in the town where his battalion was based. The two had been married five years when Jones was killed April 9, 2004, in Bayji, Iraq. A rocket-propelled grenade struck him while on patrol. In addition to Katia and his father, Jones is survived by his mother, Olga Marta Chavez-Smith of Costa Rica, three younger brothers and a daughter from a previous marriage.
Tracy L. Laramore
age 30, Army specialist -- Okaloosa County
Tracy Laramore enlisted in the Army at age 24 and earned the nickname "Pop" among his Army buddies, says his mother, Faye West. He re-enlisted so that he could serve in Iraq.
At home, Laramore focused on creative pursuits. "He was a talented artist," says his mother, adding that he also wrote poems. Earlier this year, Laramore became engaged and planned to marry in July.
He died in Baji, north of Tikrit, Iraq, on March 17, 2004, of injuries suffered when his Bradley fighting vehicle went over an embankment and overturned in the river.
He is survived by an 11-year-old daughter, Kayla, along with his mother and stepfather in Texas and his father in Crestview.
Michael Maltz
age 42, Air Force master sergeant -- St. Petersburg
Michael Maltz was the poster boy for the Air Force's elite para-rescue troops -- literally. A picture of him leaping out of a helicopter graced brochures and posters in recruiting offices around the nation. Maltz could "rescue anyone, from anywhere," says his mother, Patricia Iverson of St. Petersburg. Trained in air, ocean, ski and wilderness rescue, Maltz loved parachuting, scuba diving and other extreme sports so much that he often enjoyed them on vacation, too. "He thrived on excitement," his mother says.
Maltz and five other airmen were killed March 23, 2003, in a helicopter crash in southeastern Afghanistan. They were flying a humanitarian operation to help Afghan children in need of medical care.
In addition to his mother, Maltz is survived by his two sons, Kyle, now 17, and Cody, now 12, who live with his former wife in Seattle.
Curtis Mancini
age 43, Army sergeant first class -- Davie
"Curtis was not the kind of person who looked for a safe place to be," says John Mancini of his son. A Rhode Island native, the Davie police officer and Army Reservist went to Hungary in 2003 to train Iraqi immigrants as liberators, saw combat in Iraq and came home.
Worried an upcoming deployment of his unit to Iraq would mean missing his son's wedding, he volunteered for a nine-month Afghanistan assignment. Mancini died in an accidental weapons cache explosion on Jan. 29, 2004, leaving his parents, son and two teenage daughters. Davie police have a scholarship fund for the children.
Ian Manuel
age 23, Army chief warrant officer -- Jacksonville
Ian Manuel's letter arrived after the helicopter ambulance he co-piloted was shot down in Iraq on Jan. 8, 2004. "He talked about how much he was enjoying his job, how many people he had evacuated -- quite a bit of job satisfaction," says his father, Brice Manuel, a career Navy man.
Ian Manuel spent middle and high school in Clay County. "He was a gym rat," says David Mitchell, a P.E. instructor at Clay Senior, from which Manuel graduated in 1998. "He was a good student. A real joy to be around." Manuel made chief warrant officer at 19. He was engaged at the time of his death.
Keman L. Mitchell
age 24, Army sergeant -- Hilliard
Keman Mitchell's father says his son was a born leader. In high school, says Steven Mitchell, Keman Mitchell led a youth group at the Elm Street Church of God in Fernandina Beach. When Mitchell was made a sergeant, "he was really, really proud of that," his father says.
Born and raised in Fernandina, Mitchell joined the Army shortly after graduating from Fernandina Beach High. He was a six-year veteran, serving as a tank driver in Iraq when he died on May 26, 2003. Mitchell drowned in an aqueduct; fellow soldiers tried unsuccessfully to rescue him.
Mitchell was assigned to Company C, 4th Engineer Battalion, based in Fort Carson in Colorado Springs. He'd married a fellow Fort Carson soldier, Kenya Mitchell. In addition to his wife and his father, who lives in Yulee, Mitchell is survived by his mother, Marilyn Jordan of Hilliard.
Timothy Wayne Moehling
age 35, Army chief warrant officer -- Panama City
Tim Moehling flew kites on Panama City Beach as a child and learned to pilot a Cessna 172 as a teenager. His dad, Wayne Moehling, who taught him to fly, says the only solace in Moehling's death was that he died doing what he loved.
