Clash Between Militants and Yemen Troops Kills 3

Published November 03, 2010

| Associated Press

SAN'A, Yemen -- A Yemeni security official says militants have attacked a military checkpoint in the country's south. He says the ensuing firefight killed one of the attackers and two soldiers.
The official says the assault took place on Wednesday in the town of Jaar in the southern Abyan province.

The official blamed the attack on Al Qaeda militants. He says clashes are continuing between militants and security forces in the area and that he expects casualties.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to the media.
Yemen's weak central government is struggling with a growing threat from Al Qaeda, which has stepped up attacks in the impoverished and largely lawless country.

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U.S. Gay Troops Try to Re-Enlist

SAN DIEGO -- At least three U.S. service members discharged for being gay have begun the process to re-enlist after the Pentagon directed the military to accept openly gay recruits for the first time in the country's history.

The top-level guidance issued to recruiting commands Tuesday marked a significant change in an institution long resistant and sometimes hostile to gays.

"Gay people have been fighting for equality in the military since the 1960s," said Aaron Belkin, executive director of the Palm Center, a think tank on gays and the military at the University of California Santa Barbara. "It took a lot to get to this day."

The movement to overturn the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy -- which obligates gay service members not to reveal their orientation -- gained speed when President Barack Obama campaigned on its repeal. The effort stalled in Congress this fall and found new life last month when a federal judge in California declared it unconstitutional.

The recruiting announcement came even as the Justice Department battles in the courts to slow the movement to abolish the 1993 Clinton-era policy.

U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips rejected the government's latest effort Tuesday to halt her order telling the military to stop enforcing the law. Government lawyers have said they will appeal.

The Defense Department has said it would comply with Phillips' order and had frozen any discharge cases. Pentagon spokeswoman Cynthia Smith said Tuesday recruiters had been given top-level guidance to accept applicants who say they are gay.

AP interviews found some recruiters following the order and others saying they had not heard of the announcement.

Recruiters also have been told to inform potential recruits that the moratorium on enforcement of the policy could be reversed at any time, if the ruling is appealed or the court grants a stay, she said.

Gay rights groups were continuing to tell service members to avoid revealing that they are gay, fearing they could find themselves in trouble should the law be reinstated.

"What people aren't really getting is that the discretion and caution that gay troops are showing now is exactly the same standard of conduct that they will adhere to when the ban is lifted permanently," Belkin said. "Yes, a few will try to become celebrities."

An Air Force officer and co-founder of a gay service member support group called OutServe said financial considerations are playing a big role in gay service members staying quiet.

"The military has financially trapped us," he said, noting that he could owe the military about $200,000 if he were to be dismissed.

The officer, who asked not to be identified for fear of being discharged, said he's hearing increasingly about heterosexual service members approaching gay colleagues and telling them they can come out now.

He also said more gay service members are coming out to their peers who are friends, while keeping it secret from leadership. He said he has come out to two peers in the last few days.

An opponent of the judge's ruling said confusion that has come up is exactly what Pentagon officials feared, and shows the need for the judge to immediately freeze her order while the government appeals.

"Judge Phillips' refusal to grant an emergency stay is an incredible display of contempt for the constitution and our nation's military leaders who say overturning this law will be enormously disruptive for the men and women who defend our country," said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, a conservative advocacy group based in Washington that supports the policy.

The law's uncertain status has caused much confusion within an institution that has historically discriminated against gays.

Before the 1993 law, the military banned gays entirely and declared them incompatible with military service. There have been instances in which gays have served, with the knowledge of their colleagues.

Twenty-nine nations, including Israel, Canada, Germany and Sweden, allow openly gay troops, according to the Log Cabin Republicans, a gay rights group and plaintiff in the lawsuit before Phillips.

The Pentagon guidance to recruiters comes after Dan Woods, the group's attorney, sent a letter last week warning the Justice Department that Army recruiters who turned away Omar Lopez in Austin, Texas, may have caused the government to violate Phillips' injunction. Woods wrote that the government could be subject to a citation for contempt.

The White House has insisted its actions in court do not diminish Obama's efforts to repeal the ban.

