Army Sgt. 1st Class Randall S. Rehn

Died April 3, 2003 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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36, of Longmont, Colo.; assigned to the C Battery, 3rd Battalion, 13th Field Artillery Regiment (Multiple Launch Rocket System), Fort Sill, Okla.; killed in action in Iraq.

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A career soldier who stayed in the Persian Gulf for a year after the 1991 war, Randy Rehn was rethinking his long-range plans before he shipped out for Kuwait in January.

Rehn, who had joined the Army in 1997, lived near the Fort Sill Army base with his wife, Raelynn, and 7-month-old daughter, Megan.

He was one of three soldiers who died April 3 when their Bradley fighting vehicle was bombed in Iraq.

“He said this was the last time that he was going overseas because he hated being away from his family,” said Rehn’s older brother, Joe.

Even so, “he believed in what he was doing. He was fighting for the right reasons — to fight terrorism and make it a safer place for people to live in. He was fighting for everybody’s baby and grandbaby.”

Rehn, 36, of Longmont, Colo., liked to golf and hunt, and he was a practical joker always looking for new ways to make people laugh.

“He was bubbly and full of laughter,” his brother said.

— USA Today and The Associated Press