NEED to KNOW!!!! These Heroes!!!

[center:1pftbrpm]Fransisco A Martinez-Flores [/center:1pftbrpm]
[center:1pftbrpm] [/center:1pftbrpm]
[center:1pftbrpm]Los Angeles, California
March 25, 2003
Age - 21 Military - Marines Rank - Pfc Unit/Location - 1st Tank Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center
Twenty-nine Palms, California

Killed during convoy operations when his tank plunged off a cliff into the Euphrates River.[/center:1pftbrpm]

AP News:Francisco A. Martinez Flores moved to California from Mexico at age 3 and joined the Marines so he could go to college. Martinez of Los Angeles, and based at Twentynine Palms, died March 25 when his tank went over a bridge and tumbled into the Euphrates River. He was granted U.S. citizenship after he died.

Read more at: http://www.sgvtribune.com/soldiers/ci_5426139

[center:1onu69bn]The Right Honourable
Sir Winston Churchill
KG OM CH TD PC DL FRS [/center:1onu69bn]
[center:1onu69bn] [/center:1onu69bn]
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, PC, DL, FRS, Hon. RA (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice (1940–45 and 1951–55). A noted statesman and orator, Churchill was also an officer in the British Army, a historian, a writer, and an artist. He is the only British prime minister to have received the Nobel Prize in Literature, and was the first person to be made an Honorary Citizen of the United States.

Military service
Allegiance British Empire

Service/branch British Army
Years of service 1895–1900, 1902–24
Rank Lieutenant-Colonel

Battles/wars Anglo-Afghan War
*Siege of Malakand
Mahdist War
*Battle of Omdurman
Second Boer War
*Siege of Ladysmith
First World War
*Western Front

Awards Order of Merit
Companion of Honour
India Medal
Queen's Sudan Medal
Queen's South Africa Medal
1914–15 Star
British War Medal
Victory Medal
Territorial Decoration

Read more at : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston_Churchill

[center:3a9ttf2e]Chad R Hildebrandt [/center:3a9ttf2e]
[center:3a9ttf2e] [/center:3a9ttf2e]
[center:3a9ttf2e]Springer, New Mexico
October 17, 2005[/center:3a9ttf2e]
[center:3a9ttf2e]Age - 22 Military - Marine Rank - L/Cpl
Unit/Location - 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force
Camp Pendleton, California[/center:3a9ttf2e]

[center:3a9ttf2e]Killed small-arms fire while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Al Rutbah, Iraq.[/center:3a9ttf2e]

http://www.iraqwarheroes.org/hildebrandt.htm
http://www.godsmarines.com/hildebrandtchad.htm

[center:2ij0l4px]Tuskegee Airmen [/center:2ij0l4px]
[center:2ij0l4px] [/center:2ij0l4px]
[center:2ij0l4px] [/center:2ij0l4px]

The Tuskegee Airmen [1] is the popular name of a group of African American pilots who fought in World War II. Formally, they were the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps.
The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African American military aviators in the United States armed forces. During World War II, African Americans in many U.S. states still were subject to racist Jim Crow laws.[N 1] The American military was racially segregated, as was much of the federal government. The Tuskegee Airmen were subject to racial discrimination, both within and outside the army. Despite these adversities, they trained and flew with distinction.
Although the 477th Bombardment Group "worked up" on North American B-25 Mitchell bombers, they never served in combat; the Tuskegee 332nd Fighter Group was the only operational unit, first sent overseas as part of Operation Torch, then in action in Sicily and Italy, before being deployed as bomber escorts in Europe where they were particularly successful in their missions.[3]
The Tuskegee Airmen initially were equipped with Curtiss P-40 Warhawks fighter-bomber aircraft, briefly with Bell P-39 Airacobras (March 1944), later with Republic P-47 Thunderbolts (June–July 1944), and finally the fighter group acquired the aircraft with which they became most commonly associated, the North American P-51 Mustang (July 1944). When the pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group painted the tails of their P-47's red, the nickname "Red Tails" was coined. Bomber crews applied a more effusive "Red-Tail Angels" sobriquet. [N 2][4]

Portrait of Tuskegee airman, Edward M. Thomas, by photographer, Toni Frissell, March 1945

Major James A. Ellison returns the salute of Mac Ross of Dayton, Ohio, as he passes down the line during review of the first class of Tuskegee cadets; flight line at U.S. Army Air Corps basic and advanced flying school, with Vultee BT-13 trainers in the background, Tuskegee, Alabama, 1941


Eight Tuskegee Airmen in front of a P-40 fighter aircraft

Col. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., commander of the Tuskegee Airmen 332nd Fighter Group, in front of his P-47 Thunderbolt in Sicily

Pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group, "Tuskegee Airmen" at Ramitelli Airfield, Italy; from left to right, Lt. Dempsey W. Morgan, Lt. Carroll S. Woods, Lt. Robert H. Nelron, Jr., Captain Andrew D. Turner, and Lt. Clarence P. Lester

Men of the 332nd Fighter Group attend a briefing in Italy during 1945

Tuskegee Airmen gathered at a U.S. base after a mission in the Mediterranean theater

Several Tuskegee Airmen at Ramitelli, Italy, March 1945

The Congressional Gold Medal was collectively presented to approximately 300 Tuskegee Airmen or their widows, at the U.S. Capitol rotunda in Washington, D.C. by President George W. Bush on 29 March 2007.

