Operation Iraqi Freedom

23, of Colorado Springs, Colo., died on 7 August 2010 in Baghdad of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked her unit.

Hinkley was assigned to 502nd Military Intelligence Battalion, 201st Battlefield Surveillance Brigade.

Hinkley enlisted Aug. 27, 2007, and reported to Fort Jackson, S.C., for basic training and to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., for advanced training in her specialty, human intelligence collector.

She was a native of Monte Vista, in south-central Colorado, and attended school in Colorado Springs after graduating from high school in 2006.

 26, of Federal Way, Wash., died 13 March 2010; assigned to the 296th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.; died March 13 in Balad, Iraq, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked her base with mortar fire. 

McLyman’s husband, Brian Williams, tucked a folded U.S. flag under his arm and followed the soldiers who carried his wife’s casket out of the Eugene Faith Center.

Williams stopped to watch an ivory-colored hearse led by police officers and Patriot Guard Riders transport the casket down Polk Street. He watched until every motorcycle was out of sight, then murmured, “That’s so awesome.”

Her deployment to Iraq in August was her first.

 23, of Columbus, Ga.; 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.; died March 8 north of Al Kut, Iraq, of injuries sustained during a vehicle rollover. Also killed was Sgt. Aaron M. Arthur. 

 Bailey’s love for the military grew while traveling around the world with her parents while her father was in the service. She enlisted in February 2006.

The woman known for flashing a white, wide smile was described as a little sister by her comrades.

“She had a way of lighting up a room when she walked in,” said Sgt. Brett Quinn. “It didn’t matter if everyone was in a bad mood or not, when Bailey walked in she was going to talk to everyone and she was going to make you talk to her.”

Bailey is survived by her husband, Harrison Bateman, parents and numerous other relatives.

 25, of Gallatin, Tenn.; assigned to the 1st Squadron, 230th Cavalry Regiment, Tennessee National Guard, Louisville, Tenn.; died February 10, 2010 in Qayyarah, Iraq, of wounds sustained when her OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter had a hard landing. Also killed was Capt. Marcus R. Alford.  

Grinder is the first female casualty of the Tennessee Army National Guard, officials with the Department of Defense confirmed.

Grinder’s sister, Melissa Smith, said the 25-year-old chief warrant officer was deployed to Iraq for her first tour in June 2009. She was scheduled to come home within two weeks, Smith said.

“She was looking forward to helping me plan my wedding. We were going shopping for dresses in two weeks,” said Smith, who lives in Browerville, Minn.

Smith, 27, also served in the Tennessee Army National Guard along with her father, Billy Davenport, and brother-in-law Sam Grinder, Billie Jean’s husband.

  29, of Albany, N.Y.; assigned to the 209th Military Intelligence Company, 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died Nov. 4 in FOB Caldwell, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat-related incident.  

SSG Tirador played lacrosse in high school

The Associated Press

Amy Tirador had many interests and was passionate about them all.

She was an accomplished trumpeter who played “Taps” at funerals of relatives who served in World War II. She was a lacrosse player who helped start the girls’ lacrosse program during her junior year of high school. And she was an Army medic credited with saving the life of a soldier during a convoy attack in Iraq.

“She was incredibly dedicated, and leaving work unfinished didn’t seem to be part of her genetic makeup,” Aimee Ruscio, a soldier who served with Tirador in Iraq, wrote in an Internet posting.

Tirador, 29, of Albany, N.Y., died Nov. 4 in Kirkush, Iraq. The Army is investigating her death, which it says was a noncombat incident. Her family has said Tirador was shot in the back of the head, and that it was not an accident or a suicide.

The 1998 graduate of South Colonie Central High School was an Arabic-speaking interrogator and interpreter. Tirador was assigned to Fort Lewis.

Survivors include her husband, Mickey Tirador, and her parents, Colleen Murphy and Gerard Seyboth.

“She loved her country, cherished her family, was devoted to and loved her husband dearly,” cousin Cheryl Seyboth Shepard wrote in an online message board.

 22, of Miami, Fla.; assigned to the 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died March 3 in Mosul, Iraq, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked her forward operating base with mortar fire. 

Husband recalls soldier killed in mortar attack

Spc. Jessica Y. Sarandrea and her husband met in Kuwait during a prior deployment. Alejandro “Alex” Sarandrea told the young woman she looked familiar.

She said she didn’t recognize him. But when the two met again, “We started talking. It turned out we were both from Miami, from almost the same region,” Sarandrea said.

“We ended up getting married out there,” he said.

Sarandrea, 22, of Miami, died March 3 in Mosul of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked her forward operating base with mortar fire. She was assigned to Fort Hood.

Sarandrea, who graduated from Coral Gables High School, was stationed in Mosul, where she worked as a supply specialist performing logistical support for her battalion, said her husband.

She was walking from her office, perhaps to get her gear, when she was hit by shrapnel from incoming mortar, her husband said.

The shrapnel pierced her liver and severed one of her main arteries, said Sarandrea.

“I know what a wonderful person she was,” Sarandrea said. “I will always carry her memory in my heart.”