These are 20 of the 18,000 people who died of COVID-19 in the US this week

Funeral director Michael Neel looks at the casket of George Trefren, a 90-year-old Korean War veteran who died of COVID-19 in April.Rick Wilking/Reuters

• The US recorded roughly 18,000 deaths from COVID-19 this week alone.
• Wednesday marked the deadliest day in the pandemic so far, with nearly 3,500 deaths reported.
• Below are the names and brief stories of 20 people recently killed by the virus — including the newly elected Speaker of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, a pioneering surgeon, and the first Black country superstar.

Charley Pride played music. William Norwood performed live-saving surgeries. Rosemary Shinohara worked long nights at the newsroom, picked blueberries, ran triathlons, and read mystery novels. Veronica Gutierrez, age 29, liked puzzles.

They all died of COVID-19, their deaths reported this week amid a tragic and unprecedented surge in infections and fatalities across the US. The US recorded nearly 18,000 COVID-19 deaths in the last seven days alone.

Wednesday marked the deadliest day in the pandemic so far, with close to 3,500 reported deaths. That's more American deaths from a single catastrophe than on any other day in the past 100 years, including 9/11, Pearl Harbor, and D-Day.

Below are the names, faces, and a small peak into the lives of just a few Americans whose deaths were reported this week.