USWarWatch.org - Coalition deaths in Iraq, December, 2006

COALITION DEATHS IN IRAQ
ARCHIVE - DECEMBER, 2006
A running log of text entries for the month of December, 2006 (chronology runs top to bottom)

Saturday, December 02, 2006 6:48 AM - MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a U.S. soldier on Friday, December 1st, from enemy action in Al Anbar Province.

Sunday, December 03, 2006 7:18 AM -
	(1) MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a Multi-National Corps - Iraq soldier when an improvised explosive device detonated near his convoy near Taji (just northwest of Baghdad) on Saturday, December 2nd.
	(2) MNF-Iraq is also reporting the deaths of two 13th Sustainment Command soldiers when a roadside bomb detonated near their patrol in the Al Anbar Province on Saturday, December 2nd.

Saturday, December 02, 2006 8:54 AM - The DoD keeps its own spreadsheet of U.S. military deaths, among personnel associated with Operation Iraqi Freedom, in .pdf format here. However, they only update this record monthly. An analysis of the latest update on November 28th shows the addition of a serviceperson not previously announced in a DoD press release:
	Lieutenant Commander Jane Elizabeth Lanham Tafoya, 43, of Owensboro, Kentucky, apparently died of a non-hostile, unspecified cause in Manama, Bahrain, on September 19, 2006. According to her obituary, she was an Industrial Hygienist who had served for 18 years in the Navy. She was currently stationed at the Naval Branch Health Clinic in Bahrain. This previously unreported death goes directly into our archived September 2006 database, and increases the total Coalition deaths in September from 76 to 77 (including 72 U.S. deaths).
Jane Elizabeth Lanham Tafoya, 43, Owensboro, Kentucky

Saturday, December 02, 2006 10:05 AM - The DoD keeps its own spreadsheet of U.S. military deaths, among personnel associated with Operation Iraqi Freedom, in .pdf format here. However, they only update this record monthly. An analysis of the latest update on November 28th shows the addition of a serviceperson not previously announced in a DoD press release:
	Master at Arms Petty Officer 3rd Class Roger Allen Napper Jr., 30, died in Manama, Bahrain, on October 7, 2006. According to an article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, he died in a vehicle accident when his vehicle struck a power pole. He grew up in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, but had been living in Clio, Michigan. He was buried in Michigan. This previously unreported death goes directly into our archived October 2006 database, and increases the total Coalition deaths in October from 109 to 110 (including 106 U.S. deaths).
Roger Allen Napper Jr., 30, Greensburg, Pennsylvania

Sunday, December 03, 2006 1:53 PM -
	(1) MNF-Iraq has just announced the deaths of three U.S. servicemembers in Iraq. Although the title of the press release says "Three Marines killed in Western Iraq", the body of the report states it differently: two soldiers assigned to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters, and a Marine assigned to Regimental Combat Team 5. They died from enemy action in Al Anbar Province on Saturday, December 2nd.
	(2) MNF-Iraq is also reporting the death of a U.S. soldier in Baghdad from enemy action on Sunday, December 3rd.

Sunday, December 03, 2006 5:10 PM - CENTCOM is reporting the deaths of two 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division soldiers from what was likely a roadside bomb on Sunday, December 3rd. The location of the incident was not given, although judging by the location of past deaths from this division it may very well have been Diyala Province north of Baghdad.

Monday, December 04, 2006 4:57 AM - MNF-Iraq is reporting that a U.S. Marine Corps CH-46 helicopter made an emergency water landing in the western part of Al Anbar Province on Sunday, December 3rd. Of the 16 passengers and crew on board, 12 survived and are accounted for. However, one Marine was rescued but could not be resuscitated. An additional three troops have NOT been accounted for and are listed as Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN). The dead Marine will be included in our database immediately. The three DUSTWUN will be listed at such time as their deaths are confirmed. The cause of the emergency landing is currently not thought to have been the result of enemy action.

Monday, December 04, 2006 5:35 AM - The Associated Press is reporting the deaths of two Minnesota National Guardsmen in Iraq on Saturday, December 2nd:
	Specialist Bryan T. McDonough, 22, of Maplewood, Minnesota
	Cory Rystad, 20, of Red Lake Falls, Minnesota
	Unfortunately, there is not enough information given to know which of Saturday's 6 currently known deaths are theirs. They may have died in separate incidents, likely from roadside bombs. McDonough was stationed in Fallujah. Rystad's duty station was not reported. The Minnesota National Guard currently has about 2600 troops stationed in Iraq, some at bases at Fallujah and Taqaddum, some at Camp Anaconda at Balad, and some in Baghdad.

Monday, December 04, 2006 10:38 AM - MNF-Iraq is now reporting that the bodies of the three servicemen reported missing in the emergency water landing of a CH-46 helicopter on Sunday, December 3rd, have been recovered. We are adding them to the database at this time. The Washington Post reports that the hard landing occurred along the shore of Lake Qadisiyah near Haditha in Al Anbar Province. Reports have appeared in the media that the helicopter came under fire prior to the landing, but the military is denying this, saying that the problems were due to "mechanical difficulties".