Read more at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuskegee_Airmen

[center:1draz97h]Gabriel G DeRoo [/center:1draz97h]
[center:1draz97h] [/center:1draz97h]
[center:1draz97h]Paw Paw, Michigan
August 20, 2006
Age -25 Military - Army Rank - Sgt
Unit/Location - 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division
Fort Lewis, Washington[/center:1draz97h]

[center:1draz97h]Killed in Mosul, Iraq, when he encountered enemy forces using small arms fire during combat operations. [/center:1draz97h]

Family Tribute Site http://www.GabrielDeRoo.us

[center:1draz97h] [/center:1draz97h]
[center:1draz97h] http://www.timeofremembrance.org/deroo.aspx [/center:1draz97h]

[center:3s6tm65j]Carlos Hathcock [/center:3s6tm65j]
[center:3s6tm65j] [/center:3s6tm65j]
[center:3s6tm65j]Nickname Lông Trắng du Kich (White Feather Sniper)[/center:3s6tm65j]
[center:3s6tm65j]Born - May 20, 1942 - Little Rock, Arkansas
Died February 23, 1999 (aged 56) - Virginia Beach, Virginia
Allegiance United States
Service/branch United States Marine Corps
Years of service 1959–1979
Rank Gunnery Sergeant
Unit 1st Marine Division
Battles/wars Vietnam War
Awards Silver Star
Purple Heart
Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal[/center:3s6tm65j]

Carlos Hathcock (May 20, 1942 – February 23, 1999) was a United States Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant sniper with a service record of 93 confirmed kills. Hathcock's record and the extraordinary details of the missions he undertook made him a legend in the Marine Corps. His fame as a sniper and his dedication to long distance shooting led him to become a major developer of the United States Marine Corps Sniper training program. He was honored by having a rifle named after him: a variant of the M21 dubbed the Springfield Armory M25 White Feather.

Read the reast about Mr. Hathcock at : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Hathcock

[center:1yq0k4gr]Calvin P. Titus [/center:1yq0k4gr]
[center:1yq0k4gr] [/center:1yq0k4gr][center:1yq0k4gr]Bugler, Company E. 14th Infantry
The Boxer Rebellion[/center:1yq0k4gr]

In 1900, an international military rescue force, including Americans, fought and marched scores of miles in scorching summer heat to save a desperate international legation of diplomats trapped inside Peking (now called Beijung). The Chinese threatened to capture and annihilate these foreigners. As the American troops approached the city, a thirty foot wall stood between them and the legation.

As the international force began assaulting the wall from different areas, heavy Chinese rifle fire pinned down the American and Russian soldiers. Titus and some American officers were able to reach a corner section of the wall shielded from the fire. Colonel Daggett gazed up and wondered aloud if it was possible to climb up the wall—and Titus uttered his now famous reply “I’ll try sir.” Daggett looked at his 5’ 7” 120-pound bugler and replied, “Well, if you think you can make it, go ahead and try.” Thus he was the first American soldier to scale the wall, and inspired others to follow his bold lead. “I’ll try sir,” became the motto of the 14th Infantry of the U.S. Army.

http://www.iowahistory.org/museum/exhibits/medal-of-honor/titus_bxr/index.htm
Read more at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_Pearl_Titus

[center:22afhz0x]Harvey E Parkerson [/center:22afhz0x]\
[center:22afhz0x] [/center:22afhz0x]
[center:22afhz0x]Yuba City, California
August 18, 2004
Age - 27 Military Rank - Sgt
Unit/Location - Battalion Landing Team 1/4 (1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment), 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable)
Camp Pendleton, California

Killed by enemy action in Anbar Province, Iraq.[/center:22afhz0x]

http://www.iraqwarheroes.org/parkerson.htm
http://militarytimes.com/valor/marine-sgt-harvey-e-parkerson-iii/314751

[center:1grb6zry]Jason Dean Cunningham [/center:1grb6zry]
[center:1grb6zry] [/center:1grb6zry]
[center:1grb6zry] [/center:1grb6zry]
[center:1grb6zry]The President of the United States
Takes Pride in Presenting
The Air Force Cross (Posthumously)
To
Jason Dean Cunningham
Senior Airman, U.S. Air Force
For Services as Set Forth in the Following[/center:1grb6zry]Citation:
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Title 10, Section 8742, U.S.C., awards the Air Force Cross to Senior Airman Jason D. Cunningham for extraordinary heroism in military operations against an opposing armed force while serving as a pararescueman near the village of Marzak in the Paktia Province of Afghanistan on 4 March 2002. On that proud day, Airman Cunningham was the primary Air Force Combat Search and Rescue medic assigned to a Quick Reaction Force tasked to recover two American servicemen evading capture in austere terrain occupied by massed Al Qaida and Taliban forces. Shortly before landing, his MH-47E helicopter received accurate rocket-propelled grenade and small arms fire, severely disabling the aircraft and causing it to crash land. The assault force formed a hasty defense and immediately suffered three fatalities and five critical casualties. Despite effective enemy fire, and at great risk to his own life, Airman Cunningham remained in the burning fuselage of the aircraft in order to treat the wounded. As he moved his patients to a more secure location, mortar rounds began to impact within fifty feet of his position.

Read the rest of his citation at: http://homeofheroes.com/valor/08_WOT/afc_cunningham.html

Read more at: http://www.travis.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123192220

[center:m02gvp4q]Roger C Turner [/center:m02gvp4q]
[center:m02gvp4q] [/center:m02gvp4q]
[center:m02gvp4q]Parkersburg, West Virginia
February 1, 2004
Age - 37 Military - Army Rank - SSG
Unit/Location - Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 1st Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division
Fort Hood, Texas[/center:m02gvp4q]

Anaconda, Iraq. Turner was in his sleeping quarters when the logistical support area came under mortar attack. He died as a result of his injuries.

http://www.iraqwarheroes.org/turner.htm
http://militarytimes.com/valor/army-staff-sgt-roger-c-turner-jr/257029