US troops who have died while serving in Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa

US troops killed in Afghanistan and Africa

Air Force Tech. Sgt. Anthony C. Campbell Jr.

Anthony “Tony” Campbell loved life, his wife and his children, friends and family said — and even got to hear his 2-year-old son, Ryker, count to 10 during their last conversation.

Campbell was an Air Force reservist serving in Afghanistan, but he fulfilled a dream by becoming a police officer back home in Cincinnati in 2008.

“He just always had in his mind that he wanted to be a police officer,” said longtime friend Chris Webster.

Campbell, 35, of Florence, Ky., was killed by a roadside bomb Dec. 15 in Helmand province. He was assigned to Scott Air Force Base in Illinois. He went into active duty in the Air Force immediately after graduating from Boone County High School in 1992 and later became a reservist.

Webster told the crowd at Campbell’s funeral that the technical sergeant loved his wife, Emily, and was always telling his friends how proud he was of his children — Ryker, 7-year-old Jordan and his stepson, 11-year-old Devin Ruberg.

“I hadn’t seen him for a long time, but you could tell from his Facebook postings how he loved life and loved serving his country,” said Tracy Adkins, a former schoolmate who had recently reconnected with Campbell through the social networking Web site.

Army Staff Sgt. David H. Gutierrez

David Gutierrez tried to visit his wife, Patty, and three sons via Webcam daily while in Afghanistan.

The last time the family connected online was Christmas Eve. The next day, Patty Gutierrez and her sons were eating Christmas breakfast when she learned her husband had been killed. Two army chaplains knocked on her door.

“I woke up Christmas morning,” she said. “But when the knock came it wasn’t Christmas anymore.”

Gutierrez, 35, died Dec. 25 at Kandahar Air Field of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his patrol with a bomb in Howz-e Madad. He was assigned to Fort Lewis.

Gutierrez graduated from Santa Teresa High School in San Jose, Calif., and attended San Jose City College. He met his wife while working as a bouncer at a club in San Jose. He enlisted in 1998, two years after he married his wife.

Gutierrez served in Iraq in 2004 and 2005, and he was deployed to Afghanistan in July 2009.

“He had his life in the uniform,” Patty Gutierrez said. “But when he came home, he was the patient one, my go-to guy.”

Gutierrez is survived by his wife; and sons Gabriel, 4, Jeremiah, 6, and Andrew, 12.

Army Staff Sgt. Dennis J. Hansen

Dennis Hansen was determined to dunk a basketball when he was a boy, so he plotted the perfect strategy: Set up a ladder to slam that ball through the hoop.

He made the shot, but there was just one problem: He didn’t plan for what would happen after the dunk, so his landing was a bit rough, Pastor Barry Baughman recalled at Hansen’s funeral. But that desire to excel is something Hansen carried throughout life, Baughman said.

Hansen, 31, of Panama City, Fla., died Dec. 7 at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany of wounds sustained from a roadside bomb four days earlier in Logar province. He had served 8½ years in the Marine Corps before joining the Army and had previously served in Africa, Kosovo, Japan, Panama, Cuba and Iraq, as well as two tours in Afghanistan.

Hansen was assigned to Fort Drum and lived in Scottsville, N.Y., with his wife, Jennifer, and their infant son, Michael. Hansen had two other children who live in Texas: 10-year-old Alana and 7-year-old Gabriel.

His family said in his obituary that he enjoyed fishing, golfing, wrestling and woodworking, and noted he was an avoid Ohio State University football fan. He also loved animals, pumpkin pie and coffee, his family said.

“Michael says Hi Daddy!” his wife wrote on his MySpace page in July 2009. “… We think you’re the best and we cant (sic) wait to see your face again!”

Army Sgt. Brandon T. Islip

Sonja Islip said her husband, Brandon, has “always been a hero to me.”

“He’s willing to put his life on the line for this country and that’s all anybody really can ask for,” Sonja Islip said.

Brandon Islip, 23, of Richmond, Va., died Nov. 4 in Bala Murghab. He and another soldier were picking up supplies that had been dropped by aircraft. Military officials said he and the other soldier, Benjamin Sherman, tried to retrieve one that fell into a river and were swept away by the current.

The military did not announce his death until nearly a month later.

Islip graduated from Monacan High School and enlisted in the military in 2006. He was assigned to Fort Bragg.

“Sgt. Islip was a very focused individual when it came to work,” Sgt. 1st Class Joe Armenta, Islip’s platoon sergeant said in a statement.

“He was always focused on mission accomplishment, success of the platoon, and more importantly, the welfare of his soldiers.”

Islip and his wife had been married for only seven months, but Sonja Islip said she was just relieved to know what happened to her husband.

“I had my short time with him and he made me the happiest I’ve ever been,” she said.

Army Spc. Jason M. Johnston

While serving in an explorers program at the volunteer fire department in Albion, N.Y., Jason Johnston earned a reputation as hardworking and responsible.

That reputation followed him when he joined the Army in 2006.