Monday, December 04, 2006 1:36 PM -
	(1) More information has now been published at the website of the Minnesota Army National Guard on the deaths of Specialist Bryan McDonough and Specialist Corey Rystad. Both were in the same unit ... the 2nd Combined Arms Battalion of the 136th Infantry Regiment based in Crookston, MN ... and both died in the same roadside bomb blast near Fallujah on Saturday, December 2nd. At this time, we believe that they were likely the deaths described in this CENTCOM release.
Bryan McDonough, 22, Maplewood, MN (L) & Corey Rystad, 20, Red Lake Falls, MN (R)
	(2) The DoD has identified the Marine who died on Saturday, December 2nd, from enemy action in Al Anbar Province: Lance Corporal Jesse D. Tillery, 19, of Vesper, Wisconsin. His unit, the 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion of the 2nd Marine Division, was assigned to Regimental Combat Team 5.
Jesse D. Tillery, 19, Vesper, Wisconsin

Monday, December 04, 2006 4:54 PM - The DoD has confirmed the deaths of the two Minnesota National Guardsmen who died in the vicinity of Fallujah when a roadside bomb detonated near their vehicle on Saturday, December 2nd:
	Specialist Bryan T. McDonough, 22, of Maplewood, Minnesota
	Specialist Corey J. Rystad, 20, of Red Lake Falls, Minnesota

Tuesday, December 05, 2006 5:29 AM -
	(1) This morning, the Washington Post has more details on Sunday's four deaths from the emergency hard landing of a Chinook helicopter: The dead were two Marines, an Army soldier and a member of the Air Force.
	(2) Yesterday, the DoD issued a statement announcing that an army soldier was being declared Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN): Specialist Dustin M. Adkins, 22, of Finger, Tennessee. This morning, the Jackson (Tennessee) Sun is confirming that Specialist Adkins was the army soldier who died in the Chinook's hard landing on Sunday, December 3rd. His relatives were notified of the death on Monday afternoon. He was a dental assistant assigned to a special forces unit ... and is survived by a wife and two small children.
Dustin M. Adkins, 22, Finger, Tennessee
	(3) In addition, the Honolulu Advertiser is reporting the identity of one of the two Marines killed in the Chinook's hard landing: Major Trane McCloud, 39, from Johnson City, Tennessee. Major McCloud was based out of Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii ... and is survived by a wife and three children.
Trane McCloud, 39, Johnson City, Tennessee
	(4) Also, the Mississippi Clarion-Ledger has identified the Air Force servicemember who died in the Chinook hard landing: Captain Kermit Evans, 31, of Hollandale, Mississippi. He leaves behind a wife and a 1 year old son.

Tuesday, December 05, 2006 5:54 AM -
	(1) MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldier when his patrol was attacked by insurgents on Monday, December 4th, in a northeastern Baghdad neighborhood.
	(2) MNF-Iraq is also reporting the death of a 13th Sustainment Command soldier when his vehicle rolled over in an accident north of Logistics Support Area Adder on Monday, December 4th. LSA Adder is located at Tallil Air Base, 20 km southwest of Nasiriyah in Dhi Qar Province in the south of Iraq.

Tuesday, December 05, 2006 11:10 AM -
	(1) The Panama City (Florida) News Herald is reporting that Army Captain Shawn English was able to call home last Saturday, December 2nd, via a webcam, allowing him to laugh and tell jokes with his wife and three young sons face-to-face from Baghdad. The following evening, December 3rd, his wife was notified of his death from a roadside bomb explosion. He was 35 years old and currently living in Panama City Beach, Florida, near the Navy's joint military diving school where he commanded the army's dive team.
	(2) The DoD has confirmed the death of U.S. Air Force Captain Kermit O. Evans in the emergency hard landing of a Chinook helicopter near Fallujah on December 3rd. He was 31 and from Hollandale, Mississippi.
	(3) MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division soldier from an explosion in Diyala Province on Monday, December 4th.

Tuesday, December 05, 2006 2:02 PM - The DoD has identified one of the two 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division soldiers who died in an IED blast on Sunday, December 3rd: Private Troy D. Cooper, 21, of Amarillo, Texas. He died in the vicinity of Balad in Salah ad Din Province north of Baghdad.

Tuesday, December 05, 2006 2:22 PM - The DoD has now officially confirmed the death of Specialist Dustin M. Adkins, 22, of Finger, Tennessee, after having previously listed him as Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN) after the emergency water landing of the Chinook helicopter on Sunday, December 3rd. The DoD is, however, stating that he was not pronounced dead until December 4th.

Wednesday, December 06, 2006 4:51 AM -
	(1) Several media sources this morning, including the Warren (Ohio) Tribune-Chronicle and the Youngstown (Ohio) Vindicator, are reporting the death of Specialist Marco Miller, a 36 year old army reservist from Warren, Ohio. He was injured in a mortar attack just north of Baghdad last weekend, a piece of shrapnel lodging in his brain. Miller was immediately flown to Landsduhl Regional Medical Center in Germany where he was kept on life support until his brother and sisters could be flown in to see him for the last time. He died early on Tuesday morning, December 5th.

	(2) There would seem to be some discrepancy over the death date for Specialist Dustin Adkins who died as a result of Sunday's emergency water landing of a Chinook helicopter near Haditha. The DoD says that he died December 4th. But the U.S. Army Special Operation Command News Center (Adkins was a member of 5th Special Forces Group) is reporting December 3rd ... the same date of death given to the other 3 men who died in that incident. At this point, we are returning his death date to the third until solid evidence turns up that the DoD date is correct.

