Honoree: Joseph P. Goodrich

Hometown: Allegheny, PA
Branch of Service: Marine Corps
Rank: Staff Sergeant
Player: Chanachon Chokprajakchat
Staff Sergeant Joseph Goodrich, 32, assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve, Moundsville, W.Va. He was killed on July 10, 2005, by mortar fire while conducting combat operations in Hit, Iraq.
A graduate and criminology major at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, SSgt Goodrich worked as a policeman from 1999 to 2001. He joined the Marine Corps because he wanted to make a difference.
SSgt Goodrich tried to explain why he was a Marine in his last letter to his wife, Amy. He wrote about his childhood visits to the graves of veterans. "Looking at all the headstones with flags in front of them, I started thinking about who they were, how they lived, how they died and what they did for me," he wrote. "I swore to myself that I would not let them down. They sacrificed and gave me something that I could never repay - freedom."
“Goody, you are a constant reminder to me of how we all should live our lives,” said SSgt Kyle Ferkett. “I miss talking to you and hearing your stories. I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to know you."
SSgt Goodrich is survived by his wife, Amy.