This document summarizes the lives of five soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Armored Division who were killed in May 2013 when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. It discusses their backgrounds, families, and what they meant to those close to them according to interviews with family and friends. Specific soldiers highlighted include Spc. Kevin Cardoza, 1st Lt. Brandon Landrum, Spc. Thomas Murach, and Staff Sgt. Francis G. Phillips IV. The document also mentions a memorial at Ft. Bliss that honors soldiers from the base who have died in Afghanistan and Iraq.

1. 14 • VFW • APRIL 2014
By Janie Blankenship
RemembeRedby
FamilyandFRiends
When fve soldiers from the same platoon were killed in one explosion last May,
the news came as a blow to the Ft. Bliss community. Yet that pain was nothing
compared to the void lef in the lives of those personally touched by the ‘Recon V.’
Fartooofenthecasualtiesofwararetreatedasmerestatistics.Buteachandevery
AmericankilledinAfghanistanhasafamilyandfriends.Weshouldgettoknowthem.
O
n May 4, 2013, the Ft. Bliss community in
El Paso, Texas, suffered a severe blow. Five
of their own had been killed in south-
ern Afghanistan. All fve were assigned
to Recon Platoon, 1st Battalion, 36th
Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade
Combat Team of the 1st Armored Division.
They were on patrol in the Maiwand district
in Kandahar province when the vehicle in which they
were riding struck a roadside bomb.
“Five [fatalities] in one blast is extremely unusu-
al and horrific,” Fort Bliss spokesman Maj. Joe
Buccino told the El Paso Times at that time. “This
casts a shadow over the entire community.”
Ranging in age from 19 to 28, these fve young
men left behind mothers, fathers, wives, chil-
Fourofthe‘ReconV’preparingforamissioninAfghanistan.AllfvewerekilledonMay4,2013,inKandaharprovince.
Fromlef:Spc.ThomasMurach,Spc.BrandonPrescott,StaffSgt.FrancisG.PhillipsIVandSpc.KevinCardoza.

2. APRIL 2014 • WWW.VFW.ORG • 15
dren, brothers and sisters. From all
walks of life they ventured to serve and
ultimately die together. Here is a mere
glimpse into the lives of these men as
recounted by those who knew them best.
Lived an ‘adventurous Life’
At 19, Spc. Kevin Cardoza was the
youngest of the five killed that day. A
native of Mercedes, Texas, Cardoza
liked nothing more than spending time
with his family and friends and dancing
to country music.
He had big plans for a career in the
military, a college education. But more
important, he wanted to build a life with
his fancée Ashley Vasquez. They met on
May 5, 2012, and danced their frst dance
to George Strait’s Clear Blue Sky.
The couple talked incessantly about
getting married, but postponed the
engagement until his deployment was
over. While in Afghanistan, though,
Cardoza changed his mind.
“He asked me to marry him via
Facebook,” Vasquez said. “I know it
may not have been the most romantic
moment, but I knew we were going to
spend the rest of our lives together.”
Cardoza was father of Delilah, 4, and
Melanie, 2. He loved playing paintball
with his friends and playing football in
the rain. He lived, according to Vasquez,
“a fast-paced and adventurous life.”
He had told his friends for so long that
he was going to enlist in the Army. Yet
few believed him. They couldn’t imag-
ine that a popular guy would leave such
above:Spc.KevinCardozaandhisfancée
AshleyVasquezplannedtomarrywhenhe
camehomefromAfghanistan.
leFt:MirandaLandrum,wifeof1stLt.
BrandonLandrum,withherson,Gabriel,
anddaughter,Blakely,inDuncan,Okla.Her
husband’simagewassuperimposed.
PhotocouRtesYAshleYVAsquez
PhotocouRtesYKeelieliPscoMBPhotogRAPhY

3. 16 • VFW • APRIL 2014
a lively life behind for the military.
“One day we got together, and he was
like, ‘Only 52 days and I’ll be gone,’”
friend Tania Toscano told The Monitor
(McAllen, Texas).
He graduated in June 2011 from
Edcouch-Elsa High School and enlisted
on July 12 that same year. He complet-
ed infantry training at Ft. Benning, Ga.,
before being assigned to Ft. Bliss.
While engaged only a short time,
Vasquez has countless stories to tell
about her adventures with Cardoza.
They once spent four hours driving
to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico
with no radio reception. Because they
weren’t able to use
their cell phones,
the whole time
was spent talking.
