1st Lt. Colby J. Umbrell died from wounds sustained while supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom on May 3, 2007 in Musayyib, Iraq; he was 26. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska. He was a 1999 graduate of Central Bucks East High School and a 2004 graduate of Johns Hopkins University. He is a recipient of the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. He was survived by his mother, Nancy, his father, Mark, brothers, Bruce and Adam, and sister, Casey.

“Before he went, he said he felt like he was involved in something very important,” Nancy Umbrell said to the Bucks County Courier Times. “He was enamored with the idea of democracy in the Middle East.”

The Travis Manion Foundation honored 1st Lt. Umbrell on Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, Jan. 21, 2013 when volunteers gathered at Washington Crossing National Cemetery and dedicated hours of community service to continue the Fallen Hero’s legacy.