These Stories of Valor are part of an ongoing oral history program of the Honor Project to ensure the experiences of our combat wounded and those who gave their all in the service of America are remembered for generations to come.
William "Billy" Dobbs enlisted in the Army in 1986, joining with the 2nd battalion, 20th Special Forces Group, serving as a Paratrooper. He later served with 101st Airborne Division, where he taught Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Warfare. In total, Dobbs served for 23 years, including Desert Storm.
Read MoreLuis Martinez enlisted into the U.S. Air Force in November 1996, serving for nearly 16 years as a member of the 820th Red Horse Squadron and the 99th Civil Engineering Squadron, including tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. In February 2009, while deployed to Tikrit, Iraq, Martinez was wounded when the vehicle he was traveling in struck an IED.
Read MoreNathaniel Loomis enlisted in the Idaho Army National Guard in 1998, and later attended the United States Military Academy from 2002 to 2004. He commissioned to Warrant Officer in the Idaho Army National Guard in 2016, where he is currently serving with B Co, 145th BSB, 116th CBCT.
Read MoreArmando "Chris" Martinez IV was commissioned into the U.S. Army in October 2011 and served for the next decade, including time in Korea with the 9th Infantry; Fort Bliss, Texas, with the 1st Armored Brigade; Germany with the 2nd Cavalry Regiment; and Fort Wainwright with the 25th Infantry Division.
Read MoreBlanca Taylor enlisted in the Army National Guard in August 2002 and served for more than a decade as a member of the 1864th Motor Transport Company, including a deployment as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Read MoreVanessa (Brown) Schieber enlisted in the Army in April 2007 and served for the next 11 years a member of the 101st Airborne Division and later the 1st Armor Division.
Read MoreRonald Gallegos enlisted in the Marine Corps in August 1984, going on to service career that spanned nearly 30 years as a member of the Marine Corps, New Mexico National Guard and Army Reserves, including deployments to Kuwait and Iraq.
Read MoreDouglas Quick enlisted into the U.S. Army in August 2000 and served for the next 12 years, including a tour in Iraq in 2006-2007. It was during that tour, that the vehicle SSG Quick was riding in took a direct hit from an enemy rocket. The blast killed the driver of the vehicle and severely injured SSG Quick.
Read MoreRichard Andrew Farrer enlisted into the U.S. Marine Corps, serving for nearly four years as a member of the 3rd Battalion 8th Marines India Company, including a tour in Ramadi during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Read MoreJosephine Keller enlisted into the U.S. Air Force in September 1991 and served for more than 26 years, including participation in Operations Southern Watch, Joint Guard, Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, Noble Eagle, and New Dawn.
Read MoreIn July 2004, while on a routine patrol in West Baghdad, the vehicle Sgt. Manyoma’s was traveling in was right next to a suicide car bomber as it exploded. As the smoke cleared, Harrison heard the enemy engaging with AK-47s. Manyoma sprang into action, providing first aid to his medic and then returning fire to hold off the enemy.
Read MoreU.S. Marine Corps SGT C.M. Padgett, Purple Heart Recipient - Operation Iraqi Freedom
Read MoreIn 2010 he served as part of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. It was during that deployment, while in Logar Province with the 1-91 Cavalry, 173rd Combat Airborne Brigade, when SSG Livingston’s platoon came under enemy mortar fire.
Read MoreAlbert Walsh was commissioned into the U.S. Army in May 2003 and served for nearly eight years, including three tours in Iraq between 2005 and 2010. During his first tour while based out of Camp Taji, near Baghdad, Walsh was on a patrol when the lead High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle “Humvee” was struck by an improvised explosive device (IED).
Read MoreDuring the later half of his service career, Abbey was deployed as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom II and III. On February 21, 2005, Abbey was wounded by shrapnel from an IED on Main Supply Route (MSR) Tampa just outside Samarra, Iraq. At the time, he was in command of a tactical movement team escorting a team of engineers to assess damage done by a previous IED on the MSR, when Abbey team was ambushed.
Read MoreOn April 16, 2005, SP4 Horn (Lee) sustained a mortar injury while serving in Iraq. The blast left her with multiple shrapnel injuries, including to her eye, arm, leg, chest and neck.
Read MoreIn January of 2004, then-PFC Johnson’s unit’s missions were largely comprised of security runs, accompanying officers during their travels. On one such mission near Mosul, Johnson was serving as a rear gunner when her Humvee encountered an IED (improvised explosive device). She had been struck in the side of the neck with shrapnel, leaving a gaping, fist-sized wound which just missed a major artery – she was only 19 years old at the time.
Read MoreJeff W. McIntire served as an infantryman in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2000 to 2012.
Read MoreRobert Suesakul of Killduff, Iowa, was wounded in Iraq in 2003, when the vehicle he was traveling in along Highway 1 was struck by an RPG.
Read MoreSergeant First Class Ralph Carder Ferguson served almost 21 years in the U.S. Army and the Army National Guard.
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