Coby G. Schwab
 |
| Age: |
|
25 |
| Hometown: |
Puyallup, WA |
| Date of Death: |
5/3/2007 |
| Incident Location: |
Ramadi, Iraq |
| Branch of Military: |
|
Army |
| Rank: |
Staff Spc. |
| Unit: |
Company B, 321st Engineer Battalion of the U.S. Army Reserve |
| Unit's Base: |
|
|
He had joined the Army in 2000, and already had served a tour in
Iraq in 2004. After his service was over, he volunteered for the Army Reserves to help train the next generation of soldiers, said Maj. Gen. Lawrence J. Johnson at the funeral. "He saw the reserve soldiers had little, if any, combat experience," Johnson said. "He wanted to take his experience and use it to shape their experience." When Johnson went to
Fort Lewis in
Washington state to honor some soldiers for their service, Schwab was nowhere to be found to receive his medals. "He was setting up a particularly dangerous training exercise because he knew what they would face," Johnson said. "I never got the chance to present (the honors) to him." He presented Schwab's mother, Jane Hanson, and his stepfather, Don Hanson, with the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Meritorious Service medals. Schwab's friend, Jim Downer, who served with him in the Stryker Brigade, said Schwab wanted to be with his buddies. "The sacrifices he made as a soldier, I think it's important to remember, were made out of love and not out of hate: Love for his country, love for his fellow soldiers, and the hope that every soldier has that his sacrifices mean other people won't have to sacrifice in the future," he said.