Fort Hood soldier deaths in Iraq hitting hard at home - kcentv.com - KCEN HD - Waco, Temple, and Killeen

A rocket attack on US forces in Southern Iraq killed three more Fort Hood soldiers on Wednesday. 

The Pentagon has not released the names or units of the soldiers who died, though leaders on Fort Hood tell us the soldiers are from the post.

That brings the number of Fort Hood casualties in Iraq to six just this week alone. 

In the month of June, eight Fort Hood soldiers total died in that country.

That's more than half of the 15 total US deaths in Iraq in June, the most since May 2009, when 24 US service members died in the country.

Still, news of the deaths this week strike right to heart of soldiers here at home, like Clayton Jones.

He said, "It just makes me sad, just really sad that more families have to go through that kind of stuff on a day to day basis.  You know, it is war but the loss of, you know no money can account for the loss of life."

Not knowing what unit the three soldiers who died on Wednesday served in, the 3rd Brigade Combat Team from the First Cavalry Division lost three soldiers last month, and the 2nd Brigade Combat Team lost two.

Retired Command Sergeant Major Wagdi Mabrouk is a Distinctive Faith Group Leader at the Fort Hood Spiritual Fitness Center, and said, "Anytime you lose a member of your organization it's amazing, the unit draws so much tighter together."

Down range, when a battle buddy dies, extra counselors are brought in to help the unit.

Mabrouk says it's up to the leaders in that unit to, "Instill confidence in the rest of the soldiers to accomplish the missions.  I can only imagine that's what's kind of taking place over there."

The effect of these multiple deaths from Fort Hood soldiers in such a short period of time extends far beyond units in Iraq though, also affecting units in here in Central Texas.

Mabrouk says, "Everybody feels it.  We've lost members of our community so although we may not have known them personally it still hits home."

That holds true for Melissa Kodjo.  She works on post and said, "It's even upsetting even if you don't know them on a personal level, especially for everybody around here, it's just a tight knit community."

Now, she's about to join the Army herself, saying, "I do want to go in to serve because my brother did it, my husband did it...This is my country.  I'm fighting for the ones that I love."

Part of her drive to enlist, though, comes from a loss.  A good friend of her's died serving in Iraq in 2009.

Kodjo said it happened, "A couple days before my birthday, and I didn't even get to say goodbye to her.  It kind of hurt a lot."

It's that hurt, that extends beyond just family and friends.

Jones said, "Everytime you lose one of your battle buddies you have to feel for it, but you train hard, you go over there and you fight hard, and the loss of life is a consequence of war and we've been at war for 10 years.  So it's just something that's basically become an everyday affect in America."

Still, one soldier deploying next week said, because these deaths happened so close to the Fourth of July, it really puts into perspective just what our freedom and liberty really means, and is all about, and just how many people have made the ultimate sacrifice over the years to guarantee it.

Reporter:Matthew LeBlanc/Photographer:Chris Buford