“Johnston was the type of guy that did the job with little complaint, comment or fanfare — but always did the job well,” said the soldier’s commander, Capt. Adam Armstrong.

Johnston’s second deployment to Afghanistan was delayed, but the infantry paratrooper was eager to rejoin his unit.

“He fought to get over here with us this time just so he could fight for his country again and to be with his brother in arms,” friend and fellow soldier Spc. Joshua Leeson wrote from Afghanistan.

Johnston, 24, died Dec. 26 in Arghandab after his unit was bombed. He was assigned to Fort Bragg.

Johnston attended Albion High School but didn’t graduate. He earned his GED before joining the Army.

“Jason always wanted to be in the military,” his family said in a statement. “He said he felt a strong sense of duty to serve. He had been planning to apply to Syracuse University after his term in the Army.”

He leaves behind his parents, Bradley and Jeanine Johnston.

Marine Pfc. Serge Kropov

Serge Kropov’s friends said the Marine helicopter mechanic was a good-hearted, fun-loving guy who enjoyed basketball and trick bike riding.

“He was just a very kind, giving, friendly, loving person,” said Lindamay Rodnite, who said her sons attended school with Kropov. “He had a million friends.”

Indeed, a Facebook page dedicated to Kropov was filled with dozens of tributes to the fallen Marine.

Kropov, 21, of Hawley, Pa., died Dec. 20 in a non-hostile incident in Helmand province. He was assigned to Marine Corps Air Station in Miramar, Calif. He attended Wallenpaupack Area High School in Hemlock Farms, Pa. His obituary said he planned to be a career military man.

Kropov was a native of Moscow who later moved to the U.S. with his parents, Igor and Allison Alevtina Kropov. He is also survived by a sister, Anna.

Rodnite’s son Jonathan remembered seeing Kropov riding his mountain bike around the neighborhood because he didn’t have a car.

“He was a good friend from day one,” Jonathan Rodnite said. “Very outgoing, very social.”

The Marine wrote on a Web site profile that he also loved snowboarding, working out and the beach, and that he was “always looking and willing to learn and expand my experiences.”

Marine Cpl. Xhacob LaTorre

Xhacob LaTorre enjoyed making people happy.

“You could be sad. You could be crying, but he would look for the way to make you laugh,” said his mother, Nicole LaSalle.

The 21-year-old Marine corporal even joked around some in his hospital room after being severely wounded during combat in Helmand province, Afghanistan, last August.

LaTorre, who was assigned to Camp Lejeune, succumbed to his injuries Dec. 8. It was just four days before his 22nd birthday and one day after being awarded the Purple Heart.

The Waterbury, Conn., native joined the Marines three days after graduating from Crosby High School in 2005. He was deployed twice to Iraq before being sent to Afghanistan, where he sustained wounds so severe his legs had to be amputated.

LaTorre was married to his high school sweetheart, Frances LaTorre. They have a son, 1½-year-old Javier, whom family members say has a strong resemblance to his father.

“To me, it’s like he never left,” said LaTorre’s brother, Danny LaTorre, also a Marine corporal. “Seeing his son is seeing him grow up all over again.”

Army Sgt. Kenneth R. Nichols Jr.

Relatives of Kenneth R. Nichols Jr. said he was looking forward to coming home for Christmas and seeing his four children during a two-week break from the battlefield. It would have started in mid-December.

But the 28-year-old, who grew up in Chrisman, Ill., died Dec. 1 in Kunar province of wounds from an attack involving small arms and rocket-propelled grenades.

He had graduated in 2000 from Georgetown-Ridge Farm High School in Georgetown, Ill. He joined the Army five years later and was assigned to Fort Carson. He previously had served a tour in Iraq in 2006 and 2007.

“He always smiled,” said his wife, Lexi. “He loved life, he was happy, and he made everyone around him want to be a better person.”

He also loved riding his Harley-Davidson, playing pranks, woodworking and hanging out in a shed he built behind his Colorado Springs home.

While deployed, Nichols chatted on the computer with his wife for five or 10 minutes a day.

Survivors include his children — Brhyleigh, Kenneth III, Branden and an infant daughter, Pailynn — as well as two sisters, Lisa and Cindy.

Army Sgt. Elijah J. Rao

Elijah Rao, described by his grandmother as always “gentle, kind and loving,” carried a Bible with him everywhere he went.

“He had a heart of gold,” said grandmother Carrol Rao.

The 26-year-old Rao died Dec. 5 in Nuristan of wounds suffered when his unit was hit by a bomb. He was a meteorological equipment repairman assigned to Fort Carson.

Rao was born in Forest Grove, Ore., and graduated from West Linn High School in 2001. He listed nearby Lake Oswego, Ore., as his hometown.

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, he enlisted in the Army. Rao completed two Iraq tours, and deployed to Afghanistan in June.

“I know he was doing what he wanted to do,” said his mother, Sharon Hauerken. “He would turn around and go back to Afghanistan if he had to.”

