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Army Sgt. Fernando De La Rosa
Fernando De La Rosa viewed his military work as a personal cause, a matter of protecting those he loved.
"He told me he was the only one who could defend his friends and family, and that is why he kept joining," said his mother, Rosa De La Rosa.
The 24-year-old from Alamo, Texas, was killed Oct. 27 by an explosive in Arghandab Valley. He was assigned to Fort Lewis, Washington.
He enlisted in the Army after graduating high school. He had deployed twice to Iraq.
His mother said he planned to retire after spending a decade in the military.
Marine Cpl. Gregory Fleury
Gregory Fleury was playing in his high school orchestra and involved in the Navy JROTC when he decided - with his family's support - to join the Marine Corps.
Earlier this year, the 23-year-old Fleury was considering a career in computers after he left the military when he learned he would be deployed - for the third time. He accepted, and again he had his family's support.
Gregory Fleury, of Anchorage, Alaska, died in Helmand province in an Oct. 26 helicopter crash.
He completed two Iraq tours as a gunner and mechanic aboard combat helicopters, his family said.
Army Spc. Jesus Flores
Jesus Flores was "Flo," "Jun-jun" and "Lil Boi" to his many friends.
As a youth, "Jun-jun" was kind and liked to play video games, said Phil Rivera, who wrote on a Los Angeles Times Web page dedicated to the 28-year-old Flores.
Oct. 15, Flores was one of four soldiers killed in Kandahar when their vehicle was attacked with an improvised explosive device. All were based at Fort Carson, Colorado.
Flores joined the Army in December 2003. He received the National Defense Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with Campaign Star, the Iraq Campaign Medal with Campaign Star, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon.
"Specialist Jesus Flores will be forever remembered for his courage and strength while protecting our country's freedom," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a statement.
He also will be remembered as a high schooler who could break dance, wrote friend Melgaspher Rozul.
"I'll miss you, homie," Rozul said. "... Watch over us."
Army Spc. Joseph Gallegos
As a boy, Joseph Gallegos once found a hawk with a broken wing, nursed it back to health, and let it go.
While working for the U.S. Forest Service in 2007, Gallegos came across a burning truck, saw a man inside and pulled him to safety. Gallegos - the lifesaver - took jobs as a firefighter, an ambulance driver and a policeman. He served four years in the active Army. Later, he joined the New Mexico National Guard.
"He was always taking different jobs, but they always put him in the service of others," said the guardsman's brother Donald Gallegos. While serving in Tallil, Iraq, Gallegos, 39, died Oct. 28 of a heart attack. He was a vehicle mechanic with the 720th Transportation Company out of Las Vegas, N.M.
Gallegos roomed with his cousin Jamie Archuleta at New Mexico Highlands University in the mid-1990s.
"He was very smart, one of the most intelligent guys I ever knew. He was also a caring guy, he cared about most everyone," Archuleta said.
Army Sgt. Justin Gallegos
Before he died, Justin Gallegos spent most of the time that he wasn't deployed with his 5-year-old son.
When a service was held for Gallegos, 27, the boy, McAidan, sat graveside and was given a folded U.S. flag.
Gallegos died of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked a contingency outpost in Kamdesh. He and eight other soldiers killed in Oct. 3 attacks were assigned to Fort Carson, Colorado.
Gallegos received a Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, and a number of other honors.
He grew up in Tucson, Ariz.
Army Staff Sgt. Luis Gonzalez
Luis Gonzalez had a commanding presence that seemed to make him a good fit for the Army.
"When he walked in the room, he walked heavy, he spoke loud, and he was always noticed," said his mother, Bienvenida Gonzalez.
The 27-year-old Queens, N.Y., native had dreamed for years of joining the Army and enlisted eight years ago after graduating from high school. He earned more than 23 medals, including the Bronze Star.
Gonzalez served twice in Iraq before being deployed to Afghanistan in July. During his second Iraq tour, he provided security for high-level diplomats, military leaders and reporters.
Gonzalez died Oct. 27 when the vehicle he was riding in was bombed in Arghandab Valley. He was assigned to Fort Lewis, Washington.
Army Spc. Anthony Green
Anthony "Gabe" Green died wearing his wedding band, the symbol of his devotion to his wife, Lindsay.
Soldiers aren't allowed to wear jewelry in combat. But Green had it tattooed on his finger the day before he left for Afghanistan.
Green, 28, of Yorktown, Texas, was killed by a roadside bomb Oct. 16 in Wardak province. He was assigned to Austin, Texas.
His family wrote in his obituary that Green loved working with the people of Afghanistan. One of his proudest accomplishments was teaching villagers to irrigate from a windmill they erected, tripling their yield.
Army Spc. Christopher Griffin
As a youngster, Christopher Griffin was a cheesehead, a proud one. He grew up in Michigan, in a town called Kincheloe, but his heart was across Lake Michigan with the Green Bay Packers.
Griffin's aunt, Nikcole Johnson, said he wasn't interested in college or the prison jobs in his hometown but was proud of his Army life.
