Fallen Heroes of Operation Iraqi Freedom

"Over a decade ago your family and friends shed tears at your funeral. Today is Veteran's Day 2015 and we still remember your service and sacrifice. We mourn your loss and thank you. Your proud family."
Kenneth Ward of Geneva, IL USA

"10 years later and I can't/won't forget. We miss you."
Bryan of Mazon, IL

"To the family of Debra Banaszak:

I served along LT Banaszak in Kuwait for the last few months of her life. She was always such a positive presence and managed to lighten the mood of all of those around her. She even taught me how to make bracelets out of 550 cord!

To this day, through two tours to Iraq & Kuwait and 10 years of National Guard service, the day she died is the hardest day I've ever served.

May God bless you and keep you."
Jennifer Westberg of Framingham, MA

"April 13, 2008
To the family of 1st Lt. Debra A. Banaszak:
Debra gave the ultimate sacrifice and will be held in the hearts of Americans forever. I cannot and will not let our fallen heroes be forgotten. My deepest sympathy to you. "Some gave all."
Peggy Childers
"Don't Let The Memory Of Them Drift Away"
www.IraqWarHeroes.org"
Peggy Childers of Carson City, NV

"I was given a swatch of muslin with Debra's name to stitch for the Mother's Day Project. I wanted to get an idea of who this young woman was before I began stitching her name. She was a friend, a mother, and an inspiration to those who knew her and served with her. I am honored to be able to add her name to the Mother's Day Project. My sincere condolences to her family."
Susie Schmidt of Medford, Oregon, USA

"I am sorry for you loss. My brother was in Kuwait at Camp Patriot during that time. He died earlier this year. Their paths may have crossed. I feel the pain and loss of your loved one. Her spirit lives on and will be with you forever. God Bless."
Laurie of Bethesda, MD

"To the family of Debra Banaszak;
I had the distinct pleasure of serving with Debra for six months in Aberdeen, Maryland as we made our transition to Lieutenants in the Ordnance Officer Basic Course back in August 2001 - December 2001. Debra made a profound impression upon me during our short time together; mostly with her always cheerful personality, and that on the very first moment I met her I knew that I had just made a very good friend. I do not have one memory of her that she wasn't smiling; she was truly a pleasure to be around & I particularly enjoyed watching her when she was with her son Mark. Often times when we spoke it focused around family & I can tell you, Mark was her whole world; there was nothing she loved more and I am sure wherever she is today that remains the same. I was very saddened by the new of her passing, she was a great soldier, a terrific officer, and overall just a wonderful person; my life has been made better by knowing Debra in the precious little time we had together. Please accept my sincerest sympathies & gratitude for your sacrifice made on behalf of our country; I pray that God will give you strength to continue to carry on until we can all come home to our loved ones one day."
Curt Kolvet of Reno, Nevada

"To the family of:Debra A.Banaszak I am so sorry for the loss of your love one. My heart cries out for you in your grief and you have my thoughts and prayers. She died a hero defending freedom. May you have the peace and understanding that only comes from God. Prayerfully we will all meet in Heaven one day where we will rest in the arms of Jesus. If you need prayer or need someone to talk to, please call or write my pastor: Rev. John Pearrell 11677 Brown Bridge Rd., Covington, GA 30016. (770)787-1015. Your friend in Jesus Christ, Polly Ballew Covington,Ga"

"To the Family of 1LT Debra Banaszak:
We have constructed a memorial to the service men and women from Wisconsin and Illinois who have died in Iraq. Our memorial includes, as of 8/28/06, 162 crosses and Stars of David. We would like your permission to put Debra's name on one of them. We have called our display "Arlington MidWest." It is our expression of mourning for the indescribable loss you have suffered for our country.

If you would like us to do this, please email me at arlingtonmidwest@yahoo.com.

We invite you to come to visit Arlington MidWest if you can. A friend has put us up on his website so you can see the memorial here:
www.williamgbecker.com/ArlingtonMidwest.html.

