Iraq 2003

RAMIRO MARTINEZ

Ramiro Martinez was born in 1957 in the lower Rio Grande Valley town of San Benito, Texas. During his Elementary School years, his family lived in the little village of La Paloma very near to the river; but, they had moved back to San Benito when Ramiro was going through Middle School and High School. Ramiro graduated from San Benito High School in 1975 and enlisted in the Marine Corps. After initial training at Camp Pendleton, California, he then trained for and was assigned to Force Recon. He stayed in the Marines for seven years, all in Force Recon and all but 13 months of which was overseas. In 1982, he took his discharge and went back home to San Benito. He then enlisted...

DAVID A. TOSH

David A. Tosh was born in Cherokee County, Texas in 1972. His father had served in the Air Force during Vietnam, following which he enrolled in the University of Texas at Austin, studying under ROTC scholarship. When his father was commissioned in 1978, six year-old David proudly helped pin on his dad’s gold Second Lieutenant bars during the ceremony that was held in the LBJ Library. David attended public schools in Texas and New Mexico and graduated from Manzano High School in Albuquerque. He then attended Sam Houston State University in Huntsville. Following his graduation in 1994, Dave went to work in SW Houston as a police officer. But, that life changed suddenly after...

ALAN BABIN

(This is a continuing story still in progress) Alan Richard Babin, Jr. was born in 1980 at Laughlin Air Force Base near Del Rio, Texas. When he was five years old his parents moved to Bakersfield, California. His only sibling, sister, Christy, was born after Alan had started to elementary school and he progressed on through middle school while they lived in Bakersfield. In August 1994 the Babin family moved to Round Rock, Texas where Alan attended Round Rock High School. He ran Cross Country in school sports, participated in city league baseball, and trained in karate. Following High School, he had employment in several local businesses and was working at Blockbuster Video on...