Thursday, May 03, 2007 5:29 AM -

Steen Rønn Sørensen, 24, of Denmark

Australia's Herald Sun is reporting the death of a Danish soldier from wounds received in an engagement with Taliban forces in southern Helmand Province, Afghanistan ... and the Danish Ministry of Defense is confirming the death and identifying the victim: Royal Danish Army 1st Lieutenant Steen Rønn Sørensen, 24. From the English-language article and from a rough translation of the Danish press release, it would appear that Sørensen was shot in the throat on Sunday, April 29th. From there, he was airlifted out in various stages, finally arriving at a hospital in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Tuesday morning, May 1st. Unfortunately, his condition deteriorated and he passed away, with his family at his bedside, on Thursday, May 3rd. Although Denmark lost three soldiers in 2002 when ordnance accidentally exploded in Kabul, Sørenson is the first combat death they have experienced in Afghanistan.

Friday, May 04, 2007 11:24 AM - This morning, ISAF issued a press release stating that an ISAF servicemember had died and another was injured from a non-hostile cause in northern Afghanistan on Thursday, May 3rd. Shortly thereafter, the Associated Press reported that the dead man was a soldier from the Czech Republic. There are currently 150 Czech troops serving alongside the German contingent in the far northeastern Afghan province of Badakhshan. According to an English language Czech source, Ceske Noviny, four Czech vehicles were patrolling in a mountainous area some 30 km southeast of Faizabad during an intense thunderstorm, when an avalanche of rock and mud roared down on top of them, sweeping one of the vehicles off the road. One man in the vehicle was seriously injured but rescued. The body of another occupant was recovered early Friday morning. The Czech Defense Ministry has issued a statement that identifies the dead soldier by rank and by his initials: Rotný (Staff Sergeant) N. M.

Friday, May 04, 2007 11:40 AM -

Simon Davison, 22, from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England

The British Ministry of Defense has identified the Grenadier Guards soldier who died in a small arms attack near the town of Garmsir in Helmand Province on Thursday, May 3rd: Guardsman Simon Davison, 22, from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England. Davison attended Stafford College prior to joining the British Army in August 2005. His interests ranged from Thai boxing to carpentry. He his survived by his parents and a sister.

Friday, May 04, 2007 1:47 PM -
Joseph G. Harris, 19, of Sugar Land, Texas	The DoD has confirmed that the ISAF soldier who was "found dead" of a non-combat cause on Thursday, May 3rd, in Afghanistan, was an American. Private 1st Class Joseph G. Harris, 19, of Sugar Land, Texas, died at Forward Operating Base Warrior in Ghazni Province.

Sunday, May 06, 2007 8:06 AM - An English-language Czech media site, Ceske Noviny, is reporting that the Czech soldier who died in a mudslide in Badakhshan Province in northeastern Afghanistan on Thursday, May 3rd, was 28 years old. Apparently, the family has asked the military not to elaborate further on him.

Tuesday, May 08, 2007 11:38 AM - CENTCOM is reporting the death of "one Coalition servicemember" due to enemy action that took place 25 km northeast of Sangin District Center in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, on Tuesday, May 8th. It is currently our assumption that the victim was U.S. Army. But this remains to be officially verified.

Tuesday, May 08, 2007 12:17 PM -
	The DoD has identified the two U.S. soldiers who were shot to death by a rogue Afghan soldier at the Pol-e-Charki Prison in Kabul on Sunday, May 6th:
	James W. Harrison Jr., 47, of Ft. Leavewnworth / Kansas City, Missouri area	Colonel James W. Harrison Jr., 47, of Missouri
	Wilberto Sabalu Jr., 36, of Chicago, Illinois	Master Sergeant Wilberto Sabalu Jr., 36, of Chicago, Illinois
	Harrison was assigned to the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, while Sabalu was assigned to the U.S. Military Police School at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.