Wednesday, December 06, 2006 5:38 AM - Minnesota Public Radio is reporting another Minnesota Army National Guard death in Iraq. 23 year old Specialist Nicholas Turcotte of Maple Grove, Minnesota, died on Monday, December 4th, when his armored vehicle overturned while escorting a convoy near Nasiriyah in southern Iraq. The military is saying that it does appear to be an accident, not due to enemy action.

Wednesday, December 06, 2006 6:31 AM -
	(1) MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of yet another soldier in Baghdad due to enemy action on Sunday, December 3rd.
	(2) MNF-Iraq is also correcting a reporting error from this weekend. Apparently, the two soldiers mentioned in this MNF-Iraq release are the same two soldiers also reported dead in this MNF-Iraq release. We had already placed Spc. Bryan McDonough and Spc. Corey Rystad in the slots for the I Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters deaths. So we are now deleting the slots for the two 13th Sustainment Command deaths, thus reducing our death count by two.

Wednesday, December 06, 2006 7:24 AM - The Port Huron (Michigan) Times Herald and the Louisville, KY, station WAVE3 are both running stories this morning on the death of Marine Lance Corporal Thomas Echols, 21, in Fallujah in Al Anbar Province. An exact date of death is not given. However the family was informed around midnight on Monday, December 4th. For now, we'll insert him into the database on that date. This is apparently a new death. There are no CENTCOM or MNF-Iraq releases yet for a Marine death on either Monday or Tuesday. Echols was originally from St. Clair, Michigan, but eventually finished high school in Shepherdsville, Kentucky.

Thomas Echols, 21,
St. Clair, Michigan

Wednesday, December 06, 2006 10:19 AM - Last night, the DoD issued a press release for the death of Private 1st Class Ross A. McGinnis ... but failed to include a date of death. This morning that has been corrected. The 19 year old from Knox, Pennsylvania, died in Baghdad on Monday, December 4th, when a grenade was thrown into his vehicle. This death likely corresponds with this CENTCOM release. McGinnis's picture was recently included in an article in Stars & Stripes that described a recent battle fought by his unit in Baghdad.

Ross A. McGinnis, 19, Knox, Pennsylvania

Wednesday, December 06, 2006 12:58 PM -
	(1) The media are reporting the deaths of 10 U.S. Servicepersons in Iraq in various attacks on Wednesday, December 6th. It is still early in the reporting cycle so details are varying somewhat. The story initially broke at MSNBC. That has now been followed by the Washington Post (from a Reuters article) and CNN. The most current articles are stating that the 10 died in four separate events, some by roadside bombs, some in combat. Details will be added to our database as they become available.
	(2) Earlier today, both CENTCOM and MNF-Iraq issued statements about an error in their reporting on a Task Force Lightning death on the 4th. Both statements included the following line: "A total of 7 U.S. servicemembers were killed in Iraq Dec. 4, including one non-combat related death." Unfortunately, both agencies have only issued press releases for three deaths that day. But since one more death turned up in the news media (Thomas Echols) and since the DoD independently issued the name of a 5th death (see Item 3 below), we are forced to believe they may be correct. As such, we have added deaths to the database to bring that day's total to 7.
	(3) The DoD has identified a U.S. Navy corpsman, assigned to a Marine regiment, who died from enemy action in Al Anbar Province on Monday, December 4th: Hospitalman Christopher A. Anderson, 24, of Longmont, Colorado. This is a new death, not previously reported by CENTCOM.

Wednesday, December 06, 2006 1:21 PM -
	(1) The DoD has confirmed the death of Captain Shawn L. English from the explosion of a roadside bomb in Baghdad on Sunday, December 3rd. He was 35 and from Westerville, Ohio.
	(2) The DoD has also identified the two Marines who died in the emergency hard landing of a Chinook helicopter near Haditha on Sunday, December 3rd:
		Major Joseph T. McCloud, 39, of Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan
		Corporal Joshua C. Sticklen, 24, of Virginia Beach, Virginia
Joshua C. Sticklen, 24, Virginia Beach, Virginia
	(3) The DoD has also confirmed the death of Marine Lance Corporal Thomas P. Echols, 20, of Shepherdsville, Kentucky. He died in Al Anbar Province from enemy action on Monday, December 4th.

Wednesday, December 06, 2006 2:57 PM -
	(1) The DoD has released the identity of a 25th Infantry Division soldier who died on December 2nd in Baghdad from a roadside bomb explosion: Sergeant Keith E. Fiscus, 26, of Townsend, Delaware. It's not a perfect match, but this death could very well be the one earlier described in this CENTCOM release. The 25th Infantry Division does fall under Multi-National Corps - Iraq, albeit its northern division.
Keith E. Fiscus, 26, Townsend, Delaware
	(2) The DoD has confirmed the death of Minnesota Army National Guardsman Private 1st Class Nicholas D. Turcotte, 23, of Maple Grove, Minnesota. He died on Monday, December 4th, in a vehicle accident in the vicinity of Nasiriyah in the south of Iraq.