"As long as we live, they too will live;
for they are now a part of us, as we remember them.""
Marty Preston of Wisconsin Dells, WI

"Thanks so much for honoring our fallen soldier from Bloomington. As a teacher, I pray my third grade students will understand the sacrifices of those protecting them from the terror that has touched our country. I have encouraged my students to portray these soldiers at Memorial Day and they know them all by name! One child commented that during the memorial time he felt his soldier sitting on his shoulder. Wow!"
Jodi of Bloomington, Illinois, USA

"My name is Cameron Schilling and I have started “Portrait of a Soldier” which donates a portrait sketch of every Illinois soldier who has fallen in Iraq or Afghanistan. All 122 sketches will be on display for a Memorial Day Presentation in Chicago, Illinois on May 26-31 at the James R. Thompson Center in downtown Chicago. After the ceremony the sketches will be given to the immediate families of the Illinois soldiers. I would invite any friends or family members to come and honor these men and women from Illinois who have given their lives to our country. For more information please contact OperationHomeFront.org at 866-417-8889 which is an organization headed by the Lt. Governor Pat Quinn of Illinois who is in charge of the Memorial Day Presentation. Thank You.

Please check out www.portraitofasoldier.org
To contact Cameron email cameronschilling84@hotmail.com
To contact Operation Home Front call 866-417-8889"
Cameron of Charleston, Illinois

"I LOVED LT B LIKE SHE WAS MY OWN FAMILY. THERE WAS NO OFFICER MORE UNDERSTANDING AND MORE IN TUNE TO MY FEELINGS. WHEN I HAD A BAD DAY SHE MADE SURE THAT SHE MADE IT BETTER. MY DAUGHTER KNEW WHO SHE WAS AND SHE USED TO ASK ABOUT "LT BANANAS" WHEN I CALLED HER ON THE PHONE. I LOVE HER AND SHE WILL BE THROUGHLY MISSED BY THE WIGGLEY FAMILY."
MICHELLE WIGGLEY of ST LOUIS, MO

"To Debra Banaszak's family,
I am writing to you as a member of the Illinois Motorcycle Freedom Run. The motorcycle community in Illinois has built a wall to honor the fallen heroes in the Middle East from 1979 till today. Debra's name has been engraved on this wall and the Freedom Run staff; family and friends would like to extend a VIP invitation to your family to join us for a memorial service on June 17, 2006 to honor Debra and all the others who have given the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Please, if you have time look at our website (www.ilfreedomrun.org). We all truly appreciate everything Debra and all the other service men and women have done for us and this is our way of honoring them. Also please feel free to contact me via email at anytime if you would like more information. Again thank you and god bless.
Sbrown6117@comcast.net"
Sara Brown of Alsip, IL

"To Debra's Family, I am so sorry for your loss. Debra thank you for all you have done for us, you are a true American Hero. God Bless you Debra and God Bless your family."
Mary Ghaney of Brooklyn, New York

"To The Banaszak Family, My sincere condolences to you. I knew your daughter here at Camp Patriot for a short time but she was a great leader and friend to all. When I learned of her death, I knew that a great spirit had been taken too early. she was always upbeat and took care of her troops. My heart is a little less full with her being gone, but her memeory will not be forgotten. I will always remember her smile in the morning. SSG Pete Ludlum
1/487th FA (Hiki No) Oahu, Hawaii"
SSG Pete Ludlum of Camp Patriot, Kuwait

