Hero Stories for Florida

Spc. Daniel C. Lawson, 33, of Deerfield Beach, Florida, died October 15, 2009, in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. Spc. Lawson was assigned to the 569th Mobility Augmentation Company, 4th Engineer Battalion, Fort Carson, Colorado.</d

Sgt. Roberto D. Sanchez, 24 of Satellite Beach, Florida, died October 1, 2009, in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. Sgt. Sanchez was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Hunter Army Airfield Georgia. </d

Sgt. Edward B. Smith, 30, of Homestead, Florida, died September 24, 2009, in Omar Zai, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. Sgt. Smith was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Washington. </d

Staff Sgt. Bryan D. Berky, 25, of Melrose, Florida, died September 12, 2009, near Bala Baluk, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained from enemy fire while supporting combat operations. Staff Sgt. Berky was assigned to the 28th Civil Engineer Squadron, Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota. </d

Sgt. Randy M. Haney, 27, of Orlando, Florida, died September 6, 2009, in Nangarhar, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit using small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fires. Sgt. Haney was assigned to the 2nd Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colorado. </d

Staff Sgt. Jason S. Dahlke, 29, of Orlando, Florida, died August 29, 2009, in Paktika province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when he was shot by enemy forces August 28 while conducting combat operations. Staff Sgt. Dahlke was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia. </d

Capt. John Tinsley, 28, of Tallahassee, Florida, died August 12, 2009, in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Capt. Tinsley was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, North Carolina. </d

Lance Cpl. Dennis J. Burrow, 23, of Naples, Florida, died August 7, 2009, while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. Lance Cpl. Burrow was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. </d

Cpl. Christian A. Guzman Rivera, 21, of Homestead, Florida, died August 6, 2009, while supporting combat operations in Farah province, Afghanistan. Cpl. Guzman Rivera was assigned to the 3rd Combat Assault Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan. </d

Petty Officer 3rd Class Anthony C. Garcia, 21, of Panama City, Florida, died August 5, 2009, while supporting combat operations in Farah Province, Afghanistan. Petty Officer 3rd Class Garcia served as a corpsman with Marines assigned to Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe, Hawaii. </d