Hero Stories for California

Born: July 28, 1985 Died: April 9, 2005 in Landstuhl, Germany Spc. Casey M. LaWare of Redding, California continued a long line of military service in his family and had slept with his grandfather’s World War II wool blanket. Casey had the values of a young man from decades past as though he was born 60 [.

Born: Febraury 3, 1987 in Beatrice, Nebraska Died: January 28, 2008, Iraq Spc. Brandon A. Meyer of Orange, California grew up in St. Louis, Missouri and graduating in 2005 from Canyon High School in Texas. He also studied biology at Concordia University in Irvine before joining the Army in January 2007. Brandon was a Christian. He [.

Staff Sgt. David H. Gutierrez, 35, of San Francisco, California, died December 25, 2009, at Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his dismounted patrol with an improvised explosive device in Howz-e Madad. Staff Sgt. Gutierrez was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Washington. </d

Lance Cpl. Omar G. Roebuck, 23, of Moreno Valley, California, died December 22, 2009, as a result of a non-hostile incident in Helmand province, Afghanistan. Lance Cpl. Roebuck was assigned to 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. </d

Lance Cpl. Justin J. Swanson, 21, of Anaheim, California, died November 10, 2009, while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. Lance Cpl. Swanson was assigned to 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, California. </d

Sgt. 1st Class David E. Metzger, 32, of San Diego, California, died October 26, 2009, of wounds suffered when the MH-47 helicopter he was aboard crashed in Darreh-ye Bum, Afghanistan. Sgt. 1st Class Metzger was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, North Carolina. </d

Spc. Kyle A. Coumas, 22, of Lockeford, California, died October 21, 2009, in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. Spc. Coumas was assigned to 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Washington. </d

Spc. Michael A. Dahl, Jr., 23, of Moreno Valley, California, died October 17, 2009, in Argahndab, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. Spc. Dahl was assigned to 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Washington. </d

Spc. Jesus O. Flores, Jr., 28, of La Mirada, California, died October 15, 2009, in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. Spc. Flores was assigned to the 569th Mobility Augmentation Company, 4th Engineer Battalion, Fort Carson, Colorado. </d

Lance Cpl. Alfonso Ochoa, Jr., 20, of Armona, California, died October 10, 2009, while supporting combat operations in Farah province, Afghanistan. Lance Cpl. Ochoa was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. </d