Moehling was killed in a Black Hawk helicopter crash in the Kuwait desert during a night training exercise on Feb. 25, 2003. The father of three was part of the Army's buildup in the Persian Gulf before the invasion of Iraq.
Moehling graduated from Mosley High in Panama City and earned a bachelor's in social science at Florida State University. Wayne Moehling, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who now flies commercial planes for Hilton Enterprises, says his son joined the Army soon after graduating college so he, too, could have a career in the skies. Moehling's other passions, says his father, were his church and his family.
In addition to his parents, Wayne and Nancy Moehling of Panama City, three sisters and a brother, Moehling is survived by his wife, Lisa, and their children, Alex, 5, Sarah, 3, and Noah, 1, all of Panama City.
Cody J. Orr
age 21, Army private first class -- Ruskin
Cody Orr of Ruskin was married only three weeks before he was shipped overseas last year. His wife, Jackie, was looking forward to the end of his yearlong tour of duty and his homecoming when he was killed Jan. 17, 2004.
A homemade bomb exploded under the armored vehicle in which Orr was traveling near Taji, Iraq, killing all seven soldiers aboard, including Sgt. Edmond Randle of Miami.
Orr graduated from East Bay High in Ruskin in 2001. He is remembered there as a mechanically minded guy who liked to work on his pickup truck. Indeed, when he joined the Army, he chose to drive a Bradley.
In addition to his wife, Orr is survived by his parents, Robert and Deborah Orr of Ruskin.
Pedro L. Pena-Suarez
age 34, Army specialist -- Miami
Pedro L. Pena-Suarez died in Kuwait on Nov. 7, 2002, after he was accidentally shot during a training mission. He had been in the Army since 1996, joining from Miami. Pena-Suarez was assigned to a tank unit in the 3rd Infantry Division based at Fort Stewart, Ga.
Michael B. Quinn
age 37, Army staff sergeant -- Tampa
When Michael Quinn was a boy living on a farm in Pennsylvania, his stepfather, Peter Folgner, bought him a kiddie motorcycle. "He was a hell-raiser, but in a good way," says Folgner. Quinn was good at raising sheep and Dobermans on the farm but decided to enlist in the Army after high school. He attended the University of South Florida for four years and later re-enlisted in the Army. His nickname in the Army was "by-the-book Bob," a testament to Folgner, a strict disciplinarian, who was born in Germany.
Quinn was killed in an ambush on May 27, 2003, at a checkpoint in Fallujah. "I am overwhelmed with what this kid accomplished, his dedication," says his mother, Sally Quinn Taylor.
Edmond Lee Randle Jr.
age 26, Army sergeant -- Miami
Edmond Lee Randle Jr. came into the world with a nickname -- "Dakie," provided by a toddler cousin -- and a passion for music. The Miami Central grad played the trumpet so well he earned a band scholarship to FAMU.
In 2000, Randle joined the Army, making sergeant in under three years. "Everybody I talked to, even the ones who called from Iraq, said ... he was the one they could depend on, the motivator," says his mother, Karla Randle-West. He planned to propose to his girlfriend on his birthday. A week before that birthday, on Jan. 17, 2004, he was killed by a roadside bomb.
John Travis Rivero
age 23, Florida Army National Guard corporal -- Tampa
Travis Rivero had a reputation for helping out -- whether his grandmother in Gainesville or his fellow soldiers in the Florida National Guard. "If there was something that needed to be done, he'd say 'let me do it' or 'send me,' " his platoon sergeant, Sam Laneave, said at his funeral.
Rivero grew up in Gainesville and graduated from Santa Fe Community College there. He'd just begun studying computer science and engineering at the University of South Florida in Tampa when his Guard unit was deployed. He was killed April 17, 2003, when the Humvee on which he was manning a machine gun crashed in western Iraq.
Survivors include Rivero's mother, Patricia Gardham, his older sister, Therese Strickland, and his grandmother, Nell McIntyre.
Robert D. Roberts
age 21, Army specialist -- Winter Park
A dedicated father, Bobby Roberts joined the Army so he could be sure to provide for his 3-year-old son. The toddler, Jacob, received two cards from his dad the day the family learned Roberts had been killed in Iraq.
