Americans Set Aside Memorial Day to Remember

More than 5,000 service men and women have died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan since the invasion began in 2003.  An interactive CNN map lists the fallen one by one, their hometowns, and the location of their death in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Of the 1,771 U.S. and Coalition casualties in Afghanistan, central Texas' brave heroes forever remembered include:

• Specialist Bobby Pagan, killed in Kandahar province (Austin)
• Lance Cpl. Matthew Reza, killed in Kandahar (Austin)
• Sgt. Jaime Gonzalez, Junior, killed in Kabul (Austin)

Pagan, one of three soldiers killed when enemy forces attacked their unit with a bomb in Zhari district, Kandahar province, Afghanistan on February 13, 2010. 

Relatives close to him remember this soldier as a kind person who would help anyone.  He leaves behind a fiancee and a loving family. 

• Spc. Joshua Ray Farris, 22, killed in Wardak province (La Grange)
• Lance Cpl. Cody Robert Stanley, 21, killed in Helmand province (Rosanky)
• Maj. Thomas Gordan Bostick, Junior, 37, killed in Nuristan province (Llano)
• Capt. Paul Pena, 27, killed in Kandahar province (San Marcos)
• Capt. Joshua Stewart Meadows, 30, killed in Farah province (Elgin)

Many more laid their lives down in Iraq, including 12 men from Austin, three from Pflugerville, three from Round Rock, one from Cedar Park, one from Spicewood, and one from Center.

Aside from the extended weekend and time together with family with a bar-b-q and beer, Memorial Day is an official federal holiday celebrated on the Monday of May to remember U.S. men and women who died while in the military service.  It's formerly known as Decoration Day and first honored Union Soldiers of the American Civil War.  The day expanded following World War I.

For one family in Ohio, Memorial Day is year-round.  The Van Doren brothers say it's not a duty, but rather a privilege to place flags at the grave sites of those who sacrificed their lives to serve the United States in battle.  CBS' Bill Geist has the story.



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