Sergeant Aubrey D. Bell, 33, was assigned to the 214th Military Police Company as part of the Alabama Army National Guard based in Alexander City. SGT Bell was training at the Al Bayra Police Station in Baghdad, Iraq on October 27, 2003, when his unit came under small hostile fire. He was killed when an improvised explosive device detonated. Nine other members of the unit were injured.

SGT Bell was a native of Tuskegee, Alabama. He was one of three brothers and worked at Russell Corp. in Montgomery. He was a veteran of the first Gulf war and had been in the National Guard for about 14 years.

SGT Bell was a father figure to the four children of his fiancé, Philandria Ezell, and had the kind of personality that drew children to him. “Kids always were climbing on him. He was a big ol’ gentle giant,” said Maj. Andy Davis.

SGT Bell and Philandria Ezell grew up together in Tuskegee. “We’ve just always known each other,” Ezell said. “He used to tell people he had to teach me how to tie my shoes. He didn’t, but he liked to tell people that.”. The couple were planning to get married in 2004 as soon as he returned from Iraq.