In their stay request, government lawyers argue Phillips' order would be disruptive to troops serving at a time of war. They say the military needs time to prepare new regulations and train and educate service members about the change.

Phillips has said her order does not prohibit the Pentagon from implementing those measures.

The judge also said safeguarding constitutional rights outweighed the government's unproven concerns of the order's impact on military readiness and unit cohesion.

"Defendants merely conclude, without explanation, that 'confusion and uncertainty' will result if the injunction remains in place," she said in her ruling Tuesday. "Thus, defendants have failed to establish they are likely to suffer irreparable injury if a stay is not granted."

Her decision will likely send the case to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

Douglas Smith, spokesman for U.S. Army Recruiting Command based at Fort Knox, Ky., said even before the ruling recruiters did not ask applicants about their sexual orientation. The difference now is that recruiters will process those who say they are gay.

"U.S. Army Recruiting Command is going to follow the law, whatever the law is," Smith said.

The message, however, had not reached some recruiting stations.

In Pensacola, Fla., Marine Sgt. Timothy Chandler said he had been given no direction. "As far as we are concerned everything is the same. The policy hasn't changed," he said, as others in the office nodded.

Chandler said no one had come to the small office questioning the policy or asking about being openly gay and serving.

Recruiters at the Navy office next door referred all media questions to the Pentagon. Air Force recruiters said they were not authorized to talk to the media. Army recruiters referred questions to another office in Mobile, Ala.

In New York's Times Square, Dan Choi, a 29-year-old Iraq War veteran who was discharged for being gay, began the process to enlist in the Army.

In San Diego, Will Rodriguez, a former Marine who was discharged under the policy in 2008, gave his contact information to recruiters. He said they told him there were currently no slots for Marines who had served and want to re-enlist.

He said they told him they would call him in January when more slots could open.

Randy Miller, 24, of Stockton, California, was honorably discharged from the Army under "don't ask, don't tell" in 2006. He said he was turned away from the local Army recruiting station Tuesday by two staff sergeants who said they had not heard about the Pentagon guidance.

Miller then went to the Navy recruiter's office next door and was allowed to start the process of joining.

Several service members discharged under the policy told The Associated Press they plan to try to rejoin this week.

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US soldier charged with killing troops in Iraq

BAGHDAD –  An American soldier was charged Wednesday with killing two fellow U.S. troops and wounding a third after an argument last month in a former Iraqi insurgent stronghold turned deadly.

Army Spc. Neftaly Platero was charged with two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder in a Sept. 23 shooting in Fallujah, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of Baghdad.

A statement issued late Wednesday by the U.S. military in Baghdad described the killings as premeditated but offered no other details.

Earlier, a U.S. military spokesman said Platero was accused of shooting the three soldiers after a verbal altercation. The spokesman, Col. Barry Johnson, did not know what the argument was about.

Pfc. Gebrah Noonan, 26, of Watertown, Connecticut, and Spc. John Carrillo Jr., 20, of Stockton, California, died the day after the shooting. The name of the wounded soldier has not been released, and the statement Wednesday said the criminal investigation of the incident is ongoing.

Platero, 32, from Houston, Texas, is being held in pretrial confinement in Kuwait. He will be tried by a military court.

He was assigned to Camp Ramadi, in western Iraq, with the Army's 3rd Infantry Division based out of Fort Stewart, Georgia.

Meanwhile, four gunmen stormed the home of a policeman in northern Iraq, killing him and four members of his family. An Iraqi police official said three women were among the dead.

The late Wednesday raid occurred in the northern city of Mosul, located about 225 miles (360 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad.

Mosul is no longer considered an al-Qaida stronghold as violence around Iraq has ebbed. But police and other security officials remain prime targets for insurgents.

An official at Mosul Medical Hospital confirmed the death toll in the raid. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not allowed to talk to the media.

Also, a local official in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk was killed, after being shot three times in the head as he was leaving his home on Wednesday night. City police Col. Ghazi Mohammed did not immediately know why Ahmed Faraj Samad, mayor of the city's al-Khadhra neighborhood, was targeted.

