Editor’s note: The original version of this story was published in 2019.
There may be no more searing reminder of the cost of war than putting a face on service members who made the ultimate sacrifice.
At least ten Bradenton-area soldiers and Marines have died in Iraq or Afghanistan since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Young, idealistic and brave, they are among the 1% who stepped forward to defend the country after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Those attacks claimed nearly 3,000 innocent lives.
On April 16, 2004, Marine Pfc. Christopher Cobb, a 19-year-old 2003 Bayshore High School graduate, died in Ramadi, Iraq. He was one of eight Marines killed in the ambush.
Cobb is believed to be the first of member of the U.S. armed forces from the Bradenton area to die in battle after the Sept. 11 attacks.
He had been a member, with his mother, Sheila Cobb, of the Oneco American Legion Post.
After his death, the name was changed to the Christopher Cobb American Legion Post 312.
Christopher Cobb
Sheila Cobb fights back tears during a candle light service on April 8, 2006, at Manasota Memorial Park in memory of her son Pfc. Christopher Cobb, and Spc. Justin Schmidt, Lance Cpl. Scott Dougherty and Sgt. Paul Mardis, all of whom were Manatee County men killed during military operations in 2004.
Spc. Patrick Lay, a 2008 Braden River High School graduate, was with four other members of his Army unit when he was killed in Afghanistan in 2011 by the blast of an improvised explosive device.
Army Spc. Patrick Lay
A young boy kneels at the casket of U.S. Army Spc. Patrick Lay during a “Going Home” service on Sunday, Aug. 21, 2011, at the Life Covenant Church. Lay died Aug. 11 while serving in Afghanistan.
Also mourned:
▪ Army Pfc. Christopher North, 21, a 2003 Lakewood Ranch High School graduate who died in Baghdad in 2007.
Christopher North
Family members grieve as they stand at the flag draped casket of Army Pfc. Christopher North , after its arrival at the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport on Friday, April 27, 2007.
▪ Army Staff Sgt. John L. Hartman Jr., 39, a 1984 Manatee High School graduate, who died in Baghdad in 2006.
John Hartman
▪ Army Staff Sgt. Paul Mardis Jr., 27, a 1997 Palmetto graduate, and Army Green Beret who died in Walter Reed Army Hospital in 2004 of wounds suffered near Mosul, Iraq.
Staff Sgt. Paul Mardis Jr., second from right, is pictured with his unit in Iraq. Mardis, a graduate of Palmetto High School, died July 15, 2004, from complications as a result of injuries sustained in Iraq.
Sherri Lawrence wipes a tear from her eye as she reads a letter that was sent to her regarding the loss of her brother Sgt. Paul Mardis, a Green Beret who died as a result of injuries sustained while serving in Iraq, on Aug. 2, 2004.
▪ Marine Lance Cpl. Scott Dougherty, 20, a 2002 Bayshore High School graduate, who died in 2004 near Al Anbar Province, Iraq.
A photo of Lance Cpl. Scott Dougherty appears in a memorial collage at Griffith-Cline Funeral Home on Friday afternoon, July 16, 2004, in Bradenton during a visitation for family and friends of the fallen Marine from Bayshore High.
Lance Cpl. Scott Dougherty of the United States Marine Corps is photographed atop a HUMVEE during his last tour of duty in Iraq.
A marine offers Keith Dougherty, father of slain marine Lance Cpl. Scott Dougherty, the flag which was draped upon his casket during the young marine’s funeral at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Church on July 17, 2004.
▪ Army Spc. Justin Schmidt, 23, a 1998 graduate of Manatee High School who attended Bayshore for three years, and was killed in 2004 in Baghdad.
Justin Schmidt
▪ Army Staff Sgt. Fred Miller, 27, a New Jersey native, whose wife, Jamie Sonekeo Miller, was raised in Bradenton, died in September 2003 in Ramadi, Iraq.
Jamie and Fred Miller on their wedding day in Denmark.
