867his work. When his mother urged him to beg off dangerous
assignments, he replied,“No, momma, I can’t do that. I have a
job to do.”
On the morning of March 20, 2007, Glawson was sent to
retrieve a truck that broke down in the outskirts of Baghdad.
He went out, fixed it, and brought it back to the motor pool.
Later that afternoon, his platoon sergeant asked if Curtis
could rescue another disabled vehicle in a dangerous sector.
“I’m good to go, sergeant,” Glawson replied.“Are you sure?”
the officer asked, looking him in the eye.“Always ready,
sergeant,” Glawson replied.
That journey proved to be his last. As the road
wound toward the dusty hills outside Baghdad, an
improvised explosive device (IED)blew up his vehicle.
Glawson was killed instantly. He wanted to be remem-
bered as a loving son, husband, brother, friend, and
dedicated soldier.
Wayne R. Cornell, 26
Wayne Cornell was
born August 3, 1980,
in Grand Island,
Nebraska. His father,
Larry Cornell, was a
Vietnam veteran and
an electrician; his
mother, Patricia,
worked in a factory.
When Wayne was
three his parents
divorced. Several
years later his mother
married Ronald
Perrie, who became a
major influence in
Wayne’s life.
At an early age,
Wayne was attracted
to martial arts. He
later specialized in Hapkido, a Korean variant, and attained
third degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. In 1999 he graduated
from Silver Lake High School in Roseland, Nebraska.
For a time Cornell considered becoming a police offi-
cer. But military service ran deep in the family; in addition
to his father, Cornell’s grandfather had served in World
War II and his great-grandfather in World War I. In 2001
Wayne enlisted in the National Guard and was stationed in
Hastings, Nebraska. The next year he married Patricia
Warburton; the couple had three children: Dameion, Zoie,
and Sadie—the third born three months after Wayne’s
death. He did tours in Bosnia and Afghanistan. He was also
a volunteer fireman and emergency medical technician in
Holstein, Nebraska.
In 2005 Cornell joined the U.S. Army and was stationed
in Fort Riley, Kansas. Soon thereafter he was sent to Iraq,
where he served as a sergeant.“He embraced the responsi-
bilities, consequences and sacrifices” that went with military
service, his sister, JaDeen, recalled. His family said that he
never expressed opinions on the war.
On March 20, 2007, while on a patrol on the outskirts of
Baghdad, an IED blew up near his vehicle. He was killed. ( This
explosion was separate from the one that killed Glawson
that same day.)Daniel J. Geary, 22
Daniel Geary was born
on September 12,
1986, the son of
Michael Geary,
machine foreman, and
Agnes Geary, machine
operator, in Rome, New
York. Daniel was the
fourth of seven chil-
dren. When he was
eight, he smelled
smoke and pulled his
four-year-old sister
from a room that was
engulfed in flames.
As a teenager,
Geary enjoyed paint-
ball, working on his
Chevy Sebring, and
bowling. At sixteen, he bowled his first perfect game. He
attended Rome Free Academy, a public high school, but
dropped out a few weeks before graduation. For a time, he was
unsure of what to do with his life. He landed a job at the Turning
Stone Casino in Rome, owned by the Oneida Indians. Several
months later, however, he resolved to get his diploma.“I was
never more proud of him,” his mother recalled. In 2006 he
returned to school, joined the officer training program, and
decided on a career in the military. In June, shortly before receiv-
ing his diploma, he enlisted in the Marines and soon subscribed
to its motto wholeheartedly:semper fidelis(always faithful).
In September, Geary reported to Camp Lejeune, North
Carolina, where he met his fiancée. In November, 2008, after a
tour of duty on a ship in the Indian Ocean, he was sent to
Kandahar, Afghanistan. He was impressed by the mountains
that towered above ancient valleys.“Other than people try-
ing to shoot me and blow me up,” he told his mother,“you
can’t believe how beautiful it is over here.”
On March 19, 2009, he was part of a team of Marines
that caught an enemy bomber near a police station. The next
day the team returned to the station to encourage the local
police to work harder to capture insurgents. While the others
were meeting inside, Geary stood guard, manning a machine
gun in a Humvee. Then a car with police markings came
through the gate, approached the Humvee and blew up,
killing Geary instantly.Daniel J. Geary.Wayne R. Cornell.
Question for Discussion
■These four soldiers are among the millions who made
the American nation but whose names so often are
missing from historical accounts. What other unsung
heroes are missing from this book?