Sgt. Thomas Chad Rosenbaum was born in the small town of Prescott, Arkansas and grewup in nearby Hope. He spent his youth, as many children do, participating in athletics and various extracurricular activities, playing pranks with his friends and collecting small turtles from the banks of nearby rivers with his parents and his brother.

Today, he is remembered by his family and loved ones as an outgoing, fun-loving, and fearless young man who loved his God, his family and his country. This love of country motivated him to enlist in the U.S. Army during his senior year of high school. He was assigned to the 1^st Cavalry Division out of Fort Hood, Texas, and was deployed to Iraq in March. In Iraq, Sgt. Rosenbaum served as a chemical specialist who also helped train Iraqi security forces in the use of firearms. Although he was originally scheduled to depart Iraq in May, his duty was extended until December.

Weeks before his death, Sgt. Rosenbaum had the opportunity to return home on leave for 15 days to spend with his friends and family. Most of this time was spent with the person he called "the love of his life," his 4 year-old son, Ty. Father and son would return to those same Caddo River banks he had known as a child and together they searched for small turtles. Today, Ty still has one of those turtles, whom he has named "Milkshake", and whom he has kept as a reminder of the time spent with his father. Although Sgt. Rosenbaum may no longer be with us, his spirit and his legacy lives on in each of us through the examples he set and the many lives he touched. My thoughts and prayers are with his son, Ty, his parents, Jackie and Donna, and the rest of his family, friends, and loved ones.