During a college fair at Archbishop Wood Catholic High School in Warminster, senior Jeffrey Toczylowski sat down with an Army recruiter. Something triggered in him when he saw the soldier's uniform. In those spit-shined boots and fatigues, he detected discipline and fraternity.

Born into an Upper Moreland family with no military tradition, Jeffrey's decision to enlist surprised his parents. He worked hard to earn a ROTC scholarship, even skipping senior week, and later enrolled in the Valley Forge Military Academy, where he earned an associate's degree in criminal justice.

After his 1995 graduation, he headed to Texas A&M University, where he earned his bachelor's in criminal justice in 1997. His ROTC scholarship committed him for eight years and he would spend four as an MP in Europe. In 2001, he turned down a prized gig leading the MPs to join the Army Special Forces. Jeffrey enrolled in its infamous Qualification Course and graduated in 2003. Shortly thereafter, Toz became the commander for Operational Detachment 26, and was deployed to the Liberian civil war to evacuate Americans from the capitol, Monrovia. By December 2004, he was in Bosnia and Kosovo on missions personally directed by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

Then, on Oct. 13, 2005, Toz was deployed to Iraq.

One November night, he and fellow soldiers were sent to a province near the porous border of Syria seeking a "high-profile target." It was dark, and the Black Hawk chopper was kicking up a lot of sand and dust. Eager to start the assault, Toz asked one of his buddies, "Want me to go first?" and then leapt out.

He believed the chopper was only 10 feet off the ground; it was really 100.

Shortly before his death, Toz e-mailed his mother.

"If you are getting this email, it means that I have passed away," it read. "Please don't be sad for me. It was an honor to serve my country, and I wouldn't change a thing. It was just my time. Don't ever think that you are defending me by slamming the Global War on Terrorism or the U.S. goals in that war. As far as I am concerned, we can send guys like me to go after them or we can wait for them to come back to us again."