HONORING OUR FALLEN WITH ETERNAL GRATITUDE

GOLD STAR HEROES

Marine Gunnery Sgt. Joseph Menusa

Died March 27, 2003 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

33, of San Jose, Calif.; assigned to 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; killed March 27 in an ambush in Iraq.

Marine Gunnery Sgt. Joseph Menusa was a 14-year military veteran who loved the Marines and served “wholeheartedly,” said his wife, Stacy. He died in Iraq March 27 during an ambush. In addition to his wife, he is survived by a 3-year-old son, Joshua.Menusa had been stationed in Japan, Cuba, Hawaii and the San Francisco area and had previously served in the Persian Gulf before leaving for the Middle East on Feb. 5, 2003.He had intended to join the Air Force after graduating high school, but changed his mind, joined the Marines instead and later became a Marine recruiter. The Philippines-born Marine, who immigrated to the United States when he was 10, was posthumously awarded U.S. citizenship.— Associated Press

Marine Lance Cpl. Kyle W. Codner

Died May 26, 2004 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

19, of Wood River, Neb.; assigned to 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; killed May 26 by hostile action in Anbar province, Iraq.

Kyle grew up on a farm east of Shelton and graduated from Shelton High School in 2003. He was involved in sports, speech and drama, and was active in his church's youth group. He joined the U.S. Marines Corps on June 16, 2003, and was deployed to Iraq in February 2004. Kyle was an active member of the United Methodist Church of Shelton. Survivors include: parents of Shelton; sister, Melissa of Shelton; grandparents, Del and Doris Shupe and Louise Codner, all of Grand Island; and fiance, Megan Kirkover of Shelton.He was preceded in death by his grandfather, George Codner.Memorials are suggested to the Kyle Codner Scholarship, the United Methodist Church of Shelton or the Shelton Fire and Rescue.

Technical Sergeant Scott E. Duffman

Died February 18, 2007 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

32, of Albuquerque, N.M.; was assigned to the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, Pope Air Force Base, N.C.; died Feb. 18 when the coalition CH-47 helicopter he was riding in crashed in eastern Afghanistan.

Rose Duffman said her son, Air Force Tech Sgt. Scott Duffman, had been in Afghanistan for five days when he died Sunday.“It’s kind of hard to believe because you’d just talked to him the day before,” she said. “He was a warrior and he loved what he did and why he did it.”Duffman was married, and he and his wife have a 5-month-old daughter. “She was the light of his life,” said Rose Duffman, who lives in Washington, D.C., where she moved in 2004.Duffman lived in Albuquerque from 1984 to 1992, and “this was always home to him,” she said. “He loved the mountains.”He previously fought in Afghanistan and Iraq, and had frequent deployments, his mother said.Duffman was trained as a pararescue jumper, an elite force that focuses on rescues in hostile territory. He was stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C., headquarters of the joint Special Operations Command.

Army Spc. Christopher J. Moon

Died July 13, 2010 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

20, of Tucson, Ariz.; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died July 13 at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device July 6 in Arghandab, Afghanistan.

SPC Moon was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR), with the 82nd Airborne. SPC Moon passed away on July 13, 2010 at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, in Germany, of wounds sustained when insurgents hit the foot patrol that we were on with an IED on July 6 2010. This was a foot patrol that our Battery pushed for which may not have been the best of ideas during a RIP. This foot patrol would bring us into Babur and the guys from the 82nd were well aware of the risks involved with this patrol.In 2008, SPC Moon gave up a full college scholarship and a chance to play professional baseball to join the Army. He was a star baseball player for his High School of Tucson High Magnet, and was named the southern Arizona baseball player of the year in 2006. He was guaranteed a spot to be a starter at the University of Arizona, and he was also drafted by the Atlanta Braves to play professional baseball.

Army Sgt. Christopher D. Gailey

Died November 1, 2011 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

26, of Ochelata, Okla.; assigned to 700th Brigade Support Battalion, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Oklahoma National Guard, Tulsa, Okla.; died Nov. 1, in Laja Ahmad Khel, Paktya province, Afghanistan, of wounds caused by an improvised explosive device. Also killed was Army Pfc. Sarina N. Butcher.

Christopher was born to Shan Gene and Tammy Jo (Maples) Gailey. He grew up and received his early education in Bartlesville and attended Wentworth Military Academy returning to Caney Valley High School where he graduated. Chris was employed at Sand Springs Armory prior to his deployment with the Oklahoma National Guard. Chris entered the National Guard in 2004 and was deployed to Afghanistan in June 2011. Chris was promoted posthumously to the rank of E-5.

MARINE GUNNERY SGT. TERRY W. BALL Jr.

Died August 5, 2005 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

36, of East Peoria, Ill.; assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died Aug. 5 of wounds sustained in an explosion June 12 while he was conducting combat operations in Karmah, Iraq.

Terry W. Ball Jr.'s work ethic was something you had to respect. Just ask his football coach. "I've been coaching a long time," said Jim Dulin. "There's 15 or 20 kids you never forget. He was one of them. A hard worker, an overachiever, one of the kids you never had to worry about." Ball, 36, of East Peoria, Ill., died Aug. 5 in a Maryland hospital of wounds he suffered in an explosion in Karmah on June 12. He was based at Camp Lejeune. "He promised he would come home, and he did," said his wife, Jennifer. "I think that's all he could do." Ball had suffered brain injuries, kidney damage, the amputation of his left leg and was in a coma when President Bush came to the hospital to award him a Purple Heart. He also had been awarded the Bronze Star. Ball, who was a co-captain of the wrestling and football teams in high school, which he graduated in 1987, joined the Marines with his cousin, Jeff, for adventure. "He was a leader," said high school friend Tom Simpson. "You always knew he had your back." He also is survived by his children: 8-year-old Gavin, 5-year-old Riley and 1-year-old Ethan.

Navy Aviation Ordnanceman 2nd Class (SEAL) Marc A. Lee

Died August 2, 2006 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

28, of Hood River, Ore.; a member of a West Coast-based SEAL Team; killed Aug. 2 during combat operations while on patrol in Ramadi, Iraq.

Lee was born in Portland, Oregon, and moved to Colorado when he was one year old with his mother Debbie and brother and sister. When he was seven, he and his family moved back to Hood River, Oregon. Lee was home-schooled until his Junior year and graduated from Baptist Christian School in 1996. In 1997, he moved to Colorado once again to pursue his dream of a career in professional soccer. He was scheduled for tryouts with the Colorado Rapids. In an indoor soccer match the night before tryouts, he blew out his knee requiring surgery on his ACL and meniscus. He attended The Master's College in California with a major in Bible and Theology and played on their soccer team. In his second year, he changed his major to Law. In May 2001, Lee went into the United States Navy with a contract to try out for the SEALs