Spc. Raymond L. White

Raymond L. White''s last moments illustrated the way he lived. When White''s convoy was ambushed Nov. 12 by a group of insurgents, he held them off with gunfire until other convoy vehicles arrived. Instead of ducking down into his Humvee, his fire helped others get to safety. "He fought to the bitter end," said his mother Sharon White. "Only five people in the entire convoy were hurt. Had he not been so brave, everyone in that convoy would have died." White, 22, of Elwood, Ind., died during the ambush. He was based at Fort Hood, Texas. White graduated from high school in 2001 and studied two years at the New Mexico Military Institute. He left before graduating to enlist in the Army. "He always put others first," said his father, Henry White. That was as true for his friends as it was in his unit. Don Cox, a neighbor, recalled several years ago when calves escaped from a nearby farm and rambled along a highway. Two were injured in accidents with vehicles, but White led the third calf home _ running a mile through soft snow. "He grew up to be a very fine young man," Cox said.