Faces of the Fallen
PFC Erin L. McLyman of Federal Way, WA died March 13, 2010 in Balad, Iraq of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked her base with mortar fire. She was a Private First-Class assigned to the 296th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Joint Base Lews-McChord, WA.
Erin's husband, Brian Williams said "She wanted to go fight for her country." She did whatever was asked of her and always gave 110 percent. Her family said she died doing what she loved.
She is survived by husband Brian Williams, father Robert McLyman, mother Flora Neustrel and two sisters, Mischa of Seattle and Nancy of Portland.
SGT Eduviges G. Wolf, 24, of Hawthorne, CA, died October 24, 2009 in Kunar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attached her vehicle with a rocket propelled grenade. She was assigned to the 704th Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, CO.
Wolf, the youngest of four sisters aspired to join the military as a child. She was a trained automated logistical specialist and was very excited to be promoted to sergeant.
The military reported that Wolf was a recipient of the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with Campaign Star, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and Army service Ribbon.
She is survived by husband Josh who was serving in another unit in Afghanistan at the time of her death. They have two young daughters, Valerie, 1 and Isabel, 3.
Chief Warrant Officer Billie Jean Grinder an Army National Guard pilot of Gallatin, TN was killed February 21, 2010 in a helicopter crash while serving in Iraq.
Billie Jean grew up in Smyrna, TN. She enlisted in the Tennessee Army National Guard when she was a senior at Smyrna High School in 2002. She was a member of Troop C 1/230th Air Cavalry, based in Louisville, TN.
Grinder deployed to Iraq for her first tour in June 2009 and was scheduled to return home two weeks after the accident.
When family and friends were interviewed they said "She was the kind of person everyone looked up to and wanted to be like."
She is survived by her husband Sam who was also serving in Iraq, and ten year old twin stepdaughters.
SPC Lakeshia M. Bailey of Columbus, GA died March 8, 2010 as a result of injuries sustained in a non-combat related vehicle rollover. She was serving in Iraq just north of AL, Kut at the time of the accident.
SPC Bailey was a transport operator and was assigned to the 203rd Brigade Support Battalion, attached to the 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, GA.
SPC Baliey entered the Army in February 2006 and arrived for duty at Fort Benning in June 2006. She has received several medals including Army Achievement Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Medal, Army Service Ribbon and Army Good Conduct Medal.
She is survived by her husband Harrison Bateman, and her parents Tony and Phyllis Bailey.
SSG Amy C. Tirador, 29, of Albany, NY, died November 4, 2009 in Kirkush, Iraq of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. She was assigned to the 209th Military Intelligence Company, 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, WA.
Amy was born in Albany, NY in 1980 and attended Syracuse University where she was a member of the marching band. She joined the Army Reserves in 1999 and enlisted into active duty in 2001 as an Army combat medic. Her first assignment was in Germany with the 1st Infantry Division. In 2003 she was in Turkey in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 2004 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II, as a corporal, she was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for actions as a medic during combat. In 2005 she decided to re-class from combat medic to an Arabic linguist as well as a human intelligence collector, assigned to 3rd BDE, 2nd INF. DIV.
She is survived by husband SFC Michael Tirador and her parents and extended family.
PFC Adriana Alvarez, 20, of San Benito, TX, died February 10, 2010 in Baghdad, of injuries sustained while supporting combat operations.
Adriana joined the army in August 2008 with the intent of pursuing a career in criminal justice. She attended one-station unit training at Fort Leonard Wood, MO., for military occupational specialty 31B (military police). On January 29, 2009, she reported to the 42nd Military Police Battalion at what was then Fort Lewis, WA. - now Joint Base Lewis-McCord - where she was assigned to the 571st Military Police Company.
She deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in August 2009. This was Adriana's first deployment.
In her short military career she was decorated with the National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon and Overseas Service Ribbon.
She is survived by her mother and three sisters who will always remember how proud she was to serve her country.
SSG Tara J. Smith, 33, from Nashville, NC, died August 8, 2009 in Bagram, Afghanistan from a non-combat related incident that occurred August 4 at Camp Phoenix, Afghanistan. She was assigned to the 50th Signal Battalion, 35th Signal Brigade, XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, NC. Tara was born in Spring Lake, NC and joined the military in February 1997. She deployed to Afghanistan in January and also served assignments in Arifjan, Kuwait, Camp Casey, South Korea and Fort Huachuca, AZ. She is survived by her husband, Deron Smith and children, eight year old David, and six year old Jordon.
