Sgt. Patrick Tainsh
33 years old from Oceanside, California
Troop E, 2nd Squadron, 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment
February 11, 2004

Five years ago today, Sgt. Patrick Tainsh sacrificed all as the mounted unit he
was part of was hit by an IED in Baghdad. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze and Sliver Stars saving the lives of his commanding officer and other soldiers before succumbing to his own wounds. Also killed in the attack was Pfc. William C. Ramirez from Portland, Oregon.

On Veteran’s Day, 2007, Deborah Tainsh, Sgt. Tainsh's mother, attended a school in Columbia, Georgia, and shared a story she had written called “A Boy Named Patrick.”

Here is part of the story :

…a little boy named Patrick who loved football, beaches, surfing, and
skateboarding, and especially reading. Patrick watched his dad be a Marine for
over twenty years. During this time Patrick kept reading not only surfing and
skateboarding magazines, but history books, too. One day when Patrick was a man, he told his dad and best friend, “I want to do something that will make a
difference in the world, I’m going to be a soldier.” And so he did. And in 1999
he went to Fort Knox, Kentucky for boot camp and then went to Fort Polk,
Louisiana where he worked and trained hard to become a United States Army
Cavalry Scout. Then in 2003 Patrick had to say good bye to his mom and dad
because he had to go fight a war in Iraq to protect his country, friends, and
family from terrorists and to help fight for the freedoms of the boys and girls
in that country where they and their families were treated very badly by their
country’s leader. Patrick once wrote a letter to his mom and dad telling them
that he cried for the children because they were hungry and he didn’t have food
to give them. He said he couldn’t understand how a country’s leader could treat
the people so badly and make them live in such dirty conditions with trash and
wild dogs everywhere. And so Patrick's mom and dad keep a photo in their living
room of Patrick surrounded by Iraqi children.

You can read the story in it's entirety here.

Sgt Tainsh came to the military later than some, but rose through the ranks fast. In his last letter to his parents, Sgt Tainsh shared his thoughts about his mission. And in 2006, Sgt. Tainsh's mother wrote a book called Heart Of A Hawk about her son's life and her and her husband's struggles since their son was killed.