Twenty-years ago the world changed.
Four commercial airliners were used to attack the United States of America by a terrorist organization that hated this country.
Millions of people watched in horror as the scenes unfolded in New York; Washington, D.C.; and Shanksville.
Over the next two decades, the United States became engaged in two wars to fight back against global terror.
Below are the soldiers who had ties to Berks County who have lost their lives while in service to their country since 9/11.
Today, we honor them.
Army Sgt. Orlando Morales-Rivera
Orlando Morales-Rivera, 33, who grew up in Reading before moving to Puerto Rico, was killed March 29, 2003, in Afghanistan.
Morales-Rivera, an Army Ranger, was one of two U.S. soldiers fatally shot when they were ambushed by four men on motorcycles while they patrolled near Geresk.
Army Sgt. Andrew J. Baddick
Andrew J. Baddick, 26, whose father and stepmother live in Centre Township, died Sept. 29, 2003, in Iraq.
Baddick, a member of the 82nd Airborne Division, drowned while trying to rescue or recover a Humvee driver who had crashed into a Baghdad canal.
Marine Cpl. Ramona M. Valdez
Ramona M. Valdez, 20, whose mother lives in Reading, was killed June 23, 2005, in Iraq.
Valdez, a communications specialist, was killed by a suicide car bomber in Fallujah.
National Guard Sgt. Anthony N. Kalladeen
Anthony N. Kalladeen, 26, whose mother lives in Reading, was killed Aug. 8, 2005, in Iraq.
Kalladeen, a member of the New York National Guard and former Marine, was killed by small-arms fire after a roadside bomb exploded next to his armored vehicle in Baghdad.
Army Spc. William V. Fernandez
William V. Fernandez, 37, of Lower Alsace Township was killed on Sept. 19, 2005, while on patrol in Iraq.
He was one of four soldiers who died in a pair of roadside explosions while on patrol near Ramadi, an insurgent stronghold about 70 miles north of Baghdad, according to military officials.
Fernandez was assigned to Army National Guard’s 1st Squadron, 104th Cavalry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division.
Army Pfc. Travis C. Zimmerman
Travis C. Zimmerman, 19, of New Berlinville was killed on April 22, 2006, in Baghdad, Iraq.
Zimmerman served with the 101st Airborne, 2nd Battalion 502nd Infantry Regiment, known as the “Screaming Eagles.”
He was conducting combat reconnaissance operations when the explosives detonated near his observation post.
Army Capt. Nathan R. Raudenbush
Nathan R. Raudenbush, 25, whose parents live in Earl Township, died Feb. 20, 2008, in south Baghdad, Iraq, when the Humvee in which he was riding was blown up.
Raudenbush was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division out of Fort Stewart, Ga.
Navy Chief Petty Officer Lance M. Vaccaro
Lance M. Vaccaro, 35, of Reading died March 6, 2008, during a parachute training exercise near Marana, Ariz.
Vaccaro, a Navy SEAL, served in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq.
Army Maj. Dr. John P. Pryor
Dr. John P. Pryor, 42, of Moorestown, N.J., a Philadelphia-based surgeon who was on staff at Reading Hospital, died Dec. 25, 2008, in Iraq. He was a major with the Army Reserve Medical Corps.
Pryor was assigned to the 1st Medical Detachment, Forward Surgical Team, Fort Totten, N.Y., and died in Mosul of wounds suffered when a mortar round impacted near his living quarters.
Navy Master-at-Arms Seaman Apprentice Joshua D. Seitz
Joshua D. Seitz, 19, of Sinking Spring was killed on Dec. 26, 2008, off the coast of Bahrain.
Seitz was a master-at-arms seaman apprentice assigned to Naval Security Force, Naval Support Activity Bahrain.
He died of injuries suffered in an accident at a port named Mina Salman during a nighttime collision between a military patrol boat and a moored barge.
Army Cpl. Jonathan M. Walls
Jonathan M. Walls, 27, of West Lawn was killed Aug. 1, 2009, in Kandahar province when insurgents attacked his patrol with improvised explosive devices and rocket-propelled grenade.
Walls was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.
Two other soldiers died in the attack.
Army Spc. Anthony Vargas
Anthony Vargas, 27, of Reading was killed Nov. 8, 2010, in the Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device.
His vehicle struck the device while on patrol in Khogyani District, which borders Pakistan.
Vargas was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.
Army Staff Sgt. Sean M. Flannery
Sean M. Flannery, 29, of Wyomissing was killed Nov. 22, 2010, in Kandahar province near the Zhari District Station.
Flannery, a squad leader, was in a vehicle on patrol when he was killed by an improvised explosive device.
Flannery was on his fourth tour of duty, following two stints in Iraq and another in Afghanistan with both the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions.
Army Staff Sgt. Brian K. Mowery
Brian K. Mowery, 49, of Halifax, Dauphin County, was killed July 18, 2011, near Bagram, Afghanistan, while serving with the 131st Transportation Company of the PA National Guard based in Kutztown. His convoy was attacked while transporting needed supplies.
Army National Guard Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jarett M. Yoder
Jarett M. Yoder, 26, of Brecknock Township was killed April 9, 2013, in eastern Afghanistan when the Apache helicopter he was flying in crashed.
Yoder was assigned to Company B, 1-104th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion.
He deployed to Iraq in 2008 with Kutztown-based Company C of the National Guard’s 56th Stryker Brigade.
Air Force Capt. Michael D. Trubilla
Michael D. Trubilla, 27, of Muhlenberg Township died in a plane crash on July 24, 2016, in Nebraska.
Trubilla was training in a commercial Beechcraft Baron when it crashed into a field.
He was serving at Offutt Air Force Base in the 45th Reconnaissance Squadron, copiloting the RC-135 in various missions around the world, including tours in Japan, Alaska, Hawaii, England, Greece and Al Udeid.
Source: Berkshire mont
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