When they reached their
destination, they were
mistaken for husband and
wife. So the couple was
allowed to enter for free
with Cardoza’s military ID.
“The day was amazing because we
made our own adventure out of it,”
Vasquez recalled. “The one thing that
will never leave my memory was the
smile on his face.”
a Born Leader
1st Lt. Brandon Landrum was a lead-
er from an early age, a trait that carried
over to his role as reconnaissance pla-
toon leader.
The 26-year-old Lawton, Okla., native
was remembered by his childhood
church pastor, Jamie Austin, as a “mis-
chievous” youth, but someone others
looked up to.
“I said, ‘This kid’s going to be a lead-
er, I can tell,’” Austin recounted during
Landrum’s memorial service. “And sure
enough, in youth group he’s a leader, a
leader at MacArthur High School and a
leader representing our country so very
well.”
Landrum was never one to shy away
from a challenge, either. As a teenager,
he decided to perform in the school dis-
trict’s fne arts competition. Despite the
fact he couldn’t speak Spanish, he decid-
ed to sing a solo in Spanish. He learned
all the words. On the day of the compe-
tition, however, he forgot some of them
and made up his own.
“For those who didn’t know Spanish,
they never knew the difference, but the
judges were really losing it,” Austin said.
After graduating from high school
in 2005, Landrum attended Cameron
University through the ROTC program.
He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in
interdisciplinary studies. After receiving
his commission, he was deployed to Iraq
from December 2008 to August 2009.
While in Iraq, Landrum fell in love
with his future bride, Miranda Hornbeck,
who also was in the military. They had
frst met in Duncan, Okla., in 2007, when
she was still in high school.
“Being that I was still in high school,
he wanted nothing to do with me!” joked
Miranda.
As destiny would have it, they
deployed to Iraq at the same time. He
took her on dates in Iraq to Baskin
Robbins. And while they weren’t allowed
to show affection in public, they found
ways to be together.
“Being together was the only thing
keeping us sane,” Miranda said. “We
could relate and listen to each other on
those hard days.”
And while she has many, Miranda’s
favorite memory with Brandon is the
Valentine’s Day they spent together in
Iraq. He made her a candlelight dinner
behind his housing unit. It was complete
with a Josh Grobin playlist and stem-
ware he had purchased in Baghdad while
on patrol.
“My three favorite memories of
Brandon is the look on his face as I
walked down the aisle, and the look on
his face when Gabriel and then Blakely
came into the world,” Miranda said.
Landrum leaves behind those two chil-
dren, Gabriel, soon to turn 4, and Blakely,
nearly 2. Each night the kids go to bed
with their “daddy dolls,” and Miranda
spends a lot of time talking about their
dad to them each day. She said her son
has quite a grasp on the
situation, telling her, “My
daddy can be with Jesus
now because my daddy is
a hero.”
Miranda said she has
found solace in her friend-
ship with Christine Phillips, wife of Staff
Sgt. Frankie Phillips, also killed that day.
“Christine is my rock,” Miranda said.
“We can truly be there for each other
because we know exactly what the other
needs.”
‘a Premier ComBat infantryman’
Spc. Thomas Murach was the young-
est of four brothers. His childhood was
mainly spent in Nampa, Idaho, before
moving to Meridian. He graduated from
“being togetheR
wastheonlythingkeepingussane.Wecouldrelate
andlistentoeachotheronthoseharddays.”
—MIRAnDA LAnDRuM, ReMeMBeRInG THeIR TIMe TOGeTHeR In IRAq
continuedonpage18 ➤
Secondfromright,Spc.ThomasMurachwithhismom,Mary,andhisthreebrothers,
Willy,nickandMike,attheBoiseAirportin2013forafnalfarewell.Thiswouldbethe
lasttimehisfamilywouldseehim.
MuRAchFAMilYPhoto

4. 18 • VFW • APRIL 2014
Cole Valley Christian School with hon-
ors in May 2008. Growing up, Murach
dreamed of becoming a firefighter. It
wasn’t until he was a teen that he began
to seriously think about the military.
“I believe this was due to the patrio-
tism of our family,” his oldest brother,
Nick, said. “And his desire to emulate
Willy’s example.”
Murach was eager to follow in the
footsteps of his brother, Willy, who had
served six years in the Army, including
tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan. His
dad retired after 20 years in the Army.
His mother spent three years in the
Army. Murach enlisted on Aug. 24, 2010.
The senior sniper for his platoon, at 22
Murach was remembered at his memo-
rial service by Brig. Gen. Randal Dragon
as someone “quick to listen, and slow to
speak.” Dragon added that Murach’s dis-
cipline to do things right and do the right
things was “unmatched.”
The Murach family got to meet with
the remaining members of Recon Platoon
gaining insight into their youngest son.
“They told us that he was recognized
as one of their fttest and most dedicated
members,” Nick said. “Their nickname
for Tom was ‘Terminator’ due to both
his lethality as a sniper and the seeming
ease with which he endured the physical
hardships of a sniper’s mission.”
A devout Christian, Murach led a
weekly Bible study class with the mem-
bers of his unit. He always led the group
in prayer before each mission, Nick said.
“His platoon looked to him as a spir-
itual leader,” he added. “That provides
great comfort to our family. Tom lived
a life of joy, humor and kindness for his
fellow man.”
Growing up, Nick recalls his kid broth-
er as being “exceptionally kind and con-
siderate of others.” He believes that is
why so many people were always drawn
to him. Those traits served him well in
his military career, as Brig. Gen. Randal
Dragon noted during Murach’s memori-
al service.
“He was always ready to go the extra
mile, to give more than he got,” Dragon
said. “These are the characteristics that
mark him as a premier combat infantry-
man.”
‘making a differenCe’
A native of Oceanside, Calif., Staff
Sgt. Francis G. Phillips IV (known as
Frankie) moved to Meridian, N.Y., with
his family after graduating from high
school and later to nearby Auburn. He
considered Auburn home, always return-
ing there on leave until he got married.
His mom, Cherie, says that her son
was the epitome of a family man. When
he came home, he insisted on both movie
and family game nights. He loved playing
the board game Risk, and always wanted
the black game pieces.
Having come from a military fami-
ly—his father was a Marine and Cherie
was in the Navy—he enlisted in the Army
on April 29, 2004, at Syracuse. While
stationed at Ft. Bragg, N.C., he met his
future bride, Christine. She said they had
an immediate connection.
She recalled the day she told him
she was pregnant with their daughter,
Sophia, now 5. She took a home pregnan-
cy test and saw that it was positive and
called him, telling him he needed to come
right home. Christine showed him the
test and was delighted by his response.
“He was blank for a second and then
I saw his face light up,” she said. “He
ran to our neighbors, who also were our
friends, and waved the test around and
yelled that he was going to be a daddy.”
To keep the memory of her husband
alive, she talks about him daily with her
daughter. Sophia has her own photo
album with photos of her dad, as well as a
Build-a-Bear stuffed animal with her dad’s
voice and a recordable book he made for
her. Christine says Sophia listens to these
every night before she goes to bed.
After the Army, the couple had planned
to move to the East Coast and “enjoy life
with each other without having to be
apart every so often,” Christine said. They
also wanted to have more children.
She said that she has found strength
in her communications with two of the
other families who lost loved ones in the
same May blast.
“Miranda—Lt. Landrum’s wife—has
become my best friend throughout this,”
‘ReconV’
continuedfrompage16
memorial honors Ft. bliss soldiers
Just10daysaFteR the “Recon V” were killed on May 4, 2013, three from the
3rd Battalion, 41st infantry Regiment,1st Brigade combat team, 1st Armored
Division were killed. Ft. Bliss is no stranger to such loss. on July 8, 2012, six MPs,
all from the 978th Military Police company, were killed in Afghanistan. And nine
soldiers from the 507th Maintenance company were killed in one day in iraq in
March 2003.
to properly honor these men and
women—as well as all from Ft. Bliss
who have died in Afghanistan and
iraq—the Field of Honor was unveiled
May 2, 2011, on the military post. At
that time, 53 names were engraved
on plaques on the wall. today there
are 77 names.
thememorialwasfundedby
BalfourBeattycommunities
Foundation,andthelandwas
donatedbyFt.Bliss.BalfourBeattyisanon-proftorganizationcommittedto
honoringmilitarypersonnel—active,disabledandfallen.
some 102 tons of concrete and nearly eight tons of granite were used in
constructing the memorial, which was designed by Niles Bolton Associates.
More than 210 gallons of water fow over the granite per minute from a pool
that contains 3,700 gallons and is lit by underwater lights. trees, shrubbery and
fowers surround the area. At night, 35 lights illuminate the moving tribute.
Names are added to the memorial yearly in May. the “Recon V” will be
recognized in May.
continuedonpage20 ➤

5. 20 • VFW • APRIL 2014
Christine said.
Cherie said that she, too, has experi-
enced a great deal of support through
her relationships with the moms of the
other men who died alongside Phillips.
She calls these women her “sisters.”
On his frst three deployments—once
to Iraq and twice to Afghanistan—Phillips
would call his mom all the time. But once
hewasmarriedandhadadaughter,Cherie
told him not to call her, but to spend his
time talking to his wife and child.
“But he was a mama’s boy when he
was home,” Cherie said. “He would call
me every day and if I didn’t answer, I
would hear about it.”
The day he was killed, the Army was
trying to contact Cherie, who was at the
movies with her husband, Greg. Christine
called Greg’s phone and told Cherie that
she needed her to come to Texas.
“I thought maybe he had been hurt,”
Cherie said. “I never even imagined. I
never thought it would be me.”
Cherie, who has another son, 26,
and a daughter, 24, said her oldest was
charismatic and people were drawn to
him, even when he was a young child.
She recalled that when he was in frst
grade, British Prime Minister Margaret
Thatcher visited Camp Pendleton where
the family was stationed. Thatcher was
taken in by Frankie’s blue eyes. She
chose him to spend the day with her and
he got to be on CNN. Cherie added that
Frankie wasn’t too impressed, just angry
that he had to miss recess to spend time
with Thatcher.
“Frankie didn’t like attention, but
he always was the center of attention,”
Cherie said. “And he never knew that
about himself.”
Cherie commends the men who had to
bring home the bodies of the fve soldiers
to their respective families. It’s some-
thing, she says, that cannot be easy, yet a
solemn act she will never forget.
A memorial service in Auburn preced-
ed a military burial at Arlington National
Cemetery.
“Frankie Phillips personifed Army
values and those he led will remem-
ber it for the rest of their lives,” Brig.
Gen. James Pasquarette said at Phillips’
memorial service. “He was making a dif-
ference on the forward edge of the fght
in Afghanistan.”
‘aLways Put others first’
Just four days before 24-year-old Spc.
Brandon Prescott was killed, he had
signed up for an additional three years in
the Army.
Prescott was one of four brothers,
two sets of twins, born 18 months apart.
The family lived in southern California
where Prescott graduated from Dana
Hills High School in Dana Point in 2006.
From there, he moved to Bend, Ore.,
with his twin, Aaron, to attend col-
lege. He volunteered with the Federal
Emergency Management Agency and
was taking classes to get into the National
Fire Academy, his mother, Tracey said.
“He always liked to help people,” she
said. “He volunteered with special kid-
dos playing baseball and befriended all.”
Tracey said he had called her one
morning to tell her he wanted to join the
Army and needed his birth certifcate.
She stalled, instead pushing him toward
the Fire Academy.
But one day Brandon called her and
that call changed everything.
“He called me one day and said with
heartfelt words, ‘Mom, since I could
remember you have said to me God has a
plan for my life,’” Tracey recalled. “‘I feel
this is God’s calling for me.’ I overnighted
the birth certifcate the next day.”
Prescott enlisted in the Army in
Portland in 2010.
“I’m very proud of what he was doing,”
Aaron told the Orange County Register.
“He was very humble and always put
others frst. He was a leader.”
Tracey agrees, adding that he once
told her that many of those who served
with him had children and he would
gladly take the fre for them.
“Brandon was the confidante, the
brother who made sure all the boys were
okay,” Tracey said. “He was the buffer to
all the hardships that come with growing
up in [Orange County].”
Prescott’s father, William, echoed
those sentiments, describing his
deceased son as having a “serving heart.”
“Even as a little kid, he put oth-
ers ahead of himself,” William told the
Orange County Register. “He always
made sure his twin brother Aaron and
the younger twins were happy.”
Aaron said that Brandon was always
the frst one to try and help if someone
was having a bad day, the frst to try and
cheer people up. He never had a bad
thing to say about anyone.
“He was a hero and inspiration for all
of us,” Aaron told the Portland Oregonian.
“Before he left for Afghanistan, he told us
that if he died, he wanted us to be proud
of him and hold our heads up because we
knew he was doing something he loved.”
J
E-MaIL jblankenship@vfw.org
‘ReconV’ continuedfrompage18
Secondfromright,Spc.BrandonPrescottiswithhismom,Tracey,andthreebrothers,
Joshua,AaronandJacobatTumaloFallsinBend,Ore.,beforehedeployed.
PhotocouRtesYtRAceYPRescott