Thursday, May 10, 2007 7:22 PM - UPDATE

Timothy P. Padgett, 28, of Defuniak Springs, Florida

The DoD has identified the U.S. soldier who died in Afghanistan from enemy action on Tuesday, May 8th: Sergeant Timothy P. Padgett, 28, of Defuniak Springs, Florida. According to a USASOC press release, Padgett was a medical sergeant with a special forces unit who enlisted in the army in 2003 and completed his special forces training in 2006. He was supporting a combat patrol in the Sangin District of Helmand Province when he was engaged in a firefight with insurgents. WZEP radio is reporting that a main artery in his right arm was hit. As a medic, he was apparently able to stanch the bleeding from that, "but started bleeding elsewhere". The DoD release cited Tarin Kowt in neighboring Oruzgan Province as his place of death. He was likely flown to a coalition base there for medical treatment and passed away there. Panama City (Florida) station WMBB-TV reports that he was married and has a young daughter.

Monday, May 14, 2007 1:46 PM - INCOMING -

NATO has issued a statement confirming the death of a NATO soldier in Pakistan near the Afghan border on Monday, May 14th. Media reports, including a lengthy piece in the New York Times and also an article from Reuters, are stating that the soldier was an American. Apparently, there was a routine meeting between American soldiers, Afghans and Pakistani authorities near Teri Mangal in the Kurram tribal region of Pakistan this morning. After the meeting finished, the American party headed back toward Afghanistan but were ambushed about a mile and a half from the border with Afghanistan's Paktia Province. In addition to the death, two U.S. soldiers and two U.S. civilians were wounded. Four Pakistani soldiers were also wounded, one of whom later died of his injuries.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007 8:19 AM - update -

Larry J. Bauguess Jr., 36, of Moravian Falls, North Carolina

The DoD has identified the soldier who died in a small arms fire attack on Monday, May 14th, near the village of Teri Mangal on the Pakistan side of the border with Afghanistan's Paktia Province: Major Larry J. Bauguess Jr., 36, of Moravian Falls, North Carolina. The Winston-Salem (North Carolina) station WGHP reports that Bauguess graduated from Appalachian State University in 1993 where he was also enrolled in the ROTC program. He was deployed to Saudi Arabia for four months in 1997, and also served in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2005. He was assigned to his current post as operations officer to an 82nd Airborne Special Troops Battalion last December. He and his wife have two young daughters.

Friday, May 18, 2007 6:14 AM - UPDATE -
Joshua R. Whitaker, 23, of Long Beach, California	The DoD has released the identity of the soldier who was injured in a small arms fire attack in Zabol Province on Tuesday, May 15th, and who died a short time later after being evacuated to a medical facility in Qalat: Staff Sergeant Joshua R. Whitaker, 23, of Long Beach, California.

Saturday, May 19, 2007 5:46 AM - INCOMINGS - Both Reuters and the Associated Press (via the New York Times) are reporting the deaths of three German soldiers in the town of Kunduz, Kunduz Province, in the far north of Afghanistan on Saturday, May 19th. The AP article, and also an article from Deutsche Presse - Agentur, have said that NATO has confirmed the deaths, although a press release has not yet been posted on the ISAF website. The attack happened when several German soldiers on a routine patrol got out of their vehicles in Chaiferoshi market in Kunduz to do some shopping with their interpreter. A suicide bomber took the opportunity to walk up beside them in the crowd and detonate himself. Five Afghans were also killed in the blast. In addition, two German soldiers and their interpreter were injured, along with at least seven Afghans.

Sunday, May 20, 2007 5:29 PM - INCOMING - The British Ministry of Defense is announcing the death of a 1st Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment soldier at the British base at Sangin in Helmand Province from "an accident" that was non-hostile in nature on Sunday, May 20th. The NATO statement on the death can be found here.