Roberts grew up in Winter Park and played football for Seminole High in Sanford. He joined the Army after trying a couple of different jobs. He was killed on Nov. 22, 2003, in Baghdad when a tank collided with his Humvee.
In addition to his son, he is survived by his wife, Jill, and his brother, Marine Lance Cpl. Chris Roberts of Longwood, who'd just returned home from Iraq when Roberts was killed.
Justin Bryan Schmidt
age 23, Army specialist -- Bradenton
Justin Bryan Schmidt's father and grandfather were Air Force veterans. Schmidt chose the Army, enlisting after high school to carry on the tradition of service. He attended Bayshore and Manatee high schools. It was at Bayshore that he first took Junior ROTC. Schmidt "was a fine cadet," says Col. Larry Burnette, JROTC instructor at Bayshore.
Schmidt planned to marry his German fiancee, Stephanie Kohler, May 19 but put off the date when his unit's tour of duty was extended, according to press reports. He died April 29, 2004, in the suicide bombing that also killed Miami's Jeremy Ewing.
Wentz Jerome Henry Shanaberger III
age 33, Army staff sergeant -- Zephyrhills
There were two other Wentzes around when Wentz J.H. Shanaberger III was a little boy, so his mom called him Baron, and it stuck. While his family had a "definite 1960s bent," Baron followed in the footsteps of granddad Wentz Sr., who served in the Merchant Marine, and dad Wentz Jr., who fought in Vietnam. "He always knew he would join the military," says his mother, Cheryl Shanaberger. "It was the place where he felt he could excel and make a difference."
After excelling in ROTC at Zephyrhills High, Shanaberger had a highly decorated 14-year career in the Army, earning 20 medals, including the Bronze Star. He was awarded a Silver Star and Purple Heart posthumously after being killed in an insurgent attack in Iraq on March 24, 2004.
In addition to his mother and father, Shanaberger is survived by his wife, Corey, and their five children: Scott, 13, Jessie, 12, Audrey, 4, and 3-year-old twins, Jack and Grace. All live in Fort Pierce.
Charles M. Sims
age 18, Army private first class -- Miami
At Carol City High in Miami-Dade, Charles M. Sims made the honor roll, graduated in the top fifth of his class and commanded the JROTC cadets. Two months after graduation in 2002, he went into the Army.
"He just excelled at everything he did," says his mother, Andreta Hester. His favorite song was an oldie, Sam Cooke's "A Change is Going to Come." "I used to tell him you have an old soul," his mother says.
Sims died on Oct. 3, 2003, while swimming in a pool in Baghdad while on R&R.
Antonio J. Sledd
age 20, Marine corporal -- Tampa
Antonio "Tony" J. Sledd loved sports. He joined the Marines the year after graduating from Gaither High in Tampa in 2000. He liked it so much that he persuaded his twin brother to join the Marines too. Sledd's parents did not wish to be interviewed, but his mother, Norma Figueroa, in an e-mail to President Bush after her son was killed called Tony a "very outgoing and wonderful person."
Sledd was shot by terrorists on Oct. 8, 2002, as he set up bases for an improvised ballfield during a break from training in Kuwait. He was promoted posthumously to corporal.
Paul R. Smith
age 33, Army sergeant first class -- Tampa
Paul R. Smith learned woodworking in high school but didn't think the skill would pay off as a career when he graduated in 1989, so he joined the Army.
Smith, who grew up in Tampa's Palma Ceia neighborhood, "wanted to join," says his wife, Birgit Smith, whom he met while stationed in Germany in 1990. "Paul was a true American," she says.
After stints in the first Gulf War, Kosovo and Bosnia, Smith was sent to Iraq in 2003. On April 4, 2003, Smith was shot during combat against 100 Iraqi soldiers outside of Baghdad.
He killed between 30 and 50 Iraqis before he was killed and is the only soldier from this war to be nominated for the Medal of Honor. "For me it's sad that someone had to fight the way he did and die to get a medal. All the (soldiers) deserve to get a medal," Birgit Smith says.
Aaron A. Weaver
age 32, Army chief warrant officer -- Floral City
Citrus High grad Aaron A. Weaver won the Bronze Star as a Ranger in the "Black Hawk Down" fight in Somalia. He became a helicopter pilot, then discovered he had testicular cancer. Complications nearly killed him, but he recovered, married a Citrus County woman, Nancy, and had a daughter, Savannah, and stepson, Austin.
