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4,416th to die: Aug. 22, 2010 – Army Sgt. Brandon E. Maggart, 24, a Fort Lewis soldier from Kirksville, Mo., died at Basrah, Iraq, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using indirect fire. He was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 5th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Married, with one child, Maggart enlisted in 2006 a year after graduating from Kirksville R-III High School. His widow Teresa, in an obituary, remembered him as “Husband, Father, Hero," words she planned to use in a banner to welcome him home for forthcoming visit. “We had so many plans for Brandon's leave," she said, “fishing, golfing, going to [son] Blake's first soccer game, going to the ocean, Seahawks & Mariners game, and of course eating at Outback…just a few of his favorite things to do… While the thought of living without my best friend and husband is unbearable, it eases my pain to know that he is safe in the arms of the Lord living in us every day…America lost a great soldier and heaven gained an angel."
4,414th to die: Aug. 7, 2010 – Army Spc. Faith R. Hinkley, 23, a Fort Lewis solider from Colorado Springs, Colo., died in Baghdad, of wounds suffered after insurgents attacked her unit in Iskandariya, Iraq. She was assigned to the 502nd Military Intelligence Battalion, 201st Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, Joint Base Lewis-McChord. She graduated from Monte Vista High in 2006 where she was a cheer¬leader for four years and a member of the golf team. Hinckley enlisted in 2007 and was trained as a human-intelligence collector. A Facebook page in her honor notes that “She has left her imprint on the farming community of 4,300 people. Myrna Wartman, a neighbor whose children grew up with Faith commented, 'I can't say enough good. She's everything you would want in a person.' Stan Harlan, another neighbor, had snapped a picture of Faith and her siblings when she was home on leave just before her deployment. In that moment, he pondered that someone so young could be fighting to protect her fellow citizens' rights. 'It didn't even cross my mind she might not come home.' She gave the ultimate sacrifice for a lot of people."
4,406th to die: June 15, 2010 – Army Spc. Christopher W. Opat, 29, a Stryker solider from Spencer, Iowa, died in Baqubah, Iraq of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. Military officials launched an investigation, but offered no other details. Opat was assigned to the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, at Fort Lewis. He graduated from Crestwood High School in Cresco, Iowa, in 1999, and obtained a construction degree from Iowa Lakes Community College. He joined the Army in 2003. His family - mother, father, two brothers and two sisters – were in mourning, but Iowa Gov. Chet Culver said he was "deeply saddened to learn of the death of another brave young person serving our country overseas. Our thoughts and prayers are with Christopher's family and loved ones. Spc. Opat was courageous in his service, and I join all Iowans in mourning his loss."
4,404th and 4,405th to die: June 11, 2005 – Army Sgt.
Israel P. O'Bryan, 24, of Newbern, Tenn., and Spc.
William C. Yauch, 23, of
Batesville, Ark., both members of a Fort Lewis Stryker unit, died in Jalula, Iraq, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked their unit with a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device. They were assigned to the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. O'Bryan was a 2004 graduate of
Dyer High School where he ran track and played soccer. Known as Izzy, O'Bryan joined the Army in 2006 when he met his wife; they had one son. In an obituary, the family said that widow Brenna, a former active-duty soldier with the same brigade, met
Israel on a previous deployment to Iraq. Israel "loved children and his son's birth was a true blessing. While in high school, Israel was active in sports, including boxing, soccer and baseball. He also enjoyed a good shopping day!" "Chris" Yauch, who was married, was a 2005 graduate of Batesville High. He had a fondness for motorcycles and tinkering with his car, his family recalled.
Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor said Yauch "served our nation with great courage, honor, and distinction, and embodied the meaning of ‘a true patriot.'"
4,394th to die: April 27, 2010 – Army Sgt. Keith A. Coe, 30, a Stryker leader from Auburndale, Fla., died in Khalis, Iraq, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an explosive device. He was assigned to Fort Lewis's 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. He enlisted in 2007 and was on his first Iraq deployment. Married, with three children, Coe had trouble with the law early on, said his family, but turned his life around. He met his wife at a restaurant the pair worked at, followed by a Hawaiian-themed wedding, said his grandmother Dawn Jones. A competitor, Coe worked extra hard to make sure the men reporting to him couldn't outdo him, his family said. He was also a prankster, "a fun-loving, crazy guy," said friend Jason Hutchinson. "He'd do anything for anybody."
