Capt. Benjamin Sklaver, left; Army Pfc. Eric Soufrine, right

As Veterans Day 2011 approaches, the Jewish War Veterans USA and its National Museum of American Jewish Military History lists the Jewish men and women who, from 2003 to date, have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country while serving in the United States Armed Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
This Veterans Day weekend, we pause to honor their lives and their sacrifice. These Jewish American patriots are but the most recent in the unending line of American Jews who have served in our country’s military going back to the earliest days of Jewish life in America.
The following are the names of American Jewish casualties of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (current as of Oct. 31, 2011).  Two of these fallen were natives of Connecticut – Army Pfc. Eric Soufrine, a native of Woodbridge, and Capt. Benjamin Sklaver, a native of New Haven.
May their memory be for a blessing.

• Pfc. Daniel J. Agami, U.S. Army, 25, of Coconut Creek, Fla.
• Sgt. Howard P. Allen, U.S. Air National Guard, 31, of Mesa, Ariz.
• Spec. Benyahmin ben Yahudah, U.S. Army, 24, Bogart, Ga.
• 1st Lt. David R. Bernstein, U.S. Army, 24, Phoenixville, Penn.
• Cpl. Albert Bitton, U.S. Army, 20, Chicago, Ill.
• Sgt. Aron C. Blum, U.S. Marine Corps., 22, Tucson, Ariz.
• Petty Officer 3rd Class Nathan B. Bruckenthal, U.S. Coast Guard, 24, Smithtown, N.Y.
• Cpl. Ryan J. Clark, U.S. Army, 19, Lancaster, Calif.
• Cpl. Michael R. Cohen, U.S. Marine Corps, 23, Jacobus, Penn.
• 2nd Lt. Seth J. Dvorin, U.S. Army, 24, East Brunswick, N.J.
• Lance Cpl. Mark E. Engel, U.S. Marine Corps, 21, Centennial, Colo.
• Cpl. Mark A. Evnin, U.S. Marine Corps, 21, Burlington, Vt.
• Pfc. Aaron E. Fairbairn, U.S. Army, 20, Aberdeen, Wash.
• 1st Lt. Daniel Farkas, U.S. Army, 42, Brooklyn, N.Y.
• Sgt. Zachary M. Fisher, U.S. Army, 24, Ballwin, Mo.
• Pfc. Jacob S. Fletcher, U.S. Army, 28, Bay Shore, N.Y.
• Spec. Daniel J. Freeman, U.S. Army, 20, Cincinnati, Oh.
• Sgt. Foster L. Harrington, U.S. Marine Corps, 31, Ft. Worth, Tex.
• Airman 1st Class Elizabeth N. Jacobson, U.S. Air Force, 21, Riviera Beach, Fla.
• Lance Cpl. Jeremy M. Kane, U.S. Marine Corps, 22, Towson, Md.
• 1st Lt. Nathan M. Krissoff, U.S. Marine Corps, 25, Reno, Nev.
• Staff Sgt. James M. Malachowski, U.S. Marine Corps, 25, Westminster, Md.
• Staff Sgt. Robert J. Paul, U.S. Army Reserve, 43, The Dalles, Ore.
• Maj. Mark E. Rosenberg, U.S. Army, 32, Miami Lakes, Fla.
• Cpl. Dustin H. Schrage. U.S. Marine Corps, 20, Indian Harbor Beach, Fla.
• 1st Lt. Roslyn L. Schulte, U.S. Air Force, 25, St. Louis, Mo.
• Capt. Robert M. Secher, U.S. Marine Corps, 33, Germantown, Tenn.
• Spec. Marc S. Seiden, U.S. Army, 26, Brigantine, N.J.
• Staff Sgt. Michael B. Shackelford, U.S. Army, 25, Grand Junction, Colo.
• Pfc. Steven Shapiro, U.S. Army, 29, Hidden Valley Lake, Calif.
• Sgt. Alan D. Sherman, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, 36, Brick, N.J.
• Capt. Benjamin A. Sklaver, U.S. Army, 32, Medford, Mass.
• Chief Warrant Officer Eric A. Smith, U.S. Army, 41, Rochester, N.Y.
• Pfc. Eric D. Soufrine, U.S. Army, 20, Woodbridge, Conn.
• 1st Lt. Andrew K. Stern, U.S. Marine Corps, 24, Germantown, Tenn.
• Capt. Michael Y. Tarlavsky, U.S. Army, 30, Passaic, N.J.
• Pfc. Morris L. Walker, U.S. Army, 23, Chapel Hill, N.C.
• Tech. Sgt. Timothy R. Weiner, U.S. Air Force, 35,Tamarac, Fla.
• Sgt. Robert M. Weinger, U.S. Army, 24, Round Lake Beach, Ill.
• Spec. Jeffrey M. Wershow, U.S. Air National Guard, 22, Gainesville, Fla.
• Pfc. Colin J. Wolfe, U.S. Marine Corps, 19, Manassas, Vir.
• Maj. Stuart A. Wolfer, U.S. Army, 36, Coral Springs, Fla.
• Sgt. Elijah Tai Wah Wong, U.S. Army, 42, Mesa, Ariz.
• Senior Airman Jonathan A.V. Yelner, U.S. Air Force, 29, Lafayette, Calif.
• Lt. Miroslav (Steven) Zilberman, U.S. Navy, 31, Columbus, Oh.