Wisconsin lost 136 men and women in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Here are the names of every one.
Kirk Allen Straseskie's father and grandfather served in the U.S. Army, and he wanted to follow in their footsteps, to a point.
Straseskie graduated from Beaver Dam High School in 1998, and then fulfilled his childhood dream of becoming a Marine.
In May 2003, a Marine CH-46 helicopter went down in a canal near Al Hillah, Iraq. Straseskie jumped into the canal, attempting to rescue crewmembers. He drowned.
He was 23 years old, and the first Wisconsin casualty of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
One-hundred thirty-five more would follow.
The youngest was Ryan Jerabek, 18, of Hobart, who was killed in 2004 in a firefight in Ramadi, Iraq, less than a year after receiving his high school diploma. The oldest was Merideth Howard, 52, of Waukesha, who was killed in 2006 when a bomb detonated near her Humvee.
They are heroes, all. And we remember them.
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2003
Kirk Straseskie, 23, Beaver Dam; Mathew E. Schram, 36, Brookfield; Dan H. Gabrielson, 40, Frederic; Paul J. Sturino, 21, Rice Lake; Rachel Bosveld, 19, Waupun; Warren S. Hansen, 36, Clintonville; Eugene A. Uhl III, 21, Amherst; Jeremy L. Wolfe, 27, Menomonie; Christopher Splinter, 43, Platteville.
2004
Robert Cook, 24, Sun Prairie; Nichole Frye, 19, Lena; Bert Hoyer, 23, Ellsworth; John F. Kurth, 31, Columbus; Sean Michael Schneider, 22, Janesville; Jesse Thiry, 23, Casco; Ryan Jerabek, 18, Hobart; Michelle Witmer, 20, New Berlin; Michael McGlothin, 21, Milwaukee; Justin Linden, 22, Clinton; Charles Kiser, 37, Cleveland; Stephen Martin, 39, Rhinelander; Adrian Soltau, 21, Milwaukee; Andrew Halverson, 19, Muscoda; Daniel Wyatt, 22, Racine; Shane O’Donnell, 24, De Forest; Robert Warns II, 23, Waukesha; Todd Cornell, 38, West Bend; Brian Prening, 24, Plymouth; Isaiah Hunt, 20, Suamico; Benjamin Edinger, 24, Green Bay; Ryan Cantafio, 22, Beaver Dam; Brent Vroman, 21, Oshkosh; Richard Warner, 22, Waukesha; Todd Olson, 36, Loyal.
2005
Travis Wichlacz, 22, West Bend; Donald Eacho, 38, Kenosha; Andrew Bossert, 24, Fountain City; Kyle Hemauer, 21, Chilton; Joshua Michael Scott, 28, Sun Prairie; Mark Maida, 22, Madison; Eric Poelman, 21, Mount Pleasant; John Mattek Jr., 24, Antigo; Charles Kaufman, 20, Fairchild; Benjamin Jansky, 28, Oshkosh; John Tollefson, 22, Fond du Lac; Chad Simon, 32, Monona; Trevor Diesing, 30, Plum City; Ryan Nass, 21, Franklin; Michael Wendling, 20, Mayville; Andrew Wallace, 25, Oshkosh; Matthew Kading, 32, Madison; Benjamin A. Smith, 21, Hudson; Anthony Alexander “Alex” Gaunky, 19, Sparta; Andy A. Stevens, 29, Tomah.
2006
Adam VanAlstine, 21, Superior; Nicholas Anderson, 21, Sauk City; Eric Palmisano, 27, Florence; Nathan Vacho, 29, Ladysmith; Eric D. Clark, 22, Pleasant Prairie; Grant Dampier, 25, Merrill; Jaime Jaenke, 29, Bay City; Patrick Lybert, 28, Ladysmith; Stephen Castner, 27, Cedarburg; Ryan Jopek, 20, Merrill; Adam Servais, 23, Onalaska; Kenneth Cross, 21, Superior; Shaun Novak, 21, Two Rivers; Merideth Howard, 52, Waukesha; Luke Zimmerman, 24, Town of Green Bay; Rhett Schiller, 26, Waterford; Jesse Tillery, 19, Vesper; Kevin Kryst, 27, West Bend; Evan Bixler, 21, Racine; Joshua Schmitz, 21, Loyal.
2007
Matthew Grimm, 21, Wisconsin Rapids; Andrew Matus, 19, Chetek; Jon St. John II, 25, Neenah; Harry Timberman, 20, Minong; Robert Basham, 22, Kenosha; Nicholas Riehl, 21, Shiocton; Jesse Albrecht, 31, Hager City; Scott Brown, 33, Brookfield; Tyler J. Kritz, 21, Eagle River; Derek A. Dobogai, 26, Fond du Lac; Rachael L. Hugo, 24, Madison; Patrick L. Wade, 38, Manawa; Keith A. Nurnberg, 26, Genoa City; Louis A. Griese, 30, Sturgeon Bay; Matthew R. Zindars, 21, Watertown; Tracy Lynn Alger, 30, New Auburn; Joshua Brennan, 22, McFarland.
2008
Dean D. Opicka, 29, Waukesha; Richard J. Nelson, 23, Kenosha; Jason F. Lemke, 30, West Allis; Keith E. Lloyd, 26, Milwaukee; Timothy R. Hanson, 23, Kenosha; Christopher S. Frost, 24, Town of Vernon; Steven J. Christofferson, 20, Cudahy; Nick A. Dewhirst, 25, Onalaska; Daniel J. Thompson, 24, Madison; Brian Naseman, 36, Racine; Matthew I. Pionk, 30, Oliver.
2009
Earl D. Werner, 38, Mondovi; Daniel Thompson, 24, Portage; Steven Drees, 19, Peshtigo; Kevin Graham, 27, Salem; Ryan C. Adams, 26, Rhinelander; Nickolas A. Mueller, 26, Little Chute; Jacob A. Meinert, 20, Fort Atkinson.
2010
Robert Rieckhoff, 26, Kenosha; Paul R. Bartz, 43, Waterloo; Adam Novak, 20, Prairie du Sac; Matthew West, 36, Conover; Chad Coleman, 20, Franklin; Dan Johnson, 23, Cottage Grove; Justin Cain, 22, Manitowoc; Scott Thomas Nagorski, 27, Greenfield; Jacob Gassen, 21, Beaver Dam.
2011
Daren Hidalgo, 24, Waukesha; Justin Ross, 24, Green Bay; Paul Atim, 27, Green Bay; Matthew D. Hermanson, 22, Appleton; Ryan Larson, 19, Friendship; Tyler Kreinz, 21, Beloit; Michael Nolen, 22, Spring Valley; Chester G. Stoda, 32, Black River Falls; Garrick Louis Eppinger Jr., 25, Appleton; Jakob Roelli, 24, Darlington; Joe Altmann, 27, Marshfield.
2012
David Johnson, 24, Mayville; Jesse Grindey, 30, Hazel Green; Benjamin Neal, 21, Orfordville, Christopher Mosko, 28, Eau Claire.
2013
Jeremiah M. Collins Jr., 19, Milwaukee.
2014
Donnell A. Hamilton Jr., 20, Kenosha.
2015
Quinn Johnson-Harris, 21, Milwaukee
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Here's the list of Wisconsin casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan
