Marine Cpl. Travis J. Bradach-Nall

Died July 02, 2003 serving during Operation Iraqi Freedom

21, of Multnomah County, Ore.; assigned to Combat Service Support Group 11, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died July 2 near Karbala, Iraq. Bradachnall was killed in an explosion during a mine clearing operation.

Travis J. Bradach-Nall had been scheduled to leave Iraq shortly after major combat ended on May 1. He planned to go to college and learn to fly a helicopter. But when he heard more help was needed, he volunteered to stay an extra three months.

The platoon wasn’t surprised by his decision, said Cpl. Jose Hernandez: “He would always step in and take his spot.”

Bradach-Nall, 21, of Portland, Ore., died July 2 in an explosion during a mine-clearing operation. He was stationed at Camp Pendleton.

Family and friends remembered Bradach-Nall as a fun-loving, courageous man with a love for music and a sense of adventure. In high school, he wrestled, played drums and sang in the choir. He had a large collection of tattoos, including one depicting a passage about shedding blood for brothers.

“He was always smiling,” uncle Sam Bradach said. “He had that sense of joy in whatever he did.”