The 24-year-old known sometimes as "Griff" was one of eight soldiers who died Oct.3 in Kamdesh when their outpost came under fire. He was based at Fort Carson, Colorado, and previously served in Iraq, his aunt said.
Army Sgt. Dale Griffin
Dale Griffin was known for his strength and athleticism from the time he was a teenager. In 1999, he was runner-up in his weight class at the Indiana high school wrestling championships. The next year he won his weight class in the All-Academy Wrestling championship while competing for the Virginia Military Institute. And recently, he swept a mixed martial arts competition against colleagues at Fort Lewis, Wash., where he was assigned.
The 29-year-old from Terre Haute, Ind., was killed Oct. 27 by an explosive in Arghandab Valley.
His parents said he always tried to improve himself and help others. He was becoming fluent in Arabic and had asked them to send crayons and paper for him to give to the Afghan children.
He planned to leave the Army and pursue a master's degree and a law degree.
Army Pfc. Kimble Han
Kimble Han enlisted in the Army in 2008, fulfilling his hope of a life he could be proud of.
"It gave him purpose and meaning in life," said his older brother Jerod Han.
Han, 30, of Lehi, Utah, and another soldier were killed Oct. 23 when their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. Both were based at Fort Carson, Colorado.
Han's mother, Lisa Barnes, said her son, a combat engineer, was transferred to Afghanistan after starting a tour of duty in Iraq. Barnes said her son was big and strong and a patriot.
The last time she talked to him, though, she said she sensed fear. Han told her the Taliban's improvised explosive devices had become more difficult to detect.
"I'd never heard that from my son before, but yes, I could tell," she said. "He was so scared."
Han is survived by his wife, Melissa, and three stepchildren.
Army Sgt. Joshua Hardt
Joshua Hardt called the small town of Applegate, Calif., home. And when he got to visit, he loved being with his wife, Olivia; playing with his niece, and fishing in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
Hardt's mother, Shelley Bell, said her son pursued a military career to provide for his wife and serve his country.
"He was a very giving son," Bell said. "He went into the Army wanting to make a difference."
Hardt, 24, joined the Army in 2006. He died in Kamdesh of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked a contingency outpost. He was assigned to Fort Carson, Colo.
He received military honors that include a Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart, National Defense Service Medal and NATO Medal.
Some 350 people attended his service in Auburn, Calif., where he was remembered as an outdoorsman, a smiling and rambunctious 6-year-old, a high school linebacker and a loving husband.
Army Spc. Russell Hercules
Russell Hercules couldn't be home when his son was born. But he heard the baby's first whimpers by phone - he in Afghanistan, his family at the hospital.
When the soldier came home on leave, though, he didn't talk about Afghanistan, said his mother, Cheryl Tipton. He spent time with his family, and held the baby as much as he could.
Hercules, 22, of Murfreesboro, Tenn., died Oct. 1 during combat in Wardak province. He was assigned to Fort Campbell, Tennessee.
He first became interested in enlisting in the military when he did a report on the Iraq war in high school.
Army Sgt. Josue Hernandez-Chavez
On his MySpace page, Josue Hernandez-Chavez wrote that "November is going to be a great month." He was "stoked."
He was 23. A Las Vegas native and a veteran combat soldier, he had been on six deployments since enlisting in February 2005.
Hernandez-Chavez died Oct. 26 of wounds suffered when the MH-47 helicopter he was on crashed in Darreh-ye Bum. He was assigned to Hunter Army Airfield. The Pentagon said he was a flight engineer.
Army Maj. Tad Hervas
The last e-mail Tad Hervas sent his family was optimistic. He'd spent two weeks on leave in September, fly fishing with one of his four brothers and was returning to Iraq.
"Everything's looking good," he wrote. "Hope to talk to you soon."
Hervas, 48, from Coon Rapids, Minn., died days later, on Oct. 6 in Basra. He was found with a gunshot to the head in a noncombat incident under investigation. The Minnesota National Guardsman also had deployed to Iraq in 2004 and earned a Bronze Star.
The high school football player joined the Air Force ROTC at the University of Minnesota-Duluth and graduated in 1984.
He helped refuel planes in the first Gulf War, left the Air Force in 1991 and worked as a furnace installer before 9-11 spurred him to rejoin the military, his father said.
Army Pfc. Lukas Hopper
Lukas Hopper's mother says his family expected him home for the holidays, and they were especially excited because the 20-year-old was away for Thanksgiving and Christmas last year.
Hopper joined the Army in January 2008 - just months after starting classes at Merced Junior College in California.
On Oct. 30, when he died, he was near completing a yearlong deployment to Iraq. He was killed southeast of Karadah in a vehicle roll-over, military officials said. He was assigned to Fort Bragg.
Robin Hopper said her son probably began thinking about joining the military when he was in eighth grade. That was the school year he went on a field trip to the Pentagon and the site of the World Trade Center, just months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