"He was a very happy guy," says his father, Michael Weaver.
Weaver sought and received a medical waiver to go with his unit to Fallujah on the condition that he go to Baghdad for occasional checkups to ensure he stayed in remission. He didn't mind; his brother, a Black Hawk pilot, was there. The helicopter, co-piloted by Floridian Ian Manuel, taking Weaver to his checkup was shot down on Jan. 8, 2004.
Jeffrey Mattison Wershow
age 22, Florida Army National Guard specialist -- Gainesville
Jeffrey Wershow was a student of the world. In high school, he read so voraciously about World War II and the Vietnam War that he knew more about them than his history teachers. As a 19-year-old at Fort Bragg, he subscribed to The Economist and read it cover to cover.
Wershow was intensely committed to "whatever he believed in or whatever he was passionate about," says his mother, Anne Marie Mattison. He aspired to politics like his father, Jon Wershow, a lawyer and former Alachua County commissioner. But he put off college to do his time as an enlisted man. "He thought that way, when he was in command of troops, they'd relate better to him because he'd been there," Mattison says. Wershow served in the Army for three years, then returned to his hometown of Gainesville and joined the National Guard. He'd been home six months when he was deployed.
Six months later, on July 6, 2003, Wershow was shot by an unidentified gunman while acting as a bodyguard for U.S. officials visiting Baghdad University.
Mason Whetstone
age 30, Army sergeant -- Jacksonville
Mason Whetstone, born at a Utah military base, joined the Army right out of high school in Alaska and served on a tank crew in Desert Storm. He left the Army in 1994, then rejoined in 1999 while living in Florida. He went to college and served as a police officer and in the Florida National Guard.
Whetstone was shot to death on July 17, 2003, in a non-combat incident in Baghdad, where he served as an air traffic controller. He had a wife and two daughters, for whom an Alaska credit union has set up a college fund. He dreamed of raising his family in Alaska.
"Mason will be remembered for his quick smile, his sense of humor, his mischievous spirit, his kind heart, his dedication to his family and his loyalty to his friends and his country," the family said in his obituary.
Robert Allen Wise
age 21, Florida Army National Guard specialist -- Tallahassee
Robert Allen Wise loved little kids. Many of the photos he sent home from Iraq were of him with his arms around Iraqi children. His older sister, Marie Hildinger, told the Associated Press that Wise "had a special affinity for children because he knew how to act like them. If there was a game in town, he wanted to be part of it."
Wise so wanted to join the military that he signed up while a student at Tallahassee's Godby High School. He was killed Nov. 12, 2003, in Baghdad when a bomb exploded near his Humvee. Two other soldiers from Wise's 3rd Battalion, 124th Infantry Regiment were wounded but made it back home to Florida.
In addition to his sister, Wise is survived by his mother, Tammy Wise of Tallahassee, and his father, David Wise of Key West.
Roy A. Wood
age 47, Florida Army National Guard sergeant -- Alva
Gov. Jeb Bush honored Dr. Roy Wood during Florida's State of the State address this year, telling the story of how the Fort Myers physician resigned his rank of major to become a medical sergeant so that he could work as a surgeon in Afghanistan. "He served proudly and courageously," the governor said, "saving the lives of both soldiers and civilians."
Wood, a Special Forces soldier and emergency room doctor at Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers, was deployed to Afghanistan in July 2003. He died in a vehicle crash there Jan. 9. He is survived by his wife, Hana, a 6-year-old son and a 3-year-old daughter.
Michael Woodliff
age 22, Army sergeant -- Punta Gorda
If Michael Woodliff knew you, he cared for you, says his brother Matthew. Growing up in Punta Gorda, he brought doughnuts to homeless people. One of four brothers, Woodliff had a flair for humor.
"He liked to get a rise out of you," Matthew says. He left after graduation in 2000 for the Army. "He was gung-ho big time, big time," Matthew says.
Michael Woodliff was killed by a guerrilla bomb on March 2, 2004. He had earned the rank of sergeant but had not received it when he was killed. It came posthumously. He was engaged to Crystal Steward.
Cynthia Barnett, Amy Welch Brill, Barbara Miracle and Mike Vogel contributed to this report.