TWIN FALLS -- They weren't just soldiers and Marines.

They were sons and daughters and husbands and wives and Dads and Moms.

As of Friday, 1,647 American troops -- nine of them from Idaho -- had been killed in Iraq since the U.S. declared war on March 19, 2003. To their families, they're much, much more than just numbers on a casualty list.

"Our losses in Iraq are human beings who are fathers and brothers and children and friends who are loved by many," said Diana Rowe Pauls, the older sister of Marine Capt. Alan Rowe, who was killed in September when an improvised explosive device detonated in Iraq's Al Anbar Province. "They're not just statistics."

The 35-year-old Marine left behind a wife, Dawn, and two children -- 5-year-old Blake and 3-year-old Caitlin of Yucca Valley, Calif. He also is survived by his father, James, of Twin Falls, and his mother, Marian, and Rowe Pauls, both of Gooding.

Alan was Rowe Pauls' little brother -- just 18 months her junior. The family moved to Hansen from California when Alan was 1 year old. Rowe Pauls said it was great place to grow up.

"We had a wonderful playground behind our house," she said. "We were cowboys and cowgirls and hunters and gatherers and hobos and swamp monsters."

In 1978, the family moved to a farm north of Gooding, where Alan raised the shorthorn cattle that brought him his share of 4-H Club and FFA ribbons. He enlisted in the Marines in fall 1985 -- his senior year at Gooding High School.

One of Rowe Pauls' favorite memories is of her brother's passion for Chevy Broncos.

"Anyone who knows my brother knows that he was a Bronco fanatic," Rowe Pauls said. "I think everyone who knows him has a story about Alan and a Bronco."

Rowe Pauls remembers riding with Dawn in Alan's Bronco to his memorial service at the Marine base at Twentynine Palms, Calif.

"The top was down and it was a beautiful day and I felt like Alan was with us, especially when we ran out of gas on the way back," she said, adding that Alan's friends would get a chuckle out of that.

Rowe Pauls said it's hard to think of the future without him.

"My kids are always asking about Uncle Alan and saying they miss him," said the married mother of four. "It's hard to think about my parents and about things Alan and I would be sharing as they aged."

Alan's widow, Dawn, said her life has been busy as a single parent since losing her husband of more than 11 years.

"My life has not slowed down," Dawn Rowe said.

She said she and her children found extra emotional support in bereavement classes offered by their local hospice organization.

"They have good days and bad days," she said when asked how her children are doing. "My son has a lot of questions, which is good and normal."

She said her husband would want people to remember that he chose to serve his country.

"They joined of their own free will," she said. "They would never want their deaths to be thought of in vain. They would want their lives to be remembered as dying willingly for their country. They were proud to serve their country."

A day in May

Dawn Spurgeon calls the month of May "a mixed-emotion month."

Her baby boy, Zachary, was born May 8, 2004, one year almost to the day after her 26-year-old brother, Army Sgt. Richard Carl of King Hill, was killed in a helicopter crash near Samarrah, Iraq. Her son, who just celebrated his first birthday, and her late brother share the same middle name -- Paul.

Like Rowe Pauls, Spurgeon wants people to remember there are people behind the numbers. And that there are still troops over in Iraq.

"I'd ask that people not forget and to support the troops who are still over there," said Spurgeon, who now makes her home in La Crosse, Wis., with baby Zachary, husband Wesley and 8-year-old son Daymion.

As for Spurgeon, she's doing her part. Her 1991 Chevy Lumina is covered with ribbons that remind people to "Support Our Troops," "Pray for Our Troops" and to "Thank a Vet."

Carl's father, Richard Reid of Preston, remembers his son as a "good, honest young man."

"He'd give his right hand to help anybody," Reid said. "He was always ready to jump in and do the job. That's how I try to remember him. That he was doing the job he wanted to do. That's the only way I can get through this."

Reid is also angry that his son was sent to Iraq because of so-called weapons of mass destruction -- weapons that have never been found.

"As great as this country is, our intelligence is no better than a Third World country's," Reid said. "I'm mad that they declared the war over, said we won, and he got killed right after that."

Carl was killed May 9, 2003. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, 139 American troops were killed in "combat operations" between March 19 and April 3, 2003. More than 1,500, including Carl, have been killed in "post-combat operations."

"I'm angry that not just he died, but so many kids," Reid said.

Like many others, Reid finds himself in an unusual place -- wanting to support the troops but not supporting the war.

"I think our soldiers are doing a great job over there," Reid said. "I just think they were lied to to get them there."

Though a father never really gets over losing a son, Reid said time has helped lessen the pain.

"Time -- that's the biggest asset," he said. "That and his two kids. I can see Richard in my grandson every time I look at him."

Carl also is survived by his wife, Audrey, children Ealy Ann and Dominic and his mother, Karen Carl.

Reid planned to visit his son's grave in Glenns Ferry today, but his son is in his thoughts every day.

"There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of him," he said.

Memories to hold on to

It's been a year and two months since Gloria Trivitt looked out her window and saw the two men in Army uniforms pull up in front of her Rupert home.

They "were sorry to inform her" that her 20-year-old nephew, U.S. Army Pfc. Cleston Raney, had been killed in Habbaniya, Iraq, when a bomb exploded underneath the armored personnel carrier he and four other soldiers were riding in.

Raney, a 2001 Burley High School graduate, joined the Army in November 2002. Trivitt said her nephew had been a typical teenager.

"He loved bowling, pool and video games," she said. "He played all the city sports."

"He was pretty bashful and shy until you got to know him," she added. "After that, he could joke with the best of them."

Trivitt said she's "doing OK" these days. She said she'll spend today "just like everyone else. I'll get flowers and visit the cemetery."

Today, news of what's happening in Iraq doesn't make the headlines as much as it used to, even though soldiers are still getting killed.

"It's gotten to where it's 'three soldiers were killed today or two Marines were killed,' " Trivitt said. "There are no faces or names on these people anymore."

But she said people should never forget the sacrifices the troops have made. As for her, she tries to find comfort in happy memories of her nephew.

"Memories -- that's all I've got," Trivitt said.

Times-News writer Sandy Miller can be reached at 735-3264 or by e-mail at smiller@magicvalley.com.

War casualties War Dates U.S. casualties Iraq March 19, 2003-present 1,647 Afghan Oct. 7, 2001-present 187 Persian Gulf 1990-1991 382 Vietnam 1964-1975 58,200 Korean 1950-1953 36,574 WW II 1941-1945 405,399 WW I 1917-1918 116,516 Spanish-American 1898 2,446 Civil War 1861-1865 364,511 Union/133,821 Confederate (estimated) Mexican 1846-1848 13,283 War of 1812 1812-1815 2,260 Revolutionary 1775-1783 4,435

Idaho casualties in Iraq Name Age Hometown Date killed Air National Guard Maj. Gregory Stone 40 Boise March 25, 2003 Army Sgt. Richard Carl 26 King Hill May 9, 2003 Army Pfc. Jerrick Petty 25 Idaho Falls Dec. 10, 2003 Army Pfc. Cleston Raney 20 Rupert March 31, 2004 Marine Pfc. Christopher Reed 20 Cottonwood July 10, 2004 Army Spc. Brandon Titus 20 Boise Aug. 17, 2004 Marine Capt. Alan Rowe 35 Gooding Sept. 3, 2004 Army 1st Lt. Luke Wullenwaber 24 Lewiston Nov. 16, 2004 Sgt. Kelly Morris 24 Boise March 30, 2005

Wounded in Iraq: As of Friday, 12,630 U.S. troops had been wounded in Iraq since March 19, 2003. Source: U.S. Department of Defense