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HAMILTON — U.S. soldiers are fighting the war in Iraq 6,400 miles away, but the cost is felt much closer to home. Eleven soldiers killed or captured in the war have ties to Butler County. Their families need to know they will never be forgotten.

Army 1st Sgt. Ricky Lee McGinnis, Oct. 26, 2006

A blue star and a gold star hang in the front window of Rhonda Isaacs' Hamilton home.

The blue one hangs as a symbol of pride and hope that her son Joey will return from war. The gold one hangs as a symbol of honor and sacrifice that her brother Ricky made in that same war.

"I miss my brother," Rhonda said Friday while sitting on her wooden front porch with the gold star above her. "I think of him every day. And I miss my son a lot, but I have a lot of faith in God, and I know he's going to be OK."

Behind the front window, Rhonda is filling the room with pictures, medals, memorials, newspaper clippings and flags dedicated to her family's generations of military service.

Her brother, Army 1st Sgt. Ricky Lee McGinnis, was not the first to die in battle. A great uncle died while serving in the Pacific Ocean during World War II.

And her son, Army Pfc. Joey Isaacs, is only the latest to enlist. Her grandfather, father and uncle also gave time to the country.

But the loss of her brother and the reality of war has changed things.

In years past, Rhonda said she took Memorial Day to enjoy camping or fishing or going to the lake.

This year she plans to stay home.

"It's going to be a day to reflect and remember (Ricky)," she said.

Those memories are still fresh. Growing up in Hamilton on Pater Avenue, Rhonda said she was a tomboy and was always hanging out with her brother — who was just a year older and in the same grade — and his friends.

They played in the street, did a lot of fishing and were virtually inseparable.

"A lot of people thought we were twins," she said.

They stayed close after he joined the Army and left Hamilton almost 24 years ago. She talked to him on the phone, wrote letters and visited him as often as she could.

A devoted family man, Ricky left behind a wife and four daughters in Fort Hood, Texas, where he is buried. And though she is hundreds of miles away from his grave, Rhonda still feels close to her brother.

"I don't need to go anywhere to remember him. I remember him here," she said, placing a hand to her heart, "every day."

Army Pfc. Tim Hines Jr., July 14, 2005

Four-year-old Lily Hines carefully placed a bouquet of red, white and blue flowers Friday at her father's grave.

Noah, her 1-year-old baby brother, couldn't keep from wandering off, growing fussy as the afternoon sun beat down on the young family.

But Katy Hines, 24, patiently managed her children at the Spring Grove Cemetery, quietly revealing her success and her struggle of raising kids on her own.

"It's really hard being a single parent," she said. "But I see him in both of our kids. That's an amazing feeling, knowing there's still a part of him here."

Especially when she looks at Noah, she said. He is a mirror image of Tim Hines Jr., the father he's never met.

Katy said she hopes one day her children can understand the sacrifice their father made. She hopes they can understand he didn't leave them, but that he joined the Army for them.

"I want them to know he had a very good heart, and he tried to put other people first," she said. "That he made the ultimate sacrifice for them. That he was doing it not just for his country, but so they could have a better life."

Tim's selfless service has inspired Katy, a 2001 Cincinnati Christian School graduate, to give back as well. Now a student at Miami University, she hopes to get a job with the military counseling families of wounded and killed soldiers.

Through her loss, she discovered how much easier and important it was to talk with someone who had experienced a similar hurt.

"Knowing all the families that are out there, I should use what happened to help other people through it," she said. "Families need to know that people care and their soldier will never be forgotten."

Marine Lance Cpl. Taylor Prazynski, May 9, 2005

As John Prazynski packed his bags Wednesday for a motorcycle ride to Washington, D.C., he recalled plans he'd made for road trips with his son.

"He enjoyed riding on the back of my motorcycle," he said. "We always talked that someday we'll ride Harley's together."

A laminated photograph of Taylor Prazynski now takes the place of the 2003 Fairfield High School graduate on his father's old Harley Sportster. It's a reminder to John of what he lost but also of where he's going and why he rides.

Shortly after his son's death, John heard from the father of an Ohio soldier killed on Memorial Day the year before.

"He told me, 'I learned in my son's death what I couldn't learn in life. I've always been a taker, and now I'm a giver,' " he said.

John took it to heart, and in memory of Taylor, he supports several causes to bring awareness and support to America's military.

He supports Impact Player Partners, which serves wounded veterans of the War on Terror. He has sponsored memorial rides for Taylor and set up a scholarship honoring fallen Army Pfc. Tim Hines Jr.

And this weekend, in honor of captured Army soldier Keith "Matt" Maupin, he made his second trip to the capital to ride in Rolling Thunder to bring awareness to troops who have become prisoners of war or are missing in action.

"We firsthand have learned that our freedoms come at a cost," John said. "I would not want anyone of us Americans to take our freedoms for granted."

Army Staff Sgt. Keith "Matt" Maupin, captured April 9, 2004

A dark, airbrushed painting of Staff Sgt. Keith "Matt" Maupin dominates one wall of the Yellow Ribbon Support Center at the Eastgate Mall.

"A prisoner did that," Matt's father Keith Maupin said Thursday. "He got his eyes just right. Tired."

The painting is one of many drawings, photos, collages and tributes to the 2001 Glen Este High School graduate that cover the walls, counters and floor of the support center. Keith and Carolyn Maupin opened the center four months after their son was captured April 9, 2004, by enemy combatants in Iraq.

It doesn't open until 1 p.m., but the phone rings off the hook, and Keith, a Fairfield native, is there early most days.

The main goal of the center is to raise the morale of the troops. To date, Keith estimates they've shipped more than 7,500 packages overseas filled with chewing gum, beef jerky, canned chili, letters and more.

"Priority one is to bring Matt home, but we never forget the troops," he said.

Though it's been more than three years, the memory of Matt's capture is still fresh in his father's mind. When insurgents captured three U.S. soldiers in Iraq two weeks ago, Keith said he had flashbacks.

His advice to the families of the still missing soldiers: Don't worry.

"I do, but I try not to worry too much," he admitted. "Have hope, have faith and pray. You have to have faith that the Army will be able to bring him home."

Keith, who has met with President Bush eight times and with other military leaders, still holds onto that hope. He said everyone's planning a big parade for Matt when he comes home.

And he can finally cut his beard, which he started growing when his son was deployed and vowed not to trim until he returned — however long it takes.

"If he'd be able to walk off that plane, I'd wait forever."

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Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2186 or cfullam@coxohio.com.