Spc. James Kiehl

Army Spc. James Kiehl, from Comfort, Texas, met his wife at an Army training center at Fort Gordon, Ga. They married in July 2001. Jill Kiehl, his wife, said James had a sharp sense of humor and was "an optimistic kind of person. "Every time I''d try to be pessimistic, he''d say, ''Just think the best.''" Kiehl, 22, of Comfort, Texas, was killed March 23 when his unit came under attack in a pre-dawn ambush. Kiehl spent his childhood in a military family in Southern California and moved with his father to Comfort when his parents divorced. At 6-foot-8, he excelled in basketball and he also played the trumpet. He joined the Army in hopes of building his computer skills. Before he went overseas with the 507th Maintenance Company, Kiehl gave his pregnant wife a teddy bear with a taped message. "I''ll see you when I get back," it says.