Thursday, December 07, 2006 6:31 AM -
	(1) MNF-Iraq is now confirming 5 deaths in one incident on Wednesday, December 6th. Five soldiers assigned to 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, died when a roadside bomb detonated near their vehicle in the vicinity of Kirkuk in northern Iraq.
	(2) The Associated Press is reporting that, according to military sources, 11 U.S. servicemembers died Wednesday, December 6th, all total. The 11th was a soldier who was shot dead while manning a machine gun nest on the roof of a building in Ramadi in Al Anbar Province.

Thursday, December 07, 2006 6:56 AM - The Courier, a newspaper serving Terrebonne Parrish in Louisiana (warning: this is a registration required website), is reporting the death of a soldier from Vacherie, Louisiana. Sergeant Jay Ryan Gauthreaux, 26, died in a roadside bomb explosion in Iraq. His family was notified on Monday, December 4th. Because he served with the 1st Cavalry Division out of Fort Hood, TX, we believe he is the December 4th IED death described in this CENTCOM release.

Jay Ryan Gauthreaux, 26, Vacherie, Louisiana

Thursday, December 07, 2006 10:45 AM -
	(1) MNF-Iraq has confirmed the death the media had reported earlier of one "coalition member" in heavy fighting in the city of Ramadi in Al Anbar Province on Wednesday, December 6th.
	(2) The DoD has identified the second 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division soldier who died north of Baghdad on Sunday, December 3rd: Specialist Kenneth W. Haines, 25, of Fulton, New York. Apparently his unit was patrolling near the village of Abu Hishma about 30 miles north of Baghdad in Diyala Province when his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb. He appears, however, to have died in a military medical facility at Balad. An ironic aside: Abu Hishma was one of two villages that American forces decided to "get tough" with in the early days of the insurgency in fall of 2003. The village was completely encircled in razor wire, its inhabitants forced to obtain ID cards and to enter and leave town only through one checkpoint. Dexter Filkins wrote a piece for the New York Times back then in which he presciently stated: "So far, the new approach appears to be succeeding in diminishing the threat to American soldiers. But it appears to be coming at the cost of alienating many of the people the Americans are trying to win over. Abu Hishma is quiet now, but it is angry, too." An American captain was quoted at the time as saying, "You have to understand the Arab mind. The only thing they understand is force ..." That was almost exactly three bloody years ago.

Thursday, December 07, 2006 11:41 AM -
	(1) The Associated Press is reporting the identity of one of the five soldiers who died in a roadside bomb blast near Kirkuk in northern Iraq on Wednesday, December 6th: Sergeant Joshua Madden of Minden, Louisiana. No further information is available at this time.
	(2) The DoD has formally identified the first of the eleven deaths from Wednesday, December 6th: Army Sergeant Yevgeniy Ryndych, 24, of Brooklyn, New York. He died in Ramadi in Al Anbar Province when his patrol was hit by an improvised explosive device.

Thursday, December 07, 2006 2:31 PM -
	(1) The DoD has identified the soldier who died in Al Anbar Province on Friday, December 1st: Staff Sergeant Robert L. Love Jr., 28, of Meridian, Mississippi. He was killed in Ramadi when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle.
Robert L. Love Jr., 28, Meridian, Mississippi (update: Livingston, Alabama)
	(2) The DoD has also confirmed the death of Specialist Marco L. Miller, 36, of Longwood, Florida, on Tuesday, December 5th. He was originally wounded near Taji just northwest of Baghdad on December 3rd in a mortar attack on his position. From there he was flown to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany where he was eventually taken off life support. Although originally from Warren, Ohio, Miller had made his home in Florida since 1994. He was a member of the elite 20th Special Forces Group of the Florida Army National Guard.
Marco L. Miller, 36, Longwood, Florida
	(3) MNF-Iraq has now clarified the exact death toll in Al Anbar Province in the last two days:
		(a) On Wednesday, December 6th, the following deaths from enemy action have been confirmed:
			-three soldiers assigned to 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division
			-one Marine assigned to 1st Marine Force Headquarters Group
			-one Marine assigned to 15th Marine Expeditionary Force
		(b) On Wednesday, December 6th, one Marine assigned to Task Force Military Police, I MEF, died from a non-hostile cause.
		(c) On Thursday, December 7th, one soldier assigned to 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division, died from wounds that he received in Ramadi on Wednesday. This was the "Coalition member" whose death was mentioned in an MNF-Iraq release from earlier today.
		The non-hostile death cited above is new, not previously included in our database. All the others have been previously entered.

	Thursday, December 07, 2006 2:52 PM - The DoD is announcing the death of a soldier at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, on Tuesday, December 5th. Specialist Jordan W. Hess, 26, of Marysville, Washington, was wounded in Iraq on November 11th when an improvised explosive device detonated.
Jordan W. Hess, 26, Marysville, Washington

Friday, December 08, 2006 5:02 AM -
	(1) MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a soldier in a western Baghdad neighborhood when a roadside bomb hit his joint patrol on Thursday, December 7th.
	(2) The Chicago-area Herald News is reporting the death of Army Captain Travis Patriquin, 32, of Lockport, Illinois. According to the article, Patriquin, assigned to the 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division based in Germany, was killed on Wednesday, December 6th. Although the piece stated that he was serving in Tikrit, the 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division is actually serving in the Ramadi area in Al Anbar Province. Patriquin is likely one of the three soldiers who died in Al Anbar that day. He was an accomplished linguist, speaking Arabic as well as Spanish and Portuguese. In addition, he was a qualified Special Forces soldier, although serving with the infantry at the time of his death. He is survived by a wife and three young children.
Travis Patriquin, 32, Lockport, Illinois