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Associated Press Writer Lara Jakes in Baghdad contributed to this report.

(This version CORRECTS spelling of family name of 2nd killed soldier to Carrillo.)

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US troops killed in Iraq and Kuwait

Army Sgt. John F. Burner III

John Burner III would go jogging with a military recruiter in high school, and that's where he solidified his plan for life.

"It was a pretty good plan," his father, John Burner Jr., told the Catonsville (Md.) Times.

The younger Burner became a satellite communication specialist and was no stranger to overseas deployments. He had served in Germany, Bosnia and Iraq, Burner Jr. said. Germany, though, is where he fell in love.

Burner and his wife, Verena, had two daughters, 10-year-old Celina and 6-year-old Caitlyn.

Burner, 32, of Baltimore, Md., died Sept. 16 in Iskandariya, Iraq, of an illness. The Army is investigating his death. He was assigned to Fort Gordon and enlisted in the military in 1996 after graduating from Catonsville High School.

Adam Burner said his older brother always took care of his family, even as a youngster.

"He was the oldest brother and he always stood up and stood first to take care of his brothers and family," Adam Burner said.

The soldier also was fondly remembered by his fellow soldiers.

"I can hear him now asking me how I am doing and just checking in, offering his help in whatever mess I was getting into," Tina McKenney-Smith of Hephzibah, Ga., wrote in an online memorial.

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Army Spc. John Carrillo Jr.

John Carrillo's mother said he was a smart, avid reader who grew up fast as he entered fatherhood at 16.

As a student at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, Calif., he met an Army recruiter who pushed the 20-year-old to fulfill a lifelong goal of serving in the military.

"He thought this was going to help his family a little faster. It was a way to support his wife and his child," his mother, Desiree Carrillo, told the Stockton Record. "I was very proud of him when he decided to go into the military."

John Carrillo, of Stockton, died Sept. 24 in Fallujah, Iraq, after being injured a day earlier in a non-combat related incident.

He is survived by his children and wife, Reylene; his mother and father, John Sr.; and three younger siblings.

"He was always there for his family. He was a good son, a good father, a good brother and a good husband. I will never get to see that again. He was a good friend to many people," his mother said.

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Air Force Senior Airman James A. Hansen

James "Jimmy" Hansen was quiet, well-behaved and kind, the type of student who always gave his full effort and befriended other children who were ignored, according to a former teacher.

"You could tell he genuinely meant it when he said he was glad to see you," Judi Henckel told the Battle Creek Enquirer.

Hansen, 25, of Athens, Mich., died Sept. 15 of wounds suffered during a controlled detonation at Joint Base Balad, Iraq. He joined the Air Force in 2008 and was assigned to Eglin Air Force Base.

He graduated in 2003 from Athens High School, where he played golf, and had attended Kellogg Community College and Central Michigan University, where he was a member of the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity.

In online memorials, those who knew him referred to "Jimmy" as a "faithful friend" who loved to have fun and had "a heart of gold." A former co-worker, Crystal Thomas, wrote that Hansen was hardworking and that he could be shy at first but was honest with those he knew well.

He also liked to run and play the drums.

Survivors include his parents, Emily and Richard; brother, also named Richard; and fiancee, Megan Bottomlee.

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Army Sgt. Ryan Hopkins

Some of Ryan Hopkins' favorite ways to pass the time were skateboarding, golfing and snowboarding.

Born in Livermore, Calif., Hopkins graduated from Livermore High School. He had an outgoing personality, lots of friends and a love for life, according to an obituary published in the Contra Costa Times.

Hopkins "was sure to be found in a crowd," his family said.

Hopkins, 21, died Jan. 8 after a routine surgery at Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, his family said. He was being treated for injuries from an October 2008 motor pool accident in Baghdad. The Department of Defense did not include Hopkins in its count of Iraq war casualties until September.

He had been assigned to Fort Carson in 2008. At the time of his death, he was assigned to Fort Sam Houston.

His wife, Kitty Hopkins, whom he met in the military, said his injuries included second- and third-degree burns from the waist up. He had been expected to survive, she said.