Monday, May 21, 2007 9:55 AM - UPDATE -

George Russell Davey, 23, from Beccles in Suffolk, England

The British Ministry of Defense has released the identity of the 1st Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment soldier who died in Afghanistan on Sunday, May 20th: Lance Corporal George Russell Davey, 23, from Beccles in Suffolk, England. Davey joined the army in January 2004 ... and had been in Afghanistan since April of 2007. He died from a firearms accident at the British base at Sangin in Helmand Province, an accident that is now under investigation. He was described as a man possessing maturity beyond his years, a quiet and unassuming person who simply got on with the job at hand with a minimum of fuss. Davey leaves behind a wife and two young daughters.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007 5:53 AM - INCOMING - Finnish and Norwegian officials confirmed that a Finnish NATO soldier had been killed and four Norwegian soldiers wounded when an improvised explosive device detonated near their foot patrol as they were providing security for a NATO base hospital in Maimana, the capitol of Faryab Province in northwestern Afghanistan on Wednesday, May 23rd. This was the first death of a Finnish military personnel in the current fighting in Afghanistan.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007 9:28 AM - UPDATE - The German publication Der Spiegel has published an article on the funeral service held on the tarmac in Kunduz, Afghanistan, as the bodies of three German soldiers killed by a suicide bomber on Saturday, May 19th, began their journey home. The coffins were decorated with flags and flowers, each holding a picture of the soldier it carried. 430 German soldiers attended, and took so long to pay their respects to their dead comrades that the service lasted 90 minutes. No pictures were allowed. In the fourth paragraph of the article, the ranks of the three are given: ein Hauptmann und zwei Oberfeldwebel ... one captain and two sergeants 1st class.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007 9:52 AM - UPDATE -
Petri Tapio Immonen, 29, of Finland	Deutsche Presse-Agentur is reporting, in an English language article, the identity of the Finnish soldier who died in an IED attack in northern Afghanistan on Wednesday, March 23rd: Sergeant Petri Tapio Immonen, 29. The report goes on to say that Immonen was with the Finnish border guard and had been in Afghanistan since last August.

Thursday, May 24, 2007 5:20 AM - UPDATE -
	The German military has released the names of the three Germans who died when a suicide bomber detonated himself in a crowded market in Kunduz on Saturday, May 19th:
		Hauptmann (Captain) Matthias Standfuß
		Oberfeldwebel (Sergeant 1st Class) Michael Diebel, 34, of Crumstadt (Hessen), Germany
		Oberfeldwebel (Sergeant 1st Class) Michael Neumann
	All three men were German army reservists. The Frankfurter Neue Presse has published an article in German on Diebel, saying that he was 34 years old. Before his overseas deployment, he worked for the German Federal Armed Forces administration (or service center) in Darmstadt (Hessen), and lived in "District" Crumstadt (Hessen). Another article in the German publication Welt would appear to clarify their workplaces before they deployed to Afghanistan: one worked for the "Bundesamt für Wehrverwaltung" (federal office for military administration) in Bonn, one worked for the "Marinearsenal" (navy arsenal) in Kiel, and one worked for the "Bundeswehr-Dienstleistungszentrum" (federal armed forces service center) in Darmstadt. Although we know that Diebel was the Darmstadt reservist, we do not yet know which posts Standfuß and Neumann filled.

Friday, May 25, 2007 1:26 PM - INCOMING -

Corporal Matthew J. McCulley, 25, of Canada

The Canadian Department of National Defense is confirming reports that one of their soldiers was killed on Friday, May 25th, about 35 km west of Kandahar near the village of Nalgham in Zhari District. The soldier was on a foot patrol when an improvised explosive device detonated, killing him and wounding another Canadian soldier and an Afghan interpreter. Can West News Service has identified the dead man as Corporal Matthew J. McCulley, 25, a signals operator from 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group Headquarters and Signals Squadron.

Friday, May 25, 2007 5:13 PM - UPDATES -
	(1) The Finnish Defense Ministry has confirmed the death of Finnish soldier Sergeant Petri Tapio Immonen, 29, in the city of Maimana in Afghanistan on May 23rd. He belonged to the Border Guard of Finland (Rajavartiolaitos). In fact, a lengthier write-up on Immonen appears on the Border Guard's website. He seems to have belonged to a southeastern Finland division of the Border Guard called Kaakkois-Suomen rajavartiosto ... and was garrisoned in the town of Vaalimaa which is indeed in the far southeastern corner of Finland, hard on the border with Russia.
	(2) The Can West News Service article from earlier today on the death of Canadian Army Corporal Matthew J. McCulley in Afghanistan on May 25th has since been updated to include his age, 25, and more details of the bombing incident that killed him. His hometown is not yet available, according to the article.

Saturday, May 26, 2007 7:05 AM - INCOMING - The British Ministry of Defense is reporting the death of a 1st Battalion, The Grenadier Guards, soldier in the town of Garmsir in Helmand Province when an explosion occurred on an overnight military operation on Saturday, May 26th. Four other British soldiers were injured in the incident, three seriously.

