BUFFALO, NY - Western New York's young soldiers have given more than their fair share to the Iraqi war.

Some left behind limbs there, and others lost their lives.

Frank Grillo of South Buffalo spent three tours of duty in Iraq as a medic.

Scott Brown: "Now that the U.S' role is over, does it bring a sense of closure to you?"

Frank Grillo: "It does and it doesn't. People will say 'oh we shouldn't have been there in the first place, oh you didn't find any weapons of mass destruction'. That diminishes the effort we put in as soldiers. This diminishes the impact of the soldiers who lost their lives, who lost their limbs."

Mark O'Brien of East Aurora lost his right arm and leg in Iraq after being hit by a rocket propelled grenade in 2004.

After a long rehabilitation, Mark would marry Michelle Pierce, a friend from high school.

He says he has no regrets about his service.

Before going into the Marines, Mark wanted to follow his father and brother and become a Erie County Sheriff's deputy.

Today he works as a dispatcher for the Sheriff's Department.

Mark O'Brien: "Obviously I can't be a police officer, so this is kind of my way of being a part of it and I just kind of like helping people and the excitement of the job."

In 2005, Mark Beyers a Marine from Wales, was hit by a roadside bomb. He too lost an arm and a leg.

Step by step Mark went through intensive rehabilitation.

He had said he wouldn't marry his longtime girlfriend Denise until he could stand up for the ceremony.

Nine months after he was critically injured, Mark in his full dress uniform married Denise on a picture perfect day in the Virgin Islands.

Scott Brown: "Do you consider yourself lucky that you made it or unlucky that you got hit?"

Mark Beyers: "I would say lucky, very lucky. Yep, the amount of wounds that I have that should have killed me. I had no brain damage too so that's another one, and I have Denise too."

Just over a year ago, the Navy commissioned the USS Jason Dunham, a guided missile destroyer.

The ship was named after a 22 year old Marine from Western New York who jumped on a grenade to save the lives of two of his fellow Marines.

One of them, Billy Hampton who now has two young daughters thanks to Jason's sacrifice.

Scott Brown: "What are you going to tell them about Jason?"

Billy Hampton: "Everything, everything- that they're lucky, as well as I am that if it wasn't for him we wouldn't exist, we wouldn't be standing here."

The highlight of the ship's commissioning was Jason's mom issuing the call to bring the ship to life.

Deb Dunham: "To the crew of the USS Jason Dunham, rest assured that when you sail you sail with a guardian angel on board. Officers and crew of the USS Jason Dunham man our ship and bring her to life!"

Jason Dunham won the nation's highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions.