At least 28 of the more than 2,700 U.S. troops killed in Iraq and at least four of the more than 280 U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan have ties to Western Virginia . Also, one U.S. civilian contractor with local ties was killed in Iraq.

Afghanistan

1. Marine Lance Cpl. Juston Tyler Thacker, 21, of Princeton , W.Va. He was born in Roanoke and lived here for about four years, according to his father, who lives in Montvale. He was killed June 24, 2004, in an ambush near Bari Khout.

2. and 3. Two soldiers in the Winchester-based 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 1st "Stonewall" Brigade, 29th Division of the Virginia Army National Guard were killed Aug. 7, 2004, by a roadside bomb in Ghazikel. Staff Sgt. Craig W. Cherry, 39, of Winchester , and Sgt. Bobby E. Beasley, 36, of Inwood, W.Va. , died along with Afghan translator Ajmal Behrouz, 20. The 3rd Battalion included more than 200 soldiers from Southwest Virginia , including 129-soldier Bedford-based Company C.

4. Spc. Chrystal G. Stout, 23, of Travelers Rest, S.C., with the South Carolina Army National Guard, was killed April 6, 2005, in a helicopter crash that killed 18 people in Ghazni. Stout was born and raised in Hillsville. She visited family in Hillsville each year and planned to attend Liberty University .

Iraq

1. Marine Sgt. Michael Lalush, 23, a 1997 graduate of Lord Botetourt High who lived in California and whose parents still live in Botetourt County , died March 30, 2003, in a helicopter crash.

2. Army 1st Lt. Jeffrey Kaylor, 24, a 2001 Virginia Tech graduate from Clifton , was killed April 7, 2003, in a grenade attack.

3. Army Sgt. Michael Dooley, 23, a graduate of Pulaski County High School who lived in Colorado , was killed June 8, 2003, in a traffic checkpoint shooting.

4. Army Capt. John Teal, 31, a 1994 graduate of Virginia Military Institute from Mechanicsville, was killed October 23, 2003, by a roadside bomb in Baqubah.

5. Army 1st Lt. Joshua Hurley, 24, a 2001 graduate of Virginia Military Institute, formerly from Clifton Forge, was killed Nov. 1, 2003, by a roadside bomb in Mosul .

6. New Jersey Army National Guard Sgt. Ryan Doltz, 26, a 2002 graduate of Virginia Military Institute from Mine Hill , N.J. , was killed June 5, 2004, by a roadside bomb in Baghdad .

7. Army Maj. Paul Syverson III, 32, a 1993 graduate of Virginia Military Institute from Illinois , was killed in a mortar attack, June 16, 2004, in a mortar attack in Balad.

8. Marine Lance Cpl. Deshon Otey, 24, of Kentucky whose father lives in Roanoke , was killed June 21, 2004, when his patrol was ambushed in Ramadi.

9. Army Staff Sgt. Gregory V. Pennington, 36, of Glade Spring , Va. , was killed June 21, 2004, during a mortar attack on his camp in Baghdad . He was assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, based at Fort Hood , Texas . (AP - Pennington was killed as he led his men out of their barracks, his father said. "His captain said he died a hero," Aulbin Pennington of Konnarock said. Pennington had talked to his son one day earlier, Father's Day. "He was Special Forces and he wasn't allowed to talk (about his assignment), you know how they are. But did tell me mortars were going off constantly and stuff." He had been in the Army 12 years and in Iraq for more than three months. The elder Pennington said his son was married but had no children. Visitors to the soldier's Damascus , Va. , high school stopped to sign bulletin boards in his memory. "I'm very proud to have known him," said Leigh Ann Copenhaver, who graduated with Pennington in 1986. "I'll remember how proud he made this community." Survivors include his wife, Janet.)

10. Marine Staff Sgt. John Ryan Howard, 26, a 1996 graduate of Alleghany High School who lived in San Diego , was killed Aug. 11, 2004, in a helicopter crash.

11. Army 1st Lt. Tim Price, 25, a 2001 graduate of Virginia Tech who was from Midlothian, was killed Sept. 7, 2004, by small arms fire in Baghdad .

12. Army Staff Sgt. Guy Stanley Hagy Jr. , 31, who was born and raised in Thompson Valley in Tazewell County and lived in California and Texas , was killed Sept. 13, 2004, when a bomb exploded near his observation post in Baghdad .

13. Army Spc. Robert Oliver Unruh, 25, a 1998 Salem High School graduate whose family has since moved to Arizona , was killed Sept. 25, 2004, in Anbar Province when his combat engineer unit was hit by enemy fire. He was a fourth-generation soldier.

14. Army 1st Lt. Luke Wullenwaber, 24, a 2002 Virginia Military Institute graduate who was from Lewiston, Idaho, died Nov. 16, 2004, when a suicide bomber detonated a car bomb near Khalidiyah.

