Army Master Sgt. Anthony Davis

Died November 25, 2008 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

43 year old Anthony Davis, of Deerfield Beach, Fla.; assigned to the Military Transition Team, 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.; died Nov. 25 in Baaj, Iraq, after being shot by an Iraqi Security Force soldier while he was conducting a dismounted humanitarian food drop.

Master sergeant worked to help poor Iraqis

The Associated Press

Anthony Davis trained and mentored Iraqi army members and delivered food and relief supplies to poor villages. He was part of a team that assessed schools and then planned renovations and organized supplies.

His daughter Diana, 18, also collected soccer balls to ship to her father, who distributed them to children on his missions.

“Anthony volunteered for humanitarian assistance duty so he could devote himself to the soccer ball plan and really reach out to the surrounding Iraqi communities in need of assistance,” said Joe Albuquerque of the Kerril Woods Homeowner’s Association.

“That’s the Anthony we knew and loved.”

Davis, 43, reared in Baltimore and lately of Triangle, Va., died Nov. 24 in Baaj after being shot by an Iraqi soldier while on a relief mission. He was assigned to Fort Riley.

“We must remain vigilant and pray that we a getting through to the younger generation, who will one day inherit this nation, so that they remember us as peaceful and encouraging not intruders and invaders,” Davis wrote in an e-mail.

He is survived by his wife, Anna, and five children between the ages of 9 and 26 and a 4-year-old grandson.

Air Force Master Sgt. Thomas A. Crowell

Died November 1, 2007 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

36 year old Thomas Crowell, of Neosho, Mo.; Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Detachment 301, Scott Air Force Base, Ill.; died Nov. 1 near Balad Air Base, Iraq, of wounds sustained from an improvised explosive device. Also killed was Staff Sgt. David A. Wieger.

Airman formerly from Neosho killed in Iraq

The Associated Press

NEOSHO, Mo. — An Air Force master sergeant who was killed Nov. 1 in Iraq is remembered for how he put the safety of others first.

Thomas Crowell, formerly of Neosho, died in an attack near Balad Air Base in Iraq. Crowell’s mother, Peggy Whipp, said her son did not have to be riding in the vehicle that was destroyed by a roadside bomb. She said Crowell had others serving under him and could have ordered one of them to do it.

Whipp, who still makes her home in Neosho, said her son always put his men before himself. That’s just the way he was, she said.

The mother said Crowell, 36, was “very, very proud” of his position as a special agent with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, which handles criminal investigations and counterintelligence services.

Two others were killed in the attack with Crowell: Staff Sgt. David A. Wieger, 28, of North Huntingdon, Pa., and Nathan J. Schuldheiss, 27, an Air Force civilian from Newport, R.I.

Crowell and the others were conducting law enforcement operations at the time of the attack, according to the Air Force.

Crowell had been in the Air Force for almost 18 years. He was hoping to retire in seven months and possibly get a corporate security job. His family said he also was close to finishing a college degree.

The airman, his wife and two children lived in O’Fallon, Ill., a suburb of St. Louis. He had left Neosho after graduating from high school in 1989.

Whipp described her son as being a man who spoke sparingly but always with authority. She said he was proud of his Air Force duties and took them seriously.

“When he said something, you listened,” the mother said. “He was the best at what he did.”

Crowell will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Whipp said. She and the rest of the family are still trying to grapple with what happened.

“It doesn’t make sense,” she said.

Army Master Sgt. Danial R. Adams

Died September 13, 2011 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

35 year old Danial Adams, of Portland, Ore., assigned to 1st Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Stuttgart, Germany; died Sept. 13 in Wardak province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using mortar, machine-gun and small-arms fires.

Master Sgt. Danial R. Adams, assigned to 1st Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Stuttgart, Germany, was killed in action in Afghanistan, Sept. 13.

Adams, a native of Oregon, joined the Army in 1995 as an infantryman, where he served with distinction while assigned to 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning, Ga., followed by exemplary service with 1st Bn., 501st Infantry and 1st Bn., 23rd Infantry at Fort Lewis, Wash.

After his assignment at Fort Lewis, Adams earned the Green Beret in 2005. His first Special Forces assignment was as a senior medical sergeant with the 3rd SFG (A) at Fort Bragg, N.C. In 2009, he joined 1st Bn., 10th SFG (A), where he served on a Special Forces team. He was killed in action while conducting combat operations with his team in Afghanistan.

Adam’s military education includes Airborne School, Jungle Warfare School, Ranger School, Jumpmaster School, Air Assault School, and the Special Forces Qualification Course.

His awards and decorations include two Bronze Star Medals, three Army Commendation Medals, four Army Achievement Medals, five Army Good Conduct Medals, two National Defense Service Medals, two Afghanistan Campaign Medals, two Iraq Campaign Medals, the Global War on Terror Service Medal, three Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbons, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the NATO Medal, Special Forces Tab, Ranger Tab, the Parachutist Badge, the Air Assault Badge, Combat Infantryman’s Badge and Expert Infantryman’s Badge.

He is survived by his wife Melany, his two sons Jeffrey and John, and his daughter Skye.

Marine Master Sgt. Jerome D. Hatfield

Died July 11, 2009 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

36 year old Jerome Hatfield, of Axton, Va.; assigned to 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died July 11 while supporting combat operations in Khan Neshin, Afghanistan. Also killed was Cpl. Pedro A. Barboza Flores.

2 staff NCOs among latest Marine casualties

Staff report

Four Marines killed in Afghanistan’s Helmand province since Saturday have been identified by the Pentagon.

They are:

* Staff Sgt. David S. Spicer, 33, of Zanesfield, Ohio.

* Sgt. Michael W. Heede Jr., 22, of Delta, Pa.

* Master Sgt. Jerome D. Hatfield, 36, of Axton, Va.

* Lance Cpl. Pedro A. Barbozaflores, 27, of Glendale, Calif.

Spicer, an explosive ordnance disposal technician with 8th Engineer Support Battalion at Camp Lejeune, N.C., and Heede, a combat engineer with 1st Combat Engineer Battalion at Camp Pendleton, Calif., died Monday, officials said. The circumstances were not immediately known.

Hatfield, operations chief for Delta Company, 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, and Barbozaflores, a light armored vehicle crewman with 2nd LAR, died in a bomb blast Saturday, according to reports. Both were based at Lejeune.

Spicer joined the Corps in October 1994 and had been selected for promotion to gunnery sergeant, officials said. He is survived by a wife and a daughter. Heede enlisted in September 2005.

Hatfield, a former drill instructor, joined the Corps in June 1991, officials said. He is survived by his wife and three children. Barbozaflores joined the Corps in March 2008.

All four were part of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, which earlier this month launched a major offensive to expel Taliban fighters from the Helmand River vall

Army Master Sgt. Kevin A. Dupont

Died June 17, 2009 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

52 year old Kevin Dupont, of Templeton, Mass.; assigned to the 79th Troop Command, Rehoboth, Mass.; died June 17 at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, of wounds suffered March 8 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.

Died with wife by his side

The Associated Press

CHICOPEE, Mass. — A soldier has died from injuries he suffered when a military vehicle he was riding in ran over an improvised explosive in Afghanistan three months ago.

Kelli Dupont says her brother, Army Sgt. 1st Class Kevin Dupont, died early June 17 at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, where he was being treated for third-degree burns.

Dupont, 52, was injured March 8. He graduated from Chicopee High School in 1976 and most recently lived in Templeton. He was a member of the Massachusetts Army National Guard.

Kelli Dupont says her brother’s wife was at his side when he died.

Dupont is survived by elderly parents, two brothers and two sisters.