Fallen Soldier: Frank B. Hernandez

Sergeant Frank B. Hernandez 21, of Phoenix, Ariz. was assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, Stryker Brigade Combat Team stationed in Fort Lewis, Wash. He died February 17, 2005 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle in Tal Afar, an insurgent stronghold near Mosul in northern Iraq.

In the initial invasion of Iraq, SGT Hernandez served with an armored unit that conducted "thunder run" raids to seize Baghdad.

SSG Hernandez joined the army because of 9/11 and when he did, he gave up a scholarship to Arizona State University. He hoped to become a police officer like his brother and also aspired to become an FBI agent someday.

SGT Hernandez married his wife, Cristin, shortly before being redeployed to Iraq. "He really did not want to go back," said his cousin Mary Lawrence. But she said "serving his country and protecting his country was one of his main goals in life."

SGT Hernandez was survived by his wife and a son, Aden, whom he never had a chance to meet.