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Army Sgt. Philip C. Jenkins

The photos displayed at a memorial for Philip Jenkins showed the moments when he was all about the ladies in his life — his wife, Melissa, and two daughters, Lindly and Piper.

In one, he dipped his wife as they danced, according to the Journal-Gazette in Fort Wayne, Ind. In other pictures, he cradled an infant and held the hand of a child during a walk near the ocean.

The family lives in Hawaii, where Jenkins was assigned to Schofield Barracks.

The 26-year-old native of Decatur, Ind., and another soldier died Sept. 7 in Balad, Iraq, after being shot by a man wearing an Iraqi army uniform in Salah ad-Din province. The incident was under investigation.

Maj. Gen. Kurt Stein, who spoke at the memorial, called Jenkins "a soldier's soldier," the newspaper said.

Jenkins joined the Army after graduating from Bellmont High School in 2002 and was on his second tour of duty, having previously served in Afghanistan, according to the military.

He also had worked as a recruiter in Indianapolis from August 2006 to October 2008, the newspaper reported.

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Army Pvt. James F. McClamrock

James McClamrock loved his wife, Shannah — so much so that he refused to show her picture to his Army buddies.

He didn't want other men thinking about his wife, his father, Mark McClamrock, said at the soldier's memorial service. And James McClamrock was looking forward to starting a family with the woman he married in 2008.

"He was so jealous about Shannah," Mark McClamrock said.

The 22-year-old soldier from Huntersville, N.C., was shot and killed by a man in an Iraqi army uniform Sept. 7 in Balad. Another soldier also died in the attack. He graduated from South Iredell High School.

He was such a dedicated soldier, his mother said, he made sure to maintain his physical edge even while on leave. He would awaken before dawn and go for a 10-mile run wearing a 60-pound backpack, said his mother, Susan McClamrock.

Before joining the military, McClamrock worked as a security screener in Charlotte, N.C., for the Transportation Security Administration.

"He's always had an interest in it as long as I've known him. But he'd been praying about it and he was like, 'I really feel like this is what God wants me to do,'" Shannah McClamrock told The Associated Press in September. "Who was I to stop that?"

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Army Pfc. Gebrah P. Noonan

Gebrah Noonan loved to read, loved his country and loved to make people laugh.

He was such a comedian, his high school class voted him class clown. And it wasn't just silly humor, it was sophisticated, friends say.

"He had a quick wit. It all comes from his intelligence," said longtime friend Patrick Jacques Jr.

But Noonan was serious about his country — so much so that the Watertown, Conn., native joined the U.S. Army and was serving in Iraq.

He died Sept. 24 from a gunshot wound in Fallujah. An investigation is focused on a fellow soldier. He was assigned to Fort Stewart.

Noonan, 26, was a 2002 graduate of Watertown High School. He attended Manhattanville College and Fordham University before joining the Army.

He leaves behind his parents, Ling and William, two brothers and a sister.

Friends, such as Chris Lafferty, are trying to focus on his life rather than his death.

"He wasn't just funny, he wasn't just smart, he was very giving, and in his 26 years he gave a lot," Lafferty said. "And in the end, he gave everything."

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Army Spc. Marc C. Whisenant

Marc Whisenant liked to drive. When he was in uniform, he drove tanks and Humvees. Back home, his father said, he cruised around in his 2007 Chevy Cobalt SS.

Jerry Whisenant told The Daytona Beach News-Journal that his son had just spent $800 to put top-of-the-line tires on the car.

Friends and family said Marc Whisenant was a dutiful soldier who had learned that sense of duty as a Boy Scout.

"He was quiet, but he was determined, and if we had his determination today, we'd all be closer to perfection," said Roger Tiffany, who had been Whisenant's Boy Scout leader.

Whisenant, 23, of Holly Hill, Fla., was killed Sept. 24 in a vehicle rollover. He was based out of Miami. Whisenant graduated in 2005 from Spruce Creek High School, where he had been a member of the school's junior ROTC program all four years.

Tiffany recalled the young man's patience as a young scout, including the time Whisenant broke his arm during an activity. He didn't gripe once, sitting quietly and calmly in the hospital waiting room.