Saturday, May 26, 2007 4:52 PM - INCOMING - NATO's International Security Assistance Force website is reporting the death of a NATO soldier in a non-hostile road traffic accident in a western part of Afghanistan on Saturday, May 26th. The nationality of the soldier is not yet known.

Saturday, May 26, 2007 8:24 PM - UPDATES -
	(1) Bahrain's Gulf Daily News is reporting that the May 26th NATO vehicle accident death in western Afghanistan was that of a Spanish sergeant whose vehicle overturned in the western province of Badghis. Two of his fellow soldiers were injured in the accident.
	(2) Several articles have appeared now on Canadian Army Corporal Matthew McCully, 25, who died in Afghanistan on Friday, May 25th, in an IED attack ... among them this piece from the Canadian Press, and this article from Canada's The Globe and Mail. McCully grew up in Orangeville, Ontario with two younger siblings. Because his parents divorced when the siblings were still young, his father then moving to Prince George, British Columbia, McCully became a father figure to his sister and brother. He was involved in both Canada Scouts and Cubs, and got his first taste of the army with a stint in the reserves. He enlisted in the regular forces about 5 years ago. According to his family McCully, who was single, fell in love with the army almost instantly and planned to make a career out of the military. He was on his second deployment to Afghanistan.

Sunday, May 27, 2007 5:04 AM - UPDATE -

Juan Antonio Abril Sánchez, 31, from Zaragoza, Spain

The English-language Spanish website Think Spain is reporting the name of the Spanish soldier who was killed on Saturday, May 26th, when his vehicle accidentally overturned while on patrol in the Qades District of Badghis Province in the west of Afghanistan: Sergento Juan Antonio Abril Sánchez, 31, from Zaragoza in Spain. As it happened, May 26th is the 4th anniversary of the crash of the Yak-42 aircraft in Turkey that was bringing 62 Spanish peacekeepers home from duty in Afghanistan. All aboard died. The Spanish Ministry of Defense has posted the notice of Abril's death here, in which they give his unit as the Regimiento de Cazadores de Montaña “América" 66, or the 66th Mountain Regiment, 1st Mountain Brigade, of the Spanish Army. This unit is based in Pamplona, Spain. Abril was married.

Sunday, May 27, 2007 7:18 AM - UPDATE -

Daniel Probyn, 22, from Tipton, England

The British Ministry of Defense has released the name of the Grenadier Guards soldier who died in an explosion during a combat mission in Garmsir in southern Helmand Province on Saturday, May 26th: Guardsman Daniel Probyn, 22, from Tipton near Birmingham in the West Midlands of England. A brief article in the London Independent states that the explosion was the result of an incoming mortar. Probyn had enlisted in the army in 2003 and had previously done two tours of duty in Iraq before being deployed to Afghanistan. According to his commanding officer, he had "tirelessly fought the Taliban just hours earlier at the side of the others in his platoon when he was killed in a second action." Rugby was apparently a passion with Probyn.

Monday, May 28, 2007 4:36 PM - INCOMING - Reuters is reporting the death of a British soldier "as a result of enemy action" in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, on Monday, May 28th. The English language Pravda news service is also reporting the death, stating that the soldier was from 1st Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment. The British MOD has yet to post a notice on their website.

Tuesday, May 29, 2007 6:14 AM - UPDATE - The British Ministry of Defense has now posted confirmation of the death of a 1st Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment soldier from enemy action in Helmand Province on Monday, May 28th. The NATO posting for the death can be found here.