Pfc. Jessica Y. Sarandrea, 22, from Miami, Fla., died March 3, 2009 in Mosul, Iraq of wounds suffered when enemy mortar rounds struck her base as she was walking to her office. She was a supply specialist assigned to the 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Tex. She enlisted shortly after graduating from high school and had recently reenlisted to be with her husband, whom she’d met during a prior deployment to Kuwait. She is survived by her husband, father and other family members.
Sgt. Simone A. Robinson, 21, from Dixmor, Ill., died at Brooke Army Medical Center, on March 1, 2009 from wounds received on Jan. 17 when an improvised explosive device detonated near her security post at Camp Eggers in Kabul, Afghanistan. Four others were wounded in the attack. Sgt. Robinson was assigned to the 634th Brigade Support Battalion of the Illinois Army National Guard, Crestwood, Ill. She joined the Guard during her senior year in high school. She was assigned in an immaterial National Guard military occupational specialty. She is survived by her two year old daughter, parents and other relatives.
Specialist Cwislyn K. Walter, 19, from Honolulu, Hawaii, died Feb. 19, 2009 of injuries received in a vehicle accident in Kuwait City. She was assigned to headquarters and headquarters company, 29th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, a Hawaii National Guard unit. She had trained as a signal support systems and human resources specialist. In October Walter, originally from Chuuk in Micronesia, became a U.S. citizen. She is survived by her parents, three brothers and two sisters.
Paula Loyd, 36, from San Antonio, Tex., died Jan. 7, 2009 at Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, Tex., from burns received Nov. 4, 2008 in Maywand, near Kandahar, Afghanistan. She was doused with gasoline and set afire by an Afghan man as she walked in a village market. Ms. Loyd, a civilian contractor, was a member of the human terrain team. She was a graduate of Wellesley College and held a masters’ degree from Georgetown University. She served on active duty in the Army as a truck driver, and was a staff sergeant in the Army Reserves. Ms. Loyd is survived by her fiancé, parents, step-parents, brothers and sisters.
Pfc. Moneeka Mayo Vandergeld, 29, from Wyoming, Mich. died Dec. 14th, 2008 after collapsing while on a road march. An autopsy showed that she had a punctured lung that may have caused her death. She served in the Army Reserve before re-enlisting for active duty. She is survived by her husband and two children.
Pfc. Cori Feltner, 22, from Loxahatchee, Fla. died Oct. 25th, 2008 from unknown causes. She had just completed basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. and was preparing for service in Korea.
In addition to the casualties from Afghanistan and Iraq, several active duty women have lost their lives. Two basic training privates, Dominique Gibson-Brooks, 19, from Houston Tex. and Andreas Rosser, 21, from Raleigh, N.C., died Sept. 25th, 2008, and Oct. 25th, 2008, respectively; each from apparent natural causes.
Sgt. Kendale B. Carney, 28, from Hamlet, N.C., was found dead at her mother’s home on Aug. 16th, 2008. Carney was on leave from her unit in Iraq, where she was on her second deployment. Her death was ascribed to natural causes.
Pvt. Janelle F. King, 23, from Merced, Calif., died in Baghdad, Iraq on Aug. 14, 2008 from injuries suffered in a non-combat incident. She enlisted in 2007, and was a health care specialist with the 115th Combat Support Hospital, Fort Polk, La. She was assigned to a detainee center near the Baghdad airport. Both of her parents served in the Air Force, and she grew up at various Air Force bases. She is survived by her mother, father, stepbrother, stepsister and stepmother. She was buried at Fort Sill, Okla. with military honors.
Pfc. Jennifer L. Cole, 34, from American Canyon, Calif., died in Bayji, Iraq on Aug. 2, 2008 in a non-combat incident. Pfc. Cole joined the Army in 2007 and was assigned to the 426th Support Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division as a truck driver. Prior to enlisting she worked in her mother’s flower shop in Vallejo, Calif. In addition to her mother she is survived by two brothers and other family members.