	Friday, December 08, 2006 5:29 AM - Details are still sketchy, but the High Point (North Carolina) station WGHP is reporting the death of a Greensboro soldier in Iraq. Private Nicholas Gibbs, 25, was killed early on Thursday, December 7th, from a mortar attack in Al Anbar Province. He was based out of Fort Benning, Georgia, according to the article.
Nicholas Gibbs, 25, Greensboro, North Carolina

Friday, December 08, 2006 9:47 AM - MNF-Iraq is reporting that two more Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldiers have been killed on Thursday, December 7th, when an improvised explosive device blew. They were on dismounted patrol south of Baghdad.

Friday, December 08, 2006 10:08 AM -
	(1) The DoD has identified the second Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldier who died on Sunday, December 3rd: Corporal Billy B. Farris, 20, of Bapchule, Arizona. Farris died near Taji, just northwest of Baghdad, from a roadside bomb blast.
	(2) The DoD has also confirmed the death of Sergeant Jay Ryan Gauthreaux, 26, of Thibodaux, Louisiana. He apparently was wounded near Ba'qubah in Diyala Province when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle, but died at a medical facility in Balad.

Friday, December 08, 2006 10:29 AM -
	(1) Station KUAM in Guam is reporting the death of 22-year-old Jesse Castro in Iraq. The article states that he was one of the five 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division soldiers who died in the bomb blast near Kirkuk in northern Iraq on Wednesday, December 6th. The article also mentions the town of Chalan Pago on Guam. We are assuming at this time that that is his hometown.
	(2) The DoD has announced the death of a Marine from enemy action in Al Anbar Province on Thursday, December 7th: Lance Corporal Brent E. Beeler, 22, of Jackson, Michigan. This is a new death, not previously reported by CENTCOM.

Friday, December 08, 2006 3:22 PM - The DoD has confirmed the death of Specialist Nicholas R. Gibbs, 25, of Stokesdale, North Carolina. But contrary to what an earlier media article had reported, the DoD has his date of death as Wednesday, December 6th. He died of enemy small arms fire "while conducting observation and security observations" ... which makes him sound very much like the soldier who was reported shot while manning a machine gun nest on a rooftop in Ramadi in Al Anbar Province.

Friday, December 08, 2006 3:53 PM -
	(1) The media are reporting that Staff Sergeant Robert L. Love, Jr., who died on December 1st in Ramadi, was not from Meridian, Mississippi, as reported by the DoD, but from Livingston, Alabama. More information on the soldier can be found, however, in an article that appeared in the Meridian Star where Love has relatives.
	(2) Dustin M. Adkins, who died in the crash of a Chinook helicopter on December 3rd near Haditha, has been posthumously promoted to sergeant.

Dustin J. Libby, 22, of Presque Isle, Maine

Friday, December 08, 2006 5:48 PM - The DoD has identified one of the Marines who died from enemy action in Al Anbar Province on Wednesday, December 6th: Corporal Dustin J. Libby, 22, of Presque Isle, Maine. His unit, the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, is a part of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (see this article from the Marine Corps Times and this article at Wikipedia). They have been stationed in southeastern Ramadi.

Dustin J. Libby, 22,
Presque Isle, Maine

Saturday, December 09, 2006 4:19 AM - This morning, MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a Regimental Combat Team 5 Marine from enemy action in Al Anbar Province on Thursday, December 7th. We believe that this is the death already identified by DoD as Lance Corporal Brent E. Beeler. The Detroit Free Press has a write-up on Beeler this morning. According to his mother, he was shot in the chest during a battle near Fallujah, dying despite the body armor he wore.

Saturday, December 09, 2006 5:23 AM -
	(1) The Charlotte (North Carolina) Observer is reporting the death of a soldier from Conover in Catawba County, North Carolina: Specialist Jason Huffman, 22. According to his family, he was one of the five Schofield Barracks, HI, soldiers who were killed in a roadside bombing near Kirkuk in northern Iraq on Wednesday, December 6th.
Jason Huffman, 22, Conover, North Carolina
	(2) The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch is reporting the death of an Ohio soldier in Iraq: Specialist Vincent J. Pomante III, 22, of Westerville (northeast of Columbus). The article was unable to report where he was killed ... only that he died Wednesday, December 6th, in an IED attack. Through process of elimination, he would seem to be one of the five soldiers who died that day near Kirkuk in a roadside bomb blast.
Vincent J. Pomante III, 22, of Westerville, Ohio

Saturday, December 09, 2006 9:26 AM - MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a Regimental Combat Team 5 Marine from enemy fire in Al Anbar Province "today". The release is dated Saturday, December 9th.