Rao is survived by his wife, Leah Rao; 1-year-old daughter, Eliana; father, Franklin Rao; mother and stepfather, Sharon and Don Hauerken; brother, Gabriel Rao; and sister and brother-in-law, Cicily and Jeremiah Ulrich.

“I’m so grateful for our daughter,” Leah Rao said. “Elijah isn’t what you see here today. He’ll be there in heaven waiting for us. I’ll be with my husband again.”

Marine Lance Cpl. Omar G. Roebuck

Omar Roebuck, who grew up in a house with a single father, loved boxing, stunt bikes and his family, including a next door neighbor he called “Mom.”

“Omar was wonderful, funny, smart,” said neighbor Connie Tatum. “He always had a smile on his face. He loved my enchiladas. He was like another son to me.”

Tatum, who has three sons of her own with her husband, Pat, said she tried to discourage Roebuck from enlisting in 2008. But he told her, “‘Mom, the Marine Corps will give me an education and a better life.’ And he loved it.”

Roebuck, of Moreno Valley, Calif., died Dec. 22 in Helmand province. Roebuck’s father said the 23-year-old Marine, a diesel mechanic, was crushed while working on a new assault tank.

“This is so hard,” said John Roebuck, 54. “The only way to look at it is that God wanted Omar in his presence.”

Omar Roebuck enlisted in November 2008 and was promoted to lance corporal on June 2. He was assigned to Camp Lejeune.

“My son continues to shine even in death,” John Roebuck said. “I don’t have the words to say how proud I am of him.”

Roebuck is survived by his father and sister, Eboni, 27.

Army Staff Sgt. Ronald J. Spino

Ronald Spino was a hardworking but shy man who “blossomed” when he joined the military at age 30, his mother said.

“It was his true love,” Rita Spino said.

For a time he worked in the records room of Waterbury Hospital, where co-workers said he went out of his way to help others. The same held true in the military.

“For those who knew and worked with him, we will remember him as a dedicated non-commissioned officer,” said Col. Scott Putzier, one of Spino’s superiors. “He was quiet, so when he spoke, everyone listened and were often caught off guard by his sense of humor … he was really funny.”

Spino, 45, of Fayetteville, N.C., died Dec. 29 in Bala Morghab when he was shot while unloading supplies. He was assigned to nearby Fort Bragg and lived in his birthplace of Waterbury, Conn., before joining the military.

The combat nurse graduated from Holy Cross High School and Teikyo Post University, now known as Post University.

He joined the Army in 1993 at age 29, becoming a medic. He later trained as a nurse and then became a paratrooper, and was sometimes called upon to parachute into war-ravaged areas to treat wounded soldiers, his mother said.

Spino is survived by his wife, Betty, whom he met while he was in the military; a stepdaughter, Kandice, 24; his mother and father; two brothers; and a sister.

Marine Lance Cpl. Jonathan A. Taylor

Jonathan Taylor started talking about joining the Marine Corps when he was just 11.

At 13, he wasn’t quite old enough — so he joined the Naval Sea Cadets Corps. He was highly motivated, said Lt. Cmdr. June Tillett, who mentored Taylor in the program.

“I’ve gone through thousands of cadets, and he was in my top five,” she said. “I feel like I’ve lost a son.”

Taylor, 22, of Jacksonville, Fla., was killed Dec. 1 in Helmand province. He was assigned to Camp Lejeune. He graduated from Wolfson High School and attended The Citadel, a military college in South Carolina, before enlisting after a year there.

Taylor loved the Florida Gators and enjoyed politics and history, according to an obituary posted online. He last spoke to his family the day before Thanksgiving to get an update on his favorite team and chat with his three sisters.

“He brought so much light to the family,” said sister MacKenzie, 15. “If you saw him, you’d smile.”

Friends and family said Taylor excelled in Junior ROTC activities as a youngster and knew what it meant to serve.

“Jonathan was one of those idealists,” said James Miller, Taylor’s high school history teacher. “He understood why we started this country. He got the sacrifices behind this country.”

Army Sgt. Albert D. Ware

Albert D. Ware was no stranger to war. As a scrawny 12-year-old, he came to the United States to escape violence in Liberia, which is why his father, Thomas, got upset when he joined the Army in 2006.

He had played sports — soccer, football and wrestling — as an honors student at Corliss High School near Chicago, and the military made him even more athletic and disciplined.

In time, his family grew proud.

“He was a respectable man,” said his stepmother, Anna. “He didn’t throw a mean word to anyone. He did something with himself.”

The 27-year-old died Dec. 18 in the Arghandab River Valley of wounds from an explosive during his second tour in Afghanistan. He was assigned to Fort Bragg.

He had attended Chicago State University and Kennedy-King College before joining the Army. A colleague, Sgt. Scott Wolfe, said Ware always put fellow soldiers first and worked extra night and weekend hours to make sure they were well equipped for missions.

At home, he enjoyed cooking fufu and other West African dishes.

He and his wife, Plichette, have three children, all younger than 6: T’John, Heaven and Musu. Ware is also survived by his mother and a sister, Ciatta.