"Marc will get along fine in eternity because he was (fine with waiting) in an emergency room," Tiffany said.

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US troops killed in Afghanistan and Africa, 2nd Add, US

Army Staff Sgt. Joshua D. Powell

Joshua Powell was the type of guy who'd talk to anybody, nearly anytime, but didn't need to be the star of the show, according to former classmates.

"He definitely wasn't the publicity type," high school friend Jamie Kleimenhagen told the State Journal-Register in Illinois. "Taking care of his own people — that was a huge priority to him."

Powell, 25, of Pleasant Plains, Ill., died in a helicopter crash Sept. 21 during combat operations in Zabul province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to Fort Campbell and previously served in Afghanistan and in Iraq, where he was a helicopter crew chief in a medical evacuation unit, the newspaper reported.

He joined the Illinois Army National Guard in 2003, the same year he graduated from Pleasant Plains High School, where he played varsity soccer for four years.

"You could go to him in a time of joy and he would be there for you," former teammate Bobby Johnson told the Journal-Register. "You could go to him in a time of sorrow and he would be there. He would talk to you in any situation."

Powell, an avid hunter, also liked to collect guns and was a motorcyclist.

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Marine Lance Cpl. Cody A. Roberts

Cody Roberts' family remembers the 22-year-old Marine as a "true hero" who committed his life to serving his faith, family and country.

"Cody embodied the true spirit of the Marine Corps, believing entirely in his God, Family, and Country. The three values he lived for, he ultimately died for," his family said in a statement released through the Idaho National Guard.

Roberts died Aug. 31 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, the military said. He was from Boise, Idaho, and assigned to Camp Lejeune.

He is survived by his wife and a child.

Roberts, who enlisted in the U.S. Marines four years ago, was on his first deployment to Afghanistan when he was killed, a military spokesman told the Idaho Statesman Journal.

"He made the ultimate sacrifice on the streets of a city in Afghanistan so his son would never have to be afraid for his life or ours," Roberts' family said.

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Marine Lance Cpl. Anthony J. Rosa

Anthony Rosa, a lance corporal in the Marines, recently asked his mom to send care packages to him in Afghanistan. He wanted to give them to soldiers who had never received anything from their families.

Such kindness is what made Rosa, nicknamed Chuckie, so popular among friends and neighbors in Swanton, Vt., where he grew up.

"He was a perfectly mannered gentleman," said Bill Rowell, a close friend of Rosa's family. "He wasn't perfect," Rowell added, "but he came closer to it than most."

Rosa, 20, also was known as an excellent golfer, an avid fisherman and a good student.

He joined the Marines a few months after graduating from Missisquoi Valley Union High School in 2008. He was serving in Afghanistan's Helmand province when he was killed Sept. 23 while on patrol. He was assigned to Camp Lejeune.

"It's a real big loss for the community," said Chris Ste. Marie, owner of Ste. Marie's Deli & Quick Stop, where Rosa worked in high school. "Chuckie was the type of kid that ... would have done something with his life, he would have done well for himself."

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Senior Airman Daniel R. Sanchez

Friends say Daniel Sanchez was a green-eyed, walking ball of energy who had a knack for persuasion, a passion for skateboarding and playing sports, and a creative streak that showed in his music and sketches.

His mother urged mourners at his memorial to live as Sanchez had, according to the El Paso Times in Texas.

"It's not easy because he took it one day at a time," Yvette Sierra Duchene said. "Get up, go to work, put a smile on your face and enjoy every second of your life."

Sanchez, 23, of El Paso, Texas, died Sept. 16 after a firefight in Oruzgan province, Afghanistan, during his first deployment. He had planned to become an instructor and make a career in the military.

Relatives wrote in his obituary that Sanchez was "always on the go, making things happen" and that one of his favorite quotes was a Theodore Roosevelt line about a man pursuing a worthy cause and being daring.

He graduated from Montwood High School in 2005 and fulfilled his dreams of flying and scuba diving as part of a Special Tactics Squadron at Hurlburt Field in Florida, where he was assigned.