Saturday, December 09, 2006 2:05 PM -
	(1) The DoD has released the identities of the five soldiers who died in a roadside bomb explosion near Kirkuk on Wednesday, December 6th:
		Sergeant Jesse J.J. Castro, 22, of Chalan Pago, American Samoa
Jesse J.J. Castro, 22, Chalan Pago, American Samoa
		Corporal Jason I. Huffman, 23, of Conover, North Carolina
		Specialist Joshua B. Madden, 21, of Sibley, Louisiana
Joshua B. Madden, 21, Sibley, Louisiana
		Specialist Yari Mokri, 26, of Pflugerville, Texas
Yari Mokri, 26, Pflugerville, Texas
		Private 1st Class Travis C. Krege, 24, of Cheektowaga, New York
Travis C. Krege, 24, Cheektowaga, New York
		They actually died in the vicinity of Hawijah, a town between Bayji and Kirkuk in Salah ad Din Province.
	(2) Obviously, Specialist Vincent Pomante was NOT one of the above deaths as we'd thought earlier. However, the DoD has now issued the identities of two soldiers who died in an IED blast in Ramadi in Al Anbar Province on Wednesday, December 6th ... and Pomante is one of them:
		Captain Travis L. Patriquin, 32, of Texas
		Specialist Vincent J. Pomante III, 22, of Westerville, Ohio
		This poses a problem, as although CENTCOM has reported 8 army deaths on December 6th, the DoD has now identified 9 soldiers dead on the 6th. As such, we are forced to increase the death count by one until more information comes to light.

Sunday, December 10, 2006 8:43 AM - The DoD has identified the two soldiers who died south of Baghdad in an improvised explosive device attack on Thursday, December 7th:
	Staff Sergeant Henry W. Linck, 23, of Manhattan, Kansas
Henry W. Linck, 23, Manhattan, Kansas
	Specialist Micah S. Gifford, 27, of Redding, California
Micah S. Gifford, 27, Redding, California

Sunday, December 10, 2006 8:57 AM - The DoD has identified the soldier who died in western Baghdad on Thursday, December 7th, when a roadside bomb detonated near his vehicle: Staff Sergeant James Kristofer R. Ciraso, 26, of Bangor, Maine.

Sunday, December 10, 2006 12:38 PM - MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a soldier in a roadside bomb attack west of Baghdad on Sunday, December 10th.

Sunday, December 10, 2006 2:29 PM - Last Wednesday, December 6th, news began to filter out in the media that 10 U.S. troops had died that day. By the following morning, that number had gone up to 11 with the news that a U.S. soldier had been shot Wednesday while manning a machine gun nest on the roof of a building in Ramadi ... this according to an AP reporter on the scene. That reporter later filed a report that identified the dead man as Specialist Nicholas R. Gibbs. His article describes the single shot that wounded him late in the evening ... and how word came back to his unit at 1:05 AM Thursday that he had been pronounced dead at a nearby medical facility. In the meantime, CENTCOM issued a notice that very clearly outlined 4 army deaths in Al Anbar Province ... 3 on Wednesday, one on Thursday. However, the DoD has now released the names of all four individuals ... Sgt. Yevgeniy Ryndych, Cpt. Travis Patriquin, Spc. Vincent Pomante, and Spc. Gibbs ... stating that all died on the 6th. We feel that Gibbs was the soldier that CENTCOM indicated actually died on the 7th, and as such, are moving him to that date. This will decrease the death count by one as our adding him to the 6th originally inadvertently raised it.

Monday, December 11, 2006 5:29 AM - MNF-Iraq is reporting the deaths of three U.S. soldiers in northern Baghdad from a roadside bomb attack the evening of Sunday, December 10th.

Megan M. McClung, 34, of Coupeville, Washington

Monday, December 11, 2006 9:26 AM - The DoD has released the identity of the Marine from I Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group who was killed in action in Al Anbar Province on Wednesday, December 6th: Major Megan M. McClung, 34, of Coupeville, Washington. She was a Marine Corps press officer stationed in downtown Ramadi. A blog called Patterico's Pontifications has a few more details on what may have sent her out on patrol that day.

Megan M. McClung, 34, Coupeville, Washington

Monday, December 11, 2006 2:11 PM - Seattle's KING5.com published a story telling some of Megan McClung's many accomplishments. For instance: "She is said to be the highest-ranking female service member to die in Iraq." And, "An avid runner, McClung organized the first-ever satellite running of the Marine Corps Marathon in the desert of Iraq....More than 200 service members from all branches of the Armed Services registered to run the 26.2-mile race called Marine Corps Marathon Forward in October. The race took place the same day of the original Marine Corps Marathon in Arlington, VA."

Monday, December 11, 2006 11:54 AM -
	(1) The DoD has released the identity of the U.S. Marine who died in a non-hostile, unspecified incident in Al Anbar Province on Wednesday, December 6th: Lance Corporal Cody G. Watson, 21, of Oxford, Alabama. According to an Associated Press article, Watson collapsed on Wednesday from an unknown illness and could not be revived. Incidentally, the AP gives his hometown as Anniston, Alabama.
Cody G. Watson, 21, Oxford, Alabama
	(2) On December 6th, CENTCOM issued a statement about a duplicate press release, at the bottom of which was this sentence: "A total of 7 U.S. servicemembers were killed in Iraq Dec. 4, including one non-combat related death." As of today, however, the DoD has only confirmed 5 deaths on that day. In the interest of not unnecessarily inflating the casualty count, we have decided to remove the two extra deaths we'd added to our database that day as it is looking more and more as if the CENTCOM statement was made in error. This will reduce our death count by two.