Jamie Miller, widow of Army Staff Sg. Fred Miller, who was killed in Iraq the previous week, tearfully accepts the flag which was draped upon her husband’s casket from sergeant 1st class Michael Reed, at the Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veteran’s Memorial Cemetary on Sept. 29, 2003.
▪ Army Sgt. James Darrough, 38, a 1993 Manatee High School graduate, was killed in Afghanistan on Oct. 29, 2011.
Army Sgt. James Darrough
Army Sgt. William E. Hasenflu, 38, was killed Sept. 28, 2008, by hostile small arms fire in Paktia Province, Afghanistan.
William Hasenflu
Keith Dougherty and his daughter, Nicole, hold a shadow box filled with the medals, dog tags, and a photo of Lance Cpl. Scott Dougherty on March 17, 2006. Scott, Keith’s son and Nicole’s brother, was a Marine killed in action in Iraq in 2004 as a result of enemy action near Al Anbar Province.
Members of the Florida National Guard Military Honors Squad from St. Petersburg, carry the body of Army Pfc. Christopher North to were his family is waiting, after arriving at the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport on Friday, April 27, 2007. North, 21, a Lakewood Ranch High School graduate, was killed in Iraq by an improvised explosive devise.
With his father, Cyril, at his side, Keith Dougherty, seated, holds a photo of his son, Lance Corporal Scott Dougherty of the United States Marine Corps Wednesday evening, July 7, 2004, in at their Manatee County home. Lance Cpl. Dougherty, a 2002 Bayshore High graduate, was killed in action in Iraq on that Tuesday.
The mailbox in front of Scott Dougherty’s father’s Manatee County home, which started out Wednesday with a welcome home banner for the fallen Marine, had turned into a small memorial by Friday evening, July 9, 2004. Lance Cpl. Dougherty, a 2002 Bayshore High graduate, was killed in action in Iraq on Tuesday.
Stefenie Hernandez stands by her car that bears the bumper sticker “Proud parent of a soldier.” Lay’s son, U.S. Army Spc. Patrick Lay, died while serving in Afghanistan.
Joann Steiff, 21, fights back tears as she talks about her fiance, U.S. Army Spc. Patrick Lay, who died while serving in Afghanistan.
Photographs of U.S. Army Spc. Patrick Lay, who died while serving in Afghanistan, are displayed on the table in his family’s Bradenton home.
Frank Slanovits, cousin of Staff Sgt. Fred Miller who was killed in Iraq last week, hugs his son Joshua and girlfriend Alexis Berrier at the Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veteran’s Memorial Cemetery in Wrightstown, New Jersey, on Sept. 29, 2003.
Jamie Miller, the pregnant widow of Staff Sgt. Fred Miller who was killed in Iraq last week, tearfully places a rose on her husband’s casket at the small, rural New Jersey cemetery on Sept. 29, 2003.
Candles at a candle light service on April 8, 2006, at Manasota Memorial Park bare the images and names of Pfc. Christopher Cobb, Spc. Justin Schmidt, Lance Cpl. Scott Dougherty and Sgt. Paul Mardis, all of whom were Manatee County men killed during military operations in 2004.
The history behind Memorial Day
Memorial Day is a great time to enjoy time with friends and family, but the holiday has a deeper meaning. Check out the history behind Memorial Day and what it’s really all about.
Carl Hunsinger, the outgoing chair of the Manatee Veterans Council, served three tours in Iraq. In 2004, he and the members of his gun truck team had just celebrated the 21st birthday of Carl L. Anderson Jr. when Anderson was killed in a roadside bomb attack.
On what would have been Anderson’s 35th birthday, Hunsinger met with his parents in South Carolina.
Grief-stricken family members want to make sure their loved one’s sacrifice is not forgotten. The Andersons were happy to see Hunsinger during a Flags for Fallen Military ceremony for their son.
But the visit also did something good for the retired Air Force chief master sergeant.
“It was one of the most therapeutic things that have happened for me,” Hunsinger said.
Is there a name missing from the list? Email metro@bradenton.com with more information.
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