about army first class andrew martin ward. he was killed december 5th, 2002 in ramadi, iraq, by small arms fire when his unit came under attack. he was from kirkland washington, and his younger sister left a simple message on the home and away website. she says quote i don t know how to feel or how to cope. i just want the world to know that i loved him. simple and to the point. andrew martin ward was 25 years old. we want to hear more stories of such sacrifice from you. go to our website, cnn.com/homeandaway, and put your service member s name in the upper right search field, pull up the profile, add your memories and pictures, too. wheeling s add them to our hall of heroes. i never thought this would be the way you d come back home
things are looking good and i m coming home. i m very happy. reporter: they have been here since november. after years of american troops learning their tours would be extended, these soldiers had their 12-month tour cut short. the number of u.s. boots on the ground is decreasing by the day and commanders say that not even iraq s inability to form a government will stop them from meeting their deadline. these soldiers leave behind an iraq with an uncertain future, but for them, the job is done. well, you know, every day at this time, we salute a member of the u.s. military who made the ultimate sacrifice in iraq or afghanistan. we call it home and away. we want to tell you about private first class andrew martin ward from kirkland, washington. he was killed when his unit was
attacked by enemy forces in iraq in december of 2006 opinion his brother sent in these picks, and walter ward said his brother was truly a special individual. he loved his family, highly intelligent and andrew was adventurous. if he had something set in his mind, he would do it. the last moments of his life are documented in a book, new dawn: the fault for fallujah. all of our troops have a story. major battle or not. we agree. bring your service memberstories to us. go to cnn.com/home and away, and pull up the profile and send us your thoughts and pictures and we ll keep the member of your hero, our heroes, alive. boss: and now i ll turn it over to the gecko.