Tuesday, May 29, 2007 6:27 PM - UPDATE -

Darren Bonner, 31, of Gorleston in Norfolk, England

The British Ministry of Defense has identified the 1st Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment soldier who died in an explosion in Helmand Province on Monday, May 28th: Corporal Darren Bonner, 31, of Gorleston in Norfolk, England. At this point, the nature of the explosive device has not been determined but is still being investigated. Bonner was travelling with a convoy about 11 km east of Hyderabad in the Gereshk District of Helmand Province when the explosion occurred. Bonner had served in the British army since 1993 and had been previously deployed to Northern Ireland and the Balkans. Currently, he was a key member of his regiment's Signals Platoon in Afghanistan. The MOD described him as "physically impressive", being an avid weight lifter and night club bouncer in his spare time. Bonner was engaged to be married at the end of this deployment.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007 2:44 PM - UPDATE - The Associated Press is reporting that five U.S. soldiers died when their Chinook helicopter was shot down, possibly with a rocket propelled grenade, in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, May 30th. NATO has published confirmation of the crash itself, but has not released the number of dead. We will add the deaths to our spreadsheet when the number is offically confirmed.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007 3:50 PM - 7 INCOMINGS - According to an article from Reuters AlertNet, NATO has now confirmed that seven soldiers were aboard the Chinook helicopter that was shot down in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, May 30th: five crewmen and two military passengers. The aircraft went down in the Kajaki region of Helmand Province. According to the report, enemy fighters ambushed troops who were responding to the scene of the crash, and an air strike had to be called in.

Thursday, May 31, 2007 5:03 AM - UPDATE - The British Ministry of Defense has announced that one of the seven soldiers who died aboard the Chinook helicopter that was shot down in Kajaki Region, Helmand Province, on Wednesday, May 30th, was a British soldier. The soldier was from The Royal Military Police. No further information has been released at this time.

Thursday, May 31, 2007 5:29 AM - UPDATE - For some time now, we have known the units to which the three German reservists, who were killed by a suicide bomber in Kunduz on May 19th, were assigned, but not which soldier was attached to which unit, with the exception of Michael Diebel. We have now found on the German Defense website the transcript of a speech given by the German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung on May 23 in Cologne in which this is clearly spelled out. Matthias Standfuß was from the Federal Office for Military Administration in Bonn, Germany. Michael Neumann was assigned to the Navy Arsenal in Kiel on the northern coast of Germany.

Thursday, May 31, 2007 5:53 AM - UPDATE - According to an article from the Canadian Press, the Canadian military is confirming that one of the 7 soldiers killed aboard the Chinook helicopter that was shot down in Helmand Province on Wednesday, May 30th, was a Canadian soldier from CFB Gagetown in New Brunswick. The Canadian and British soldiers were the two passengers on the flight.

Thursday, May 31, 2007 6:23 AM - UPDATE -

Darrell Jason Priede, 30, of Grand Forks, British Columbia, Canada

The Canadian National Defense Department has identified the Canadian soldier who died aboard the Chinook that crashed in Helmand Province on Tuesday, May 30th: Master Corporal Darrell Jason Priede, 30, of Grand Forks, British Columbia, Canada, who was a military Imagery Technician currently based at Kandahar Air Field. Priede was a member of the Army News Team, 3 Area Support Group, based at CFB Gagetown in New Brunswick.

Thursday, May 31, 2007 8:22 PM - UPDATE -

Jesse Blamires, 25, of South Jordan, Utah

Salt Lake City (Utah) station KUTV is reporting the death of a soldier from South Jordan, Utah, in the crash of a Chinook chopper on May 30th: Sergeant Jesse Blamires, 25. Blamires enlisted in the military three years ago. According to his family, helicopters were of particular interest to him. So he worked his way up from a mechanic, to a gunner and finally to the position of crew chief. Blamires was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division. He was married and had two young children, ages 5 and 9 months.

Friday, June 01, 2007 6:21 AM - UPDATES -
Mike Gilyeat, 28, of the United Kingdom	(1) The British Ministry of Defense has now identified the British Royal Military Policeman who died in the crash of a U.S. Chinook helicopter in Helmand Province on Wednesday, May 30th: Corporal Mike Gilyeat, 28. Gilyeat was the son of an army soldier, which might explain his birth in Hanover, Germany. In August 2002 he followed in his father's footsteps and enlisted. He had done a tour of duty in Iraq and also recent duty in Lisburn, Northern Ireland ... but volunteered for a tour in Afghanistan for a chance to diversify into news photography. It was there that he struck up a friendship with fellow news photographer Canadian Master Corporal Darrell Priede. The two of them engaged in a steady stream of banter, usually over the quality of each other's photography. They were aboard the Chinook to film the insertion of 40 American 82nd Airborne Division soldiers into the Kajaki area of Helmand. The chopper crashed soon after dropping those troops off.
Darrell Jason Priede, 30, of Grand Forks, British Columbia, Canada	(2) The British MOD piece happened to mention that Master Corporal Priede was 30 years old. An article that appeared in the Toronto Star described Priede as a consummate photographer whose picture taking was far more than a job to him. Born in Burlington, Ontario, he was raised in Grand Forks, British Columbia, where his mother still lives. Priede actually joined the army as a gunner in 1996, but eventually made the move to military cameraman, taking photos and videos for use in defense department newsletters and websites. Priede and his wife had been married for four years.

