CW3 Michael Wells of Slidell, Louisiana was a reservist in the Louisiana Army National Guard and working as a commercial helicopter pilot servicing the oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. In February, 2004 he was deployed to Camp Anaconda in Balad, Iraq. On September 21, 2004, as the Blackhawk helicopter he was piloting had just taken off, mechanical failure caused the aircraft to be uncontrollable.

Lance Corporal Justin McLeese of Covington, Louisiana enlisted in the Marine Corps after graduating from Covington High School.  He wanted to join the Marines after the events of 9/11 and in his own words "it is an experience I want in my life".

Marine Sgt. Jeffrey Lynn Kirk was a member of the elite Fast Company Anti-Terrorist Security team. At the time of his reenlistment, Sgt. Kirk accepted a position as an instructor at Officer Candidate School. After 9/11, he requested a transfer to ground forces to fight overseas. He was shot during house-clearing efforts in Fallujah on November 2004 and spent the next four weeks recuperating.

Corporal Matt Cole graduated from Mandeville High in 1999 and left for the United States Marine Corps two weeks later. Cpl. Cole was a Crew chief/gunner of an Amphibious Assault Vehicle, commonly known as an "AMTRAK".  He first deployed to Kuwait in January 2003 in preparation for the invasion of Iraq.  Cpl. Cole was attached to RCT 5, which was the first Marine regiment to cross the border.