Monday, December 11, 2006 12:18 PM - The Associated Press is reporting the death of a Reno Marine in Al Anbar Province: 1st Lieutenant Nathan Krissoff, a "counterintelligence officer assigned to a reconnaissance battalion based in Okinawa, Japan." The article implies that Krissoff died on Friday, December 8th. This could very well correspond to this CENTCOM release dated December 9th as the release could have been written when "today" was the 8th and not published until the 9th. We will have a better idea of actual date of death when the DoD eventually confirms this one.

Nathan Krissoff,
Reno, Nevada

Tuesday, December 12, 2006 5:06 AM -
	(1) More details have emerged on the death of Marine Major Megan McClung in Ramadi on December 6th in an article published in the Orange County Register. She had apparently grown up in Mission Viejo in southern California, graduating from high school there. Her parents, however, currently reside in Coupeville, Washington. McClung died while escorting media in a convoy through Ramadi when a roadside bomb detonated. According to the article, two other military personnel died with her in the attack, likely Captain Travis Patriquin and Specialist Vincent Pomante. The journalists were not seriously injured.
	(2) The website thefacts.com out of Brazoria County, Texas, is reporting the death of a local soldier in Iraq. 21-year-old Army Specialist Philip Cody Ford died on Sunday, December 10th, in a roadside bomb attack on his patrol in Baghdad. Unfortunately, there were two fatal roadside bomb attacks in Baghdad that day, one west of the city and one in a northern neighborhood. At this time, there is not enough information available to determine which of the two Ford died in. Ford grew up in Jones Creek, Texas.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006 12:39 PM -
	(1) MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a soldier near Diwaniyah south of Baghdad on Monday, December 11th, from an unknown medical condition. The soldier apparently collapsed and could not be revived.
	(2) MNF-Iraq is also reporting the deaths of four Marines in Al Anbar Province on Monday, December 11th:
		(a) A Regimental Combat Team 7 Marine died from a non-hostile unspecified cause.
		(b) Three 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing Marines died from enemy action.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006 3:37 PM -
	(1) The DoD has confirmed the death of Marine 1st Lieutenant Nathan M. Krissoff, 25, of Reno, Nevada, from enemy action in Al Anbar Province. His date of death is given as Saturday, December 9th. According to a write-up in the Monterey (California) Herald, the Krissoff family owned a second home in Carmel, and their son attended private school in Monterey County as a boarder. The family told the paper's reporter that Krissoff died when an improvised explosive device detonated.
	(2) Earlier today, MNF-Iraq reported the death of a soldier near Diwaniyah south of Baghdad when he collapsed from a medical condition and could not be revived. The date of death given was December 11th. Now the DoD has identified the victim: Staff Sergeant Thomas W. Clemons, 37, of Leitchfield, Kentucky. However, they give his date of death as December 10th. More research will be needed to determine which date is correct. Clemons was a Kentucky Army National Guardsman serving in Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 123rd Armor Regiment out of Leitchfield.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006 5:28 AM -
	(1) The Anchorage Daily News is reporting that the three soldiers killed in northern Baghdad on Sunday, December 10th, were from the 4th Brigade, 25th Infantry Division based out of Fort Richardson, Alaska. Their names will be released later today.
	(2) The Aiken Standard and the Associated Press both have articles on the death of an Aiken Marine in Iraq. Corporal Matt Dillon, 25, was apparently one of the three 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing Marines who were killed in action in Al Anbar Province on Monday, December 11th. His parents were told that he died in the vicinity of the town of Al Khalidiyah (near Fallujah) when an improvised explosive device detonated. Dillon was assigned to Marine Wing Support Squadron 373 (MWSS 373), Marine Wing Support Group 37 based at the Miramar Marine Corps Air Station in California.
Parents of Matt Dillon, 25, Aiken, South Carolina

Wednesday, December 13, 2006 6:04 AM - The Lexington (Kentucky) Herald-Leader is reporting that Kentucky Army National Guardsman Staff Sergeant Thomas W. Clemons died of a heart attack as his unit was preparing to go out on patrol near Ad Diwaniyah south of Baghdad. They are giving his date of death as Monday, December 11th, which agrees with the date given in the CENTCOM release issued for his death. Clemons resided in Falls of Rough, Kentucky, about 16 miles northwest of Leitchfield.

Thomas W. Clemons, 37, Falls of Rough, Kentucky

Wednesday, December 13, 2006 9:49 AM - The DoD has released the identities of the three 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing Marines who died in Al Anbar Province on Monday, December 11th:
	Lance Corporal Budd M. Cote, 21, of Marana, Arizona
Budd M. Cote, 21, Marana, Arizona
	Corporal Matthew V. Dillon, 25, of Aiken, South Carolina
	Lance Corporal Clinton J. Miller, 23, of Greenfield, Iowa
Clinton J. Miller, 23, Greenfield, Iowa

Wednesday, December 13, 2006 11:24 AM - The DoD has identified the three Fort Richardson, AK, soldiers who died in Baghdad when a roadside bomb exploded on Sunday, December 10th:
	Sergeant Brennan C. Gibson, 26, of Tualatin, Oregon
Brennan C. Gibson, 26, Tualatin, Oregon
	Specialist Philip C. Ford, 21, of Freeport, Texas
Philip C. Ford, 21, Freeport, Texas
	Private 1st Class Shawn M. Murphy, 24, of Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Shawn M. Murphy, 24, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Brian P. McAnulty, 39, of Vicksburg, Mississippi

