Army - Piedmont, SC - September 14, 2007

Staff Sergeant (SSG) Terry “Daniel” Wagoner, 28, was a dedicated father and the “middle child with a sister on each side” from Piedmont, South Carolina. He had no doubts about enlisting into the U.S. Army which he did shortly after graduating from high school. He had a highly decorated career receiving multiple awards to include the Combat Action Badge. He was deployed to Iraq three times during his career - his last in 2007. SSG Wagoner was last assigned to the 6th Squadron, 9th U.S. Cavalry, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. He and three others died on September 14, 2007 in Baghdad of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle during combat operations.

While attending Woodmont High School, SSG Wagoner excelled in running track. He ran the 400 and 800 and was ranked statewide. His decision to enter the military followed a tradition of five uncles who also served. “Daniel knew what he was doing,” said his father. “He was doing the right thing!”

SSG Wagoner is survived by his wife and daughter who are Folds of Honor Childers’s Fund scholarship recipients.

Army - Mauldin, SC - March 21, 2007

Sgt. Adrian J. Lewis of Mauldin, South Carolina had already served two previous tours of duty each lasting a year. He left Jan. 15 and was due home for two weeks of leave in July. He and his wife Amanda had planned to go on a cruise. Neither of them had ever been on one. He was 30.

Sgt. Lewis died in Ramadi of wounds suffered when his unit fought enemy forces using small-arms fire during combat operations, according to a news release from the Defense Department.

He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, at Fort Stewart, Ga.

Army - Ladson, SC - June 6, 2004

Army Private First Class Melissa J. Hobart October 25, 1981 - June 6, 2004. Hobart grew up in East Haven, Connecticut and attended nursing school at Trident Tech for a year and a half before joining the Army in 2003. The 22-year-old, based out of Fort Hood, Texas, collapsed while on guard duty with Company E, 215th Forward Support Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division, and died on June 6, 2004 in Baghdad. She leaves behind a three-year-old daughter, Alexis, her mother, Constance Hobart, and her brother Gary Hobart.

Army - Goose Creek, SC - November 4, 2005

Pfc. Dustin A. Yancey, 22, was killed Nov. 4 in Baghdad when a bomb exploded near the Humvee he was driving. He was expected to return to the United States in January. Yancey served in the 26th Forward Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division. He was a member of the “Top Flite” platoon, a group that provided security to military convoys. During the service, Capt. David Langer, an Army chaplain, read a letter written by Yancey’s battalion commander, Lt. Col. Michael Armstead.

“Dustin gave us so much and asked for so little,” he read. “He was so good at everything he did.”

Yancey was nicknamed, “the most advanced,” by his friends, the letter read. Yancey played guitar, disassembled and rebuilt computers and was the “best driver in the U.S. Army,” the letter said. “He was one of the best Hackey sack players around and was always willing to teach.” Yancey was born and lived in Cedar Rapids until 1991, when his family moved to South Carolina.

His father, Sgt. 1st Class Tim Yancey, of Goose Creek, S.C., said it takes a true hero to “step up to the plate” and volunteer for military service. “A piece of my heart is gone forever,” he told the crowd of about 100 who gathered for the service at Brosh Chapel. “I love you and I salute you. For you are now our hero and guardian angel.” During the service, Langer read from an entry of Web log Yancey kept in Iraq.

“What we do here is for the safety of America, the freedom of Iraq, and ourselves,” Langer read. “I take pride in what I do and it doesn’t matter who it is helping, as long as it helps, if only a little.”

Army - Fort Mill, SC - November 7, 2003

Staff Sgt. Neff died when the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter he was in was shot down by unknown enemy ordnance in Tikrit, Iraq. He was assigned to 5th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The 30 year old was one of 6 soldiers killed in the attack. Staff Sgt. Neff had the option to leave the military three years ago, but chose to stay. He was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division based in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Neff graduated from Fort Mill High School in South Carolina. His former English teacher Jane Langley says Neff’s death brings the war home. “For it to be our first casualty in York County, in a way it’s like you’ve lost a part of your family.” Neff was divorced and cared for his 9-year-old son. He was planning to re-marry when he returned home to Tennessee. 

Marine Corps - Lexington, SC - March 14, 2005

Lance Cpl. Joshua L. Torrence was killed in Iraq on Monday while fighting in Anbar province, the Defense Department said. Torrence was a crewman on an amphibious assault vehicle, a lightweight tank that can go under water, said Lt. Barry Edwards, a spokesman for the 2nd Marine Division. Torrence was a leader who lived life with a purpose, his former high school football coach Mark Cagle said.

“He is a wonderful young man who exemplifies all that’s good about family, our country, God,” said Cagle, who coaches at White Knoll High School. “I can’t say enough good things about him.”

Torrence graduated from White Knoll in 2003 and joined the Marines in January 2004. Torrence played on the first-ever White Knoll football team in 2000. He was a leader on and off the field, and always made sure to visit when he was home on leave, Cagle said.

