At a memorial service, he was remembered as a humble son who didn't seek the spotlight and arranged to have flowers sent to 2010 World Cup Jerseys his mother on Mother's Day, even while he was away on duty.
"He didn't need any fame. He didn't need any glory. He didn't like to speak in front of people," said Robert Gardner, who was Aragon's bishop in his ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In 2008, Aragon graduated from Mountain View High School in Orem and immediately enlisted in the Marine Reserves.
"He helped me to be a better man, a better husband, a better father and a better friend," Halliday said. "And he did it by example."
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Navy Chief Petty Officer Adam Brown
Friends say Adam Brown was a devoted man of faith who had a "full-throttle" personality, worked hard and fought for the little guy.
Brown "poured his soul into getting the most out of life," said friend Heath Vance.
Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Buschmann said Brown was the toughest and most selfless person he'd ever met.
The 36-year-old from Hot Springs, Ark., died March 18 in Afghanistan while trying to protect his comrades, according to his team leader, Chief Special Warfare Operator John Faas.
Brown graduated from Lake Hamilton High School in Pearcy, Ark., in 1992, enlisted in the Navy six years later and joined the SEALs in 2001. He was assigned to a team based in Virginia Beach, Va., and was starting his eighth deployment.
Brown's loss of one eye and the near-amputation of the fingers on one hand were among several injuries he overcame during a military career in which he was awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart.
"We miss your smile and your crazy eye," Faas said at Brown's memorial. "In the days to come, we will miss your tirelessness and fearlessness under fire."
Survivors include Brown's wife, Kelley; children, Nathan and Savannah; parents; and two siblings.
His family said he was passionate about skateboards, cars and guitars. He also liked to do things his own way.
"He didn't like going up the trail at Bridal Veil Falls" in Utah's Provo Canyon, said his stepfather, Brad Halliday. "He went straight up the mountain the hard way. That's the way he liked things."
Aragon, 19, of Orem, Utah, was killed in combat March 1 in Helmand province.
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Marine Lance Cpl. Rick J. Centanni
When Rick J. Centanni was in high school, he had a sticker on his football helmet that was placed there to remember a former player who had died in Iraq.
Army Pfc. Joel Brattain was killed in 2004, and Centanni and other members of Esperanza High's Aztecs football team wore the stickers the season after he died. They did it to honor him.
Six years later, Centanni's death was announced over the intercom at the Anaheim, Calif., high school, where he graduated in 2008.
"With the volunteer military, I don't think the war has the same effect on young people today _ until something like this happens," said Jim Pendleton, an English teacher and assistant football coach for the Aztecs.
Centanni, 19, of Yorba Linda, Calif., and another Marine were killed by a roadside bomb March 24 in Helmand province. He was assigned to Camp Pendleton.
"It didn't surprise me when he went into the military because it was the ultimate expression of teamwork and camaraderie," his coach told the Los Angeles Times.
Pendleton said he could see from the start that Centanni had "great enthusiasm" for "being part of a team."
"He loved every part of it," Pendleton said.
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Army Sgt. Joel D. Clarkson
"Thoughtful, fearless, and engaging, Sgt. Joel Clarkson possessed that intangible stuff we desire most in Ranger _ the stuff of which legends are made," said Col. Mark Odom.
Clarkson died March 16 _ three days after he was injured in combat in Helmand province.
After two surgeries in Afghanistan, his family said, he was taken to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, where he died.
Joel D. Clarkson's uncle says the 23-year-old Army ranger's life came together when he joined the military and started a family.
"Everything just clicked," David Williams said. "His drive was to be a soldier."
Williams described his nephew as athletic and outgoing. Clarkson enlisted in the U.S. Army from his hometown of Fairbanks, Alaska, and his family said he had been deployed three times to Iraq and twice to Afghanistan.
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