Wednesday, December 13, 2006 12:39 PM - The DoD has identified the Marine who died in a non-hostile incident on Monday, December 11th: Master Sergeant Brian P. McAnulty, 39, of Vicksburg, Mississippi. According to the DoD, McAnulty died when the CH-53 helicopter he was riding in crashed just after take-off. We are wondering now if that was the CH-53 "hard landing" described in this MNF-Iraq press release ... which failed to mention that any deaths had occurred. McAnulty's unit, the 3rd Battalion 4th Marines, is stationed at Al Qaim out on the border with Syria making them a part of Regimental Combat Team 7. This is the unit's fourth deployment to Iraq.

Brian P. McAnulty, 39, Vicksburg, Mississippi

Brent W. Dunkleberger, 29, of New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania

Wednesday, December 13, 2006 5:07 PM - The DoD has announced a new death, not previously reported by CENTCOM. Sergeant Brent W. Dunkleberger, 29, of New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania, died on Tuesday, December 12th, in Mosul when his vehicle was struck by a rocket propelled grenade. The Carlisle (Pennsylvania) Sentinel has a brief article on the soldier. He is survived by a wife and three children.

Brent W. Dunkleberger,
29, New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania

	Thursday, December 14, 2006 6:58 AM - The Los Angeles area Valley Sun is reporting the death of a young soldier from La Crescenta, California, in Iraq. Specialist Nick Steinbacher was killed on Sunday, December 10th, when a roadside bomb detonated near his vehicle while on patrol west of Baghdad. He had just turned 22 on December 8th. Steinbacher was with the 1st Cavalry Division.
Nicholas P. Steinbacher, 22, La Crescenta, California

Thursday, December 14, 2006 11:32 AM - The North Carolina News & Observer has published an article on Army Private 1st Class Shawn Murphy who was killed in Baghdad in an IED blast on December 10th. Murphy is the son of Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Mark Murphy ... and as such was raised at various bases all over the world, although he listed Fort Bragg as his "hometown".

Thursday, December 14, 2006 7:47 PM - The DoD has announced a new death, not previously reported by CENTCOM: Major Gloria D. Davis, 47, of St. Louis, Missouri. She died in Baghdad on Tuesday, December 12th, of a non-hostile unspecified cause. Davis was assigned to the Department of Defense in Washington, DC, working specifically for the Defense Security Cooperation Agency which "provides financial and technical assistance, transfer of defense matériel, training and services to allies, and promotes military-to-military contacts" per Wikipedia.

Friday, December 15, 2006 6:13 AM - CENTCOM is reporting the deaths of two Marines ... one from Regimental Combat Team 5, one from RCT-7 ... from enemy action in Al Anbar Province on Thursday, December 14th.

Friday, December 15, 2006 7:32 AM -
	(1) This morning, MNF-Iraq has decided to report the death of a 4th Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division soldier from enemy action in Ninawa Province on Tuesday, December 12th ... a day after the DoD identified the man as Sergeant Brent Dunkleberger.
	(2) On November 2nd, the DoD announced that one U.S. soldier had been listed as Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN) in Baghdad since October 23rd. Specialist Ahmed K. Altaie, 41, was kidnapped by an unknown group while on an unauthorized visit to his wife's relatives. Yesterday, December 14th, the DoD officially changed the man's status to "Missing-Captured". The release did not say what new information brought about this change in status.

Friday, December 15, 2006 5:31 PM -
	(1) On December 6th, CENTCOM issued a press release that contained this line: "A total of 7 U.S. servicemembers were killed in Iraq Dec. 4, including one non-combat related death." When after a week had passed and the DoD had only released the identities of 5 deaths, we assumed that CENTCOM had made an error. Now, over 10 days later, the DoD is releasing the names of the 6th and 7th deaths for December 4th ... two soldiers killed by small arms fire in Ramadi:
		Private 1st Class Albert M. Nelson, 31, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
		Private 1st Class Roger A. Suarez-Gonzalez, 21, of Miami, Florida
	(2) The DoD has confirmed the death of Specialist Nicholas P. Steinbacher, 22, of La Crescenta, California, in an IED attack in Baghdad on Sunday, December 10th.

	Saturday, December 16, 2006 4:45 AM - The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is reporting the death of U.S. Marine Matt Clark, 22, of St. Louis, Missouri, in Iraq. He died in a roadside bomb blast on Thursday, December 14th. However, without knowing his unit, we don't know which of the two Marine deaths on the 14th was his and thus are unable to add him to the database at this time.
Matthew W. Clark, 22, St. Louis, Missouri

Saturday, December 16, 2006 11:13 AM - The DoD has announced a new death, not previously reported by CENTCOM. Private 1st Class Paul Balint Jr., 22, of Willow Park, Texas, died from small arms fire in Ramadi in Al Anbar Province on Friday, December 15th.

Saturday, December 16, 2006 2:56 PM - MNF-Iraq is reporting the deaths of three Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldiers from a roadside bomb detonation north of Baghdad on Saturday, December 16th.