15. Marine Lance Cpl. Demarkus D. Brown, 22, of Martinsville , killed by enemy action Nov. 19, 2004, in Al Anbar Province, which includes Fallujah.

16. Marine Cpl. Bradley Arms, 20, with the Lynchburg-based Company C, 4th Combat Engineer Battalion, 4th Marine Division, was killed in a firefight in Fallujah on Nov. 19, 2004. Arms was from Charlottesville and was a student at the University of Georgia .

17. Army Sgt. Nicholas Mason, 20, of King George, was with Virginia Army National Guard's 276th Engineer Battalion in Mosul when a suicide attack was launched on the mess tent Dec. 21, 2004. Twenty-two people died, including 14 U.S. troops and four American civilians. Mason was a Virginia Tech student.

18. Army Staff Sgt. Nathaniel Nyren, 31, of Reston was killed in Dec. 28, 2004, when his Humvee rolled over after being struck by a civilian vehicle. He attended Virginia Tech in the early 1990s.

19. Marine Cpl. Jonathan Williams Bowling, 23, with the Lynchburg-based Company C, 4th Combat Engineer Battalion, 4th Marine Division, was killed in a rocket-propelled grenade ambush attack on his convoy in Anbar Province on Jan. 26, 2005. It was the deadliest day for U.S. troops since the war began. Bowling was an officer with the Martinsville Police Department and the son of a Virginia State Trooper. He lived in Stuart.

20. Marine Cpl. Christopher Weaver, 24, with the Lynchburg-based Company C, 4th Combat Engineer Battalion, 4th Marine Division, was killed in a rocket-propelled grenade ambush attack on his convoy in Anbar Province on Jan. 26, 2005. It was the deadliest day for U.S. troops since the war began. Weaver was from Fredericksburg and had graduated from Virginia Tech in December 2002 with a bachelor's degree in history. He became a Marine reservist after his freshman year.

21. Marine Sgt. Jesse Strong, 24, with the Lynchburg-based Company C, 4th Combat Engineer Battalion, 4th Marine Division, was killed in a rocket-propelled grenade ambush attack on his convoy in Anbar Province on Jan. 26, 2005. It was the deadliest day for U.S. troops since the war began. Strong was from Albany , Vt. , and had graduated from Liberty University in 2004.

22. Marine Lance Cpl. Karl Linn, 20, with the Lynchburg-based Company C, 4th Combat Engineer Battalion, 4th Marine Division, was killed in a rocket-propelled grenade ambush attack on his convoy in Anbar Province on Jan. 26, 2005. It was the deadliest day for U.S. troops since the war began. Linn was from Midlothian and was a student at Virginia Commonwealth University .

23. Marine Capt. James C. Edge, 31, was killed April 14, 2005, by small-arms fire in Ramadi. The Virginia Beach native became the sixth Virginia Military Institute graduate to die in the Iraq war. He graduated from VMI in 1996.

24. Civilian contractor David Michael Patterson, 27, whose father lives in Eagle Rock and grandparents in Clifton Forge where he spent summers as a child, died April 21, 2005, when his helicopter was shot down north of Baghdad . The former U.S. Army reservist, who lived in North Carolina , worked for Blackwater Security Consulting and was responsible for protecting U.S. diplomats.

25. Marine Lance Cpl. Jourdan L. Grez, 24, of Harrisonburg , who belonged to B Company, 4th Combat Engineer Battalion, 4th Marine Division, a Roanoke-based reserve unit, was killed May 11, 2005, by a roadside bomb in Karabilah.

26. Army, Jason Sheuerman of Lynchburg soldier died July 30, 2005, in Iraq from non-combat related injuries. He was the fourth soldier from Lynchburg to die this year in Iraq .

27. Army Spc. Jared William Kubasak, 25, of Rocky Mount died Dec. 11 or 12, 2005, in a roadside bombing near Baghdad , Iraq . He was with I-Troop, 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment based in Fort Carson , Colo.

28. Marine Gunnery Sgt. Justin R. Martone, 31, who went to high school in Bedford County , died March 7, 2006, in a roadside bombing in the Al Anbar province of Iraq . Martone was assigned to the 1 st Marine Logistics Group, 1 st Marine Expeditionary Force. He had deployed from Okinawa in February on his second tour of duty in Iraq . Martone lived in Goodview as a teenager and played football for and graduated from Staunton River High School . He enlisted in the Marine Corps immediately after high school graduation.

29. Army Sgt. Brandon S. Asbury, 21, of Tazewell, died Oct. 7, 2006, in Baghdad from injuries suffered when his unit came in contact with enemy forces using small-arms fire. Asbury was assigned to the 4th Support Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas .

30. Marine 1st Lt. Joshua Booth, 23, of Fiskdale, Mass., died Oct. 17, 2006, in combat in Haditha, Iraq. Booth was born in Virginia Beach, grew up in Sturbridge, Mass., and graduated from the Citadel. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, 3rd Marine Division, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. He asked to be buried in Bedford because of old family connections to the town.