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Army Spc. Deangelo B. Snow

Before he deployed to Afghanistan, Deangelo Snow used his talents as an artist to design a special reminder of him for his mother, Deloris.

He drew two hands pushed together in prayer, with a dog tag necklace bearing his name dangling from the fingers, and she had it made into a tattoo on her leg, according to The Saginaw News in Michigan.

Snow, a 22-year-old native of Saginaw, Mich., died Sept. 17 Kandahar province after his vehicle was attacked with a rocket propelled grenade. He joined the military after graduating in 2008 from Buena Vista High School, and he was assigned to Fort Campbell.

"He was very well-known, very polite people person," an aunt, Charlene McCall, said. "He was loving, funny, loved to dance."

People writing remembrances in an online memorial described him as an outgoing and creative man who was loved like a brother by some of his closest friends.

Snow's death came nearly a year after his father died after a robbery gone awry in Saginaw.

The soldier's survivors include his mother and stepfather; seven brothers; seven sisters; and his fiancee, Shanlece Scarborough.

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Army Pfc. Clinton E. Springer II

Clint Springer made friends easily — and he had hundreds. Perhaps it was the way he treated people that made him so popular.

"He could make anybody smile on the worst of days," one friend, Terean O'Reilly, told the Boston Globe. "If you were having a bad day, he would just walk in the room and you would instantly smile. He just had that presence."

Springer, of Sanford, Maine, graduated from Contoocook Valley Regional High School in Peterborough, N.H., in 2007. He joined the Army about two years later and was assigned to Fort Drum. He wanted his family and friends to be proud of him.

In January, he went on his first deployment, to Kabul, Afghanistan. He died there Sept. 24. The Army says his death was not combat-related, and an investigation is under way.

Springer was to return home later his year, and friends say he was looking forward to starting a life with his girlfriend, Kalie Masse.

"He was just an all-around great guy. I know everybody says that about someone after they die, but with him it was true," O'Reilly said.

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Navy Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class James M. Swink II

James Swink, a Navy hospital corpsman, knew early in life that he liked to help people.

At 13, he volunteered with Project R.I.D.E, a Northern California group that provides horseback lessons for children with autism and other special needs.

Too young at first to do more than cleans stalls, he continued to volunteer with the organization until he could begin working hands-on with the new riders, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"He was obviously drawn to help others, as he was one of very few volunteers who came here in their teens, as those years are a time when they are more into themselves than others around them," Tina Calanchini of Project R.I.D.E. told the Times.

Swink, of Yucca Valley, Calif., was killed Aug. 27 in a vehicle accident in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was 20 and based at Camp Lejeune.

He enlisted after graduating from Yucca Valley High School in 2007.

He was the youngest in a family of veterans, with his father and grandfather having served in the Navy; his brothers Brian Mullins and John Swink serving in the Marine Corps; and his sister Melissa Strickland in the Air Force.

"Mike became a corpsman because he loves people and he loves to care for people," his father said.

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Marine Lance Cpl. Joshua T. Twigg

Josh Twigg was an athlete who liked hunting and fishing and tinkering with electronics. He especially enjoyed hanging out with family and friends, making sure they were having fun.

"He was a young man who enjoyed life," said Bill Packer, Twigg's high school football coach. "He always had a lot of friends around him."

Twigg, of Indiana, Pa., always put others first, said his longtime girlfriend, Christina Young.

"He was the most selfless person I know. He was just worried about everyone else," she said.

Twigg was a 2007 graduate of Penns Manor High School, where he played offensive and defensive tackle for the Comets football team. He was an honors student his senior year.

Twigg joined the Marines shortly after high school and served in Iraq from September 2008 to April 2009. He went to Afghanistan in July.

Twigg, 21, died in combat Sept. 2 in Helmand province. He was assigned to Camp Lejeune.

"Josh was proud to serve his country as a Marine, having served previously in Iraq two years ago, and volunteering to be deployed to Afghanistan," his family said in a statement.

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Army Pfc. Barbara Vieyra

Barbara Vieyra joined the Army because she wanted a job that would make her daughter proud, her sister said.