"My name is Cameron Schilling. I am a college student from central Illinois. I am the first generation of my family not to serve his country. I am extremely grateful for the sacrifice you and your loved one has given for the United States. I am disappointed by the way the news media has covered this war and the deaths of our youth. The media as stopped listing the names of the soldiers killed in Iraq and people only talk about the soldiers when we reach a specific milestone in deaths. If you just started watching the news today you would not even know there is a war going on. Partisan politics have replaced coverage of our young generation who have traveled to a foreign land in the name of the United States. Whether you believe the war in Iraq is wrong, right, justified or not everyone should pay even just a little more attention to what these young men and women are sacrificing. This is what I would like to do. I want to do my part in honoring these soldiers and their memories. Along with being a college student I am also a budding artist. I draw pencil portraits of local people in my community. I want to offer a pencil portrait sketch to the immediate family of every Illinois soldier killed in Iraq. Please contact me at cameronschilling84@hotmail.com."
Cameron Schilling of illinois

"TO THE BANASZAK FAMILY FROM THE WAHL FAMILY. DEBRA HAS NOT GIVEN HER LIFE IN VAIN! SHE IS A TRUE AMERICAN HERO. THANK YOU DEBRA FOR SERVING OUR COUNTRY AND FOR BEING A MILITARY SISTER TO OUR SON GREGORY. YOU TWO NEVER KNEW ONE ANOTHER. STILL IN A MILITARY FAMILY ALL YOU HAVE IS ONE ANOTHER. TO WATCH OVER ONE ANOTHER FOR YOUR OWN FAMILIES. SADLY, KIA 05-03-04 IN BALAD, IRAQ. MY TEARS NEVER STOPPED FOR MY SON. STILL THOSE VERY SAME TEARS ARE WITH DEBRA TODAY. SHE IS SOMEONE'S SOMEONE AND SHE IS SOMEONE TO THE WAHL FAMILY. YOU CAN BE VERY PROUD OF DEBRA, SHE TRUELY, IS THE ELITE OF ALL AMERICAN'S. WELL OVER TWO HUNDRED MILLIONS OF AMERICANS TODAY. AN JUST THAT HANDFUL THAT ANSWER THE CALLING TO SERVE OUR COUNTRY. RISKING DAY IN AND DAY OUR UNSELFISHLY FOR US ALL IN AMERICA. PLEASE REACH OUT TO YOUR COMMUNITY AND POLITICAL LEADERS. REQUEST A STRRET TO BE NAMED AFTER DEBRA! SO THAT NO ONE IN HER COMMUNITY EVER FORGET HER. SHE BRAVELY, SERVED HER COMMUNITY, COUNTY, STATE AND COUNTRY. GOD BLESS! LWAHL1@sEARS.COM"
LEONARD WAHL of VALLEY STREAM NY

"To the family and friends of Debra Banaszak -- may you find comfort in each other and may the memory of Debra and how she lived her life give you peace. To Debra, your ultimate sacrifice will not go in vein, go now in peace."
K Ledesma of Folsom, CA

"We Will NEVER FORGET !"
Please KNOW so many people share your sadness,
and we are remembering your family in your loss and your deep grief.
Our nations HERO, Debra will be remembered by name.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
God Bless you ALWAYS.
Pat & Sandi Breckenridge from Montana "

"Thank you Debra Banaszak, you will not be forgotten. Your bravery goes beyond words. I want to express my deepest gratitude for your sacrifice. To the family and friends, my prayers and deep condolences in your loss. May God strengthen you from knowing that fellow Americans and people around the world care about you and grieve with you in your loss. God bless you all. A very appreciative fellow American,"
Leo Titus of Grayslake, Illinios

"To the family and friends of 1st Lt. Debra Banaszak:
May God's grace be with you during your time of grief. Please know that our thoughts and prayers are with you and we feel your loss and share in your sorrow. Bless Debra for the sacrifice she has made to make a better life for the rest of us."
The Ford Family of Wells, Nevada

"To the family and friends of 1st Lt. Debra Banaszak:
I am saddened by the loss of your loved one. She will always be remembered as a hero for fighting for freedom. I hope that this website will be a source of comfort and encouragement for you during this difficult time, and in the future as you recall the memories of Debra, who continues to live on in your heart."
Tim Rivera of Powder Springs, Georgia