. . Nathan Mallory of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, grew up in the rural farming community of Titusville. Not wanting to remain in a small town, Nate enlisted in the United States Air Force in 2000–the first in his family to serve in the military, and as an Eagle Scout, he was well
. . Joel Laudenslager of Clinton, Pennsylvania has been in the Marine Corps Reserves for ten years, and he is a combat veteran of deployments to both Iraq and Afghanistan. Joel grew up in Malaysia, mostly. He came to the Pittsburgh area during his school years and joined JROTC in high
. . John Hawes John Hawes served as an Army sniper in Afghanistan. In 2006, while on patrol high in the mountains, John’s unit became pinned down by Taliban fire. The bloody ordeal, chronicled in the book, The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor, led to the death of
. . Leonard Hammonds II Leonard Hammonds followed a long and proud family tradition of military service by serving in the Marine Corps from 1997 to 2005 in MP Co. B, HQ Service Bn., 4th Force Service Support Group. That experience infused Leonard with a deep commitment to service,
. . Josh Galiyas Josh Galiyas of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania served with the 101st Airborne Division and US Southern Command from 2001-2008. He was in army basic training during the 9/11 attack and in 2003 he was among the first troops to enter Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. While
. . Andrew Brennan After graduating from West Point, Andrew Brennan of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania trained to fly UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters and then he deployed to Afghanistan in 2010. When we kicked the door in Afghanistan, Andrew Brennan admits, the army didn’t have a lot figured out. In the field, missions
