Army Sgt. Keman L. Mitchell

Died May 26, 2003 serving during Operation Iraqi Freedom

24, of Hilliard, Fla.; assigned to Company C, 4th Engineer Battalion, Fort Carson, Colo.; drowned in Karkuk, Iraq, May 26.

Mitchell jumped into seven-foot deep body of water. When he failed to resurface, members of his squad retrieved him. Medical personnel went to the scene and started cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Mitchell was evacuated to a forward surgical team and was pronounced dead on arrival.

Keman Mitchell graduated from Fernandina Beach High School in 1997 and had served six years in the Army. His father, Steven Mitchell, said he received a letter from his son the day he died, in which he complained about the heat and said his soldiers were retrieving loose weapons and helping establish a police force.