Friday, June 01, 2007 6:58 AM - UPDATE - The Reno (Nevada) station KRNV has published a very brief article announcing the death of Chief Warrant Officer 2 Joshua Rodgers of Carson City, Nevada, in the crash of the Chinook helicopter in Afghanistan on May 30th. Rodgers was the chopper's co-pilot. He was in his twenties ... and leaves behind a wife and three young children.

Saturday, June 02, 2007 6:20 AM - UPDATE -

Chris Allgaier, 33, of Omaha, Nebraska

The Associated Press is reporting the identity of the second pilot in the crash of a Chinook helicopter in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, on May 30th: Chief Warrant Officer Chris Allgaier, 33, of Omaha, Nebraska. Allgaier graduated in 1991 from Omaha Creighton Prep High School, a Jesuit run academy. He was No. 4 in his class, graduating with highest honors. Allgaier then earned a bachelor's degree in aeronautical administration from Saint Louis University in 1995 ... and a master's degree in aeronautical science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2001. He and his wife have three children.

Sunday, June 03, 2007 5:42 AM - UPDATE -

Charlie Bagwell, 28, of Lake Toxaway, North Carolina

An article from the Associated Press, and also one from the Asheville (North Carolina) Citizen-Times, are reporting the identity of another of the 5 U.S. crewmen killed in the crash of a Chinook helicopter in Helmand Province on Wednesday, May 30th. Army Staff Sergeant Charlie Bagwell, of Lake Toxaway in the southwestern North Carolina county of Transylvania, was a mechanic and crew chief assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division. A gifted athlete, Bagwell played junior varsity basketball and varsity football at Rosman High School. He worked briefly as a carpenter after graduating in 1997, but soon enlisted in the military. He had already done a tour of duty in Iraq in 2005 before his current deployment to Afghanistan. He is survived by his parents, a sister, and an 8-year-old son.

Monday, June 04, 2007 5:47 PM - UPDATES -
	The DoD has released the identities of the five American crewmen aboard the Chinook helicopter that crashed on Wednesday, May 30th, in the upper Sangin Valley in Helmand Province, Afghanistan:
		Chief Warrant Officer Christopher M. Allgaier, 33, of Middleton, Missouri
		Chief Warrant Officer Joshua R. Rodgers, 29, of Carson City, Nevada
		Staff Sergeant Charlie L. Bagwell, 28, of Lake Toxaway, North Carolina
		Sergeant Jesse A. Blamires, 25, of West Jordan, Utah
		Sergeant Brandon E. Hadaway, 25, of Valley, Alabama
	According to the release, the crash was "apparently due to enemy fire".
	We had previously learned of Allgaier, Rodgers, Bagwell and Blamires through media reports and had posted brief bios on each. Now we have found a news item on Hadaway posted by the Columbus (Georgia) station WTVM. They are reporting that Hadaway joined the military about five and a half years ago. He had already served one tour of duty in Afghanistan, followed by one in Iraq. He leaves behind a wife and three sons, ages six, three, and seven months.
	The DoD has listed Allgaier's hometown as Middleton, Missouri ... but media reports are consistently calling him a native of Omaha, Nebraska.

Monday, June 04, 2007 6:35 PM - UPDATES - The Liverpool (England) Echo has published an article on Royal Military PolicemanCorporal Mike Gilyeat, 28, who died aboard the Chinook that crashed in Helmand Province on May 30th. They report that although Gilyeat was born in Hanover, Germany (his father was a major in the British Army), he came to live in Southport, just north of Liverpool in Merseyside, as a teenager when his parents settled there.