Christopher Willoughby was raised in Ontario, Calif., and joined the Army in 1991. He served for more than eight years in the 75th Ranger Regiment based in Fort Lewis, Wash. After leaving the Army in 2000, he joined the Georgia Army National Guard.
Willoughby lived in Phenix City, Ala. with his wife and children. He completed his bachelor’s degree in business from Auburn University in 2002 while a member of the Georgia Guard.
Willoughby was killed July 20, 2003 in Baghdad, Iraq. He was 29. He is buried in Parkhill Cemetery in Columbus, Ga.

Foster Pinkston of Warrenton, Ga. died in Eisenhower Army Medical Center in Augusta, Ga., after a brief illness. Pinkston was assigned to the Army National Guard's 878th Engineer Battalion, Augusta, Georgia. He died on September 16, 2003 at the age of 47 and is buried in Stamp Branch Cemetery in Warrenton, Ga.

Dennis Boles was a Florida Army National Guard Soldier assigned to Company C, 171st Aviation Regiment, based in Marietta, Ga.
After graduating from Crystal River High School in 1978, Boles enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and served for eight years. He rejoined the military in 2003. Boles was a drummer in the Mid Life Crisis Band which played southern rock music.
Boles died at Camp Arifjahn, Kuwait October 24, 2004. He was 46.

Charles Gillican of Brunswick, Ga. served in the Gulf War while in the U.S. Army, and had returned to serve his country as a National Guardsman. In his civilian life Gillican was an agent and then a sales manager for Delta Life Insurance Company. Gillican died at Camp Arifjahn, Kuwait May 14, 2005. The 35-year-old Soldier left behind a wife and three daughters. He is buried at Brunswick Memorial Park in Brunswick, Ga.

Chad Michael Mercer of Waycross enlisted in the Ga. ARNG in March 1998 and received a scholarship to Georgia Military College, graduating in 2000. Mercer was killed in action June 30, 2005 while conducting combat operations in Baghdad. He was 24 and left behind a wife and three children. He is buried in Kettle Creek Cemetery, in Waycross, Ga.

A devoted father of two, Jacques Earl Brunson requested coloring books, crayons and toys for the Iraqi children he would see while on combat patrols while deployed with the 48th Brigade. Brunson was killed in action at the age of 30 on July 24, 2005 while conducting combat operations in Baghdad. He is buried in Ebony Memorial Gardens in Albany, Ga.

Carl Ray Fuller, a 44-year-old resident of Covington, Ga. was employed as a warehouse supervisor when the 48th Brigade was mobilized in 2005. He had previously served in Iraq in 2003 and had been employed as a DeKalb County police officer for MARTA. Fuller was killed in action July 24, 2005 while conducting combat operations in Baghdad. He left behind a wife and four children. He is buried in Hillandale Memorial Gardens in Lithonia, Ga.

Born in Fort Myers, Fla., James Kinlow grew up in Lincolnton, Ga. He graduated from Lincoln County High School in 1988 and married his high school sweetheart. Kinlow was employed as a truck driver when the 48th Brigade was mobilized in 2005. He was a member of First Baptist Church in Lincolnton, Ga., and a member of Pleasant Hill Masonic Lodge #6. The sixteen-year veteran of the Georgia Army National Guard was killed in action July 24, 2005 while conducting combat operations in Baghdad. A 35-year-old resident of Thomson, Ga., Kinlow left behind a wife and two children. He is buried in Savannah Memorial Gardens in Thomson, Ga.

John Frank Thomas of Valdosta, Ga. served in the Persian Gulf War as a United States Marine. Married, the infantryman aspired to become a forest ranger. His best friend, and fellow Marine Corps veteran Spc. Ronnie Shelley served in the same battalion as Thomas. They were killed within one week of each other. Thomas was killed in action July 24, 2005 while conducting combat operations in Baghdad. The 33-year-old Soldier is buried in Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, Fla.