“We were looking forward to seeing him,” he said. “He was supposed to have a leave in April.”

Cagle said Torrence was proud to serve in the Marines.

“He felt there was a purpose for him being there,” Cagle said. “I’ve got an 11-year-old son that thought Josh was unbelievable. ... If my son Steven grows up to be like Josh Torrence, I’d be unbelievably proud of him.”

Army - Providence, RI - August 26, 2025

Michael Verardo (February 16, 1985 - August 26, 2025) lived a life defined by courage, devotion, and quiet, unwavering strength. Michael came of age in the years following September 11th while attending high school in Rhode Island. It was there he set two intentions that would shape his life: to serve his country in the United States Army and to win the heart of his high school classmate, Sarah - who would later become his wife.

Determined to serve, Michael endured multiple surgeries to meet the physical requirements for enlistment, ultimately earning his place in the 82nd Airborne Division as an infantryman and paratrooper. In April 2010, while deployed to Afghanistan with Bravo Company, 2-508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, he was severely wounded in an IED attack. Refusing to leave his unit, he returned to combat and was subsequently injured again in a second blast, sustaining catastrophic wounds. It was this deployment where Michael earned his two Purple Hearts. 

Against overwhelming odds, Michael survived and went on to live fifteen remarkable years after his "Alive Day." During that time, he built a full and meaningful life with his wife, Sarah, and their three young daughters, Grace, Mary Scott, and Elizabeth. Despite enduring more than 120 surgeries, he became a powerful advocate for wounded veterans, working with national leaders to drive lasting policy change and helping secure safe passage to the United States for thousands of Afghan interpreters.

Michael's legacy is one of action over words. Through his resilience, leadership, and example, he inspired countless others to serve, to persevere, and to give more of themselves. He is remembered as a devoted husband, a loving father, a proud paratrooper, and a man who embodied the very best of those who serve.

Michael died at home as a result of his combat injuries in August of 2025. He completed his final mission and earned his eternal rest.

Marine Corps - St. Stephen, SC - August 16, 2006

Marine Corps SGT John Paul Phillips, 29, of St. Stephen, SC, died on August 16, 2006.

He died from wounds that became infected, after spending five months in Brooke Army Medical Center, in Texas. Phillips received third-degree burns that covered over 77 percent of his body in March, when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb near Fallujah, Iraq. He was assigned to the 9th Engineer Support Battalion, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force in Okinawa, Japan.

Phillips was a graduate of Macedonia High School.

Army - Goose Creek, SC - June 4, 2010

Sgt. Steven Martin Theobald, US Army, of Goose Creek, SC, died June 4, 2010, near Kuwait City, Kuwait, of injuries sustained in a military vehicle roll-over. 


Born September 10, 1956, in Pensacola, FL, he was one of four children of the late Martin MacHale Theobald and Geraldine Gullette Rabon.

Sgt. Theobald's active duty assignments included service in Fort Bragg, NC, Troy, Alabama, Fort Sill, OK, and Fort Sam Houston, TX. From December of 2003 until December of 2004 Sgt. Theobald served in Operations Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn in Iraq.

He was on active duty and was assigned to the 287th Transportation Co. located in Livingston, AL. At the time of his death, he was serving in Operation Enduring Freedom in Iraq and was based in Kuwait.

He is survived by his wife, Heike Braun Theobald of Wetzlar, Germany; daughter, Jessica Theobald; two sons, Christopher and Daniel Theobald all of Wetzlar, Germany; mother and step-father, Geraldine and Joseph Rabon of Goose Creek, SC; three sisters, Kathryn Risher and husband Douglas of Mt. Pleasant, SC, Susan Rufty and husband Brad of Waxhaw, NC and Jennifer Martin and husband Chip of Charleston, SC; five brothers: Wayne Theobald and wife Lorrie of Ronkonkoma, NY, Lance Rabon of Norfolk, VA, Scott Theobald and wife Rachelle, Brad Theobald and Jonathan Theobald and wife Jessica all of Charleston, SC. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his father.

Army - Campobello, SC - December 9, 2004

Andrew Carl Shields was born in 1979 in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, to Donald and Emily Burnett Shields of Campobello. He grew up in Campobello and was a devoted Christian, attending New Prospect Baptist Church. Shields graduated from Wofford College with a degree in chemistry and shared a close bond with his twin brother, Philip, who also pursued aviation in the South Carolina National Guard. 

Shields served as a platoon leader in Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 151st Aviation Regiment of the South Carolina Army National Guard, based in Columbia, South Carolina. He was a skilled pilot and a member of the Civil Air Patrol and the Army Warfighting Team (AWT), demonstrating both leadership and dedication to service. 

On December 9, 2004, 1st Lt. Shields was killed in an Apache helicopter accident in Mosul, Iraq, alongside fellow Guard pilot Chief Warrant Officer Patrick D. Leach. He was 25 years old at the time of his death. His passing was widely mourned, and he was remembered as a hero who gave his life in service to his country.