She had grown up in Mesa, Ariz., where her father worked at the C-Bar dairy farm. In 2008, two years after graduating high school, Vieyra enlisted in the Army and her parents cared for her young daughter, Evelyn.

"She always said, 'I'll be able to come back and it won't be like I've missed her whole life. I'll just have missed a part of her life but I'll be able to give her a better life,'" her sister, Guadalupe, told the Arizona Republic.

Barbara Vieyra, 22, died Sept. 18. She was mortally wounded in an attack in Kunar province, Afghanistan. She was assigned to Fort Hood.

"They're just a very close family," Barbara Feenstra, of C-Bar dairy, said of Vieyra, her parents and two siblings. "And now she's not here anymore."

Barbara Vieyra was born in 1988 to Raul and Elizabeth Vieyra, who emigrated from Mexico several years earlier. She has been described as someone who always looked for the best in people.

On her Facebook profile, she listed competitive swimming and dancing as two of her interests.

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Army Chief Warrant Officer Matthew G. Wagstaff

With a smile on his face, Matthew Wagstaff's college roommate remembers when the burly, future chief warrant officer once showed off his moves during Madonna's "Vogue."

Greg Butler said that after a couple of beers, the 6-foot-4 Wagstaff did his best impression of the pop star as the song played at a Utah State University dance.

Years later, the memory still draws laughter from Wagstaff's friends.

"Beneath a tough exterior, he had a gentle and kind heart," longtime friend Pat Hoggan said.

Wagstaff, 34, of Orem, Utah, died Sept. 21 in a helicopter crash that also killed four other members of the 101st Airborne Division, based at Fort Campbell.

He was a graduate of Orem High School and Utah State University, where he earned a degree in Aerospace Technologies.

His father said his passions included football and flying, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.

"He played football with everything he had," Ron Wagstaff said. "And he was one of those rare people who has a dream as a child and then makes it come true. He became a pilot."

Matthew Wagstaff leaves behind his wife, Tiffany, whom he married in January.

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Army 1st Lt. Todd W. Weaver

Todd Weaver's idea of a romantic gift wasn't jewelry. When his wife, Emma, celebrated her 21st birthday, he skipped the glittery stuff and took her skydiving.

"My husband was an amazing person who left this world too soon," Emma said while eulogizing her husband. The couple's daughter, Kiley, was born just nine months before Weaver left for his second deployment to Afghanistan.

He couldn't see his daughter every day, but the Internet made it possible: His family sent video of the little girl walking around more than he'd ever seen.

Weaver, 26, of Hampton, Va., was killed Sept. 9 in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He was assigned to Fort Campbell. Weaver had attended the College of William and Mary, where he was a member of the ROTC. He had served in the National Guard, doing a tour in Iraq, before enrolling at the college.

Todd and Emma Weaver both attended Bruton High School in Virginia, but Emma told The Washington Post that she didn't fall for the baseball and football star — who was always "the most popular guy" — right away.

Right before he left for Iraq, though, they were at a party together. It was raining. He ran outside in his socks, despite the rain, and gave her a kiss. When he came back, they were together every day.

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Army 1st Lt. Eric Yates

Eric Yates was a quiet soldier who took a no-frills approach to his job and let his work do the talking.

"He looked at it as just doing his job," said Michael Leasor, who graduated from Kentucky's John Hardin High School with Yates in 2003.

Former school principal Brent Holsclaw said Yates didn't talk much but was a good student who did all that was expected of him.

Yates, 26, of Rineyville, Ky., died Sept. 18 in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He was assigned to Fort Campbell.

Yates graduated from Western Kentucky University in 2008 with a degree in social studies and history. He was in the school's ROTC program.

Jessica Forrest, a social studies teacher at Hardin High School, said Yates "was a real sensible and likable young man" who couldn't wait to one day begin a career as a teacher.

Lt. Col. Jason Caldwell, who leads the ROTC program at WKU, said he always heard only good things about Yates.

"He was kind of a quiet, soft-spoken young man, but always got the job done, was always true to his word," Caldwell said.

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