When Todd R. Cornell was assigned to train Iraqi soldiers for combat, he forged a personal connection with the men. “He made friends with them”, Renee Cornell said of her son. “He told them about his life in America, and they told him about Iraq. He said he was learning a lot”. The 38-year-old from West Bend, Wis., was killed Nov. 9 by small-arms fire in Fallujah, Iraq. He was based in Fraser, Mich. Relatives said Cornell, the father of two children, had expected to return soon from his service in Iraq. In a phone call days before his death, he told his mother he had one last mission to complete. “He told us not to worry”, Renee Cornell said. “Mom, I”ll be all right,” he would tell me”.
Staff Sergeant Todd Cornell of West Bend, Wisconsin was raised in Menomonee Falls where he always wanted to serve in the military. He spent 16 years in the Army and Army Reserves and was sent to Iraq in February 2004 where he was assigned to train Iraqi soldiers for combat. In doing so, he forged a personal connection with the men making friends with them. He told them about his life in America, and they told him about Iraq. The father of two children, had expected to return home soon from his service in Iraq, as he had told his mother in a telephone call days before his death. He told her not to worry. He was killed at age 38 while acting in an advisory support capacity for his Iraqi unit, which was attacked in Fallujah, Iraq, by enemy forces using small-arms fire. Todd was the 26th soldier or Marine in the state killed in Iraq. Todd accepted everyone and made no judgment. He was remembered as the consummate soldier, a man who loved his country, his two young children and riding his Harley. He is survived by his 2 children; siblings; parents; and several other relatives along with many dear friends.
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