Staff Sgt. Timothy Davis, an Air Force combat controller, was killed in combat in Afghanistan in February 2009.

Although he's been gone for more than two years, his sister, 2nd Lt. Noel Carroll, feels perhaps as close to her older brother than she ever has.

Master Sgt. Michael Maltz, an Air Force pararescueman, was killed in an HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter crash in Afghanistan in March 2003. And yet his former wife, Capt. Beverly Davidson, still feels his presence and honors him with her work every time she puts on the uniform.

Both women are flight nurses in the 446th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron at McChord Field, and each draws strength from the sacrifices their loved ones made as part of the war in Afghanistan. The effect both sacrifices had on the two flipped a switch inside of each of them, pushing them to serve their country by joining the Air Force Reserves. Each didn't know each other's family service backgrounds until a couple of weeks ago when Davidson made an announcement about an annual fitness event to honor her former husband's life.

"It's interesting to meet someone who follows that same conviction," Davidson said.

Carroll, who's been in the Reserves just two years, felt the need for something good to come from her brother's death.

"(Joining the Reserves) was something I knew I needed to do," said Carroll, a 28-year-old Grays Harbor native who also works as an emergency room nurse at Highline Medical Center in Burien. "You feel like you want to give back. I was meant to be here - life pushed me this way."

Davidson, who served on active duty for a time while married to Maltz, made a vow to return to the service after raising her sons.

"It wasn't a hard decision, but a natural one," said Davidson, an ER manager at Snoqualmie Valley Hospital in Snoqualmie who returned to military service after a 12-year hiatus. "It's a natural way to honor Mike's service. "

That ardent desire to honor their respective loved ones and take on the responsibilities that come with being a flight nurses is evident each day they are on the job, said Col. Jan Moore-Harbert, 446th AES commander.

"It takes a unique person to do this job," Moore-Harbert said. "It's the kind of heart and dedication that they bring to the table that makes such an impact in the flight nursing world."

While patients and coworkers are often the beneficiaries of Davidson and Carroll's passion, the job provides great benefit for each of them.

"You don't understand the true meaning of patriotism unit you put on the uniform," Davidson said. "To honor (Mike's) sacrifice is to honor the mission."

Working as a flight nurse and wearing the uniform has helped Carroll understand what her brother felt while he was serving.

"It's made me understand a whole much more about my brother," she said. "I feel like it has changed me for the better."

Both still keep reminders of their loved one's service, as Carroll wears her brother's dog tags next to her own, and Davidson often carries her husband's unit's coin.

"To walk the same path that a loved one before you did, you know that it's a path worthy to follow," Davidson said.