US Army (USA) SPECIALIST Fourth Class (SPC) Jason Marshall, 173rd Airborne Brigade (ABN BDE), sings at the memorial service for USA Sergeant (SGT) Michael E. Yashinski, Paratrooper, at Kirkuk Air Base (AB), Iraq (IRQ). USA SGT Yashinski, assigned to the 501st Forward Support Company (FSC), 173rd ABN BDE, died on December 24th, electrocuted while running a communication wire in Kirkuk, Iraq, during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM

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.