Portrait: US Navy Reserve (USNR) Hospital Corpsman Third Class (HM3) Luca Kruse, awarded the Purple Heart during a Ceremony held aboard Navy and Marine Corps Reserve Center Rochester, New York (NY). HM3 Kruse suffered injuries when his unit was clearing an area of enemy occupation in Iraq during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM (OIF)

Iraq War aka Operation IRAQI FREEDOM was the 2003 invasion of Iraq, led by U.S. Army General Tommy Franks, under the code-name "Operation Iraqi Freedom". 248,000 soldiers from the United States, 45,000 British soldiers, 2,000 Australian soldiers and 194 Polish soldiers from Special Forces unit GROM sent to Kuwait for the invasion. The invasion force was also supported by Iraqi Kurdish militia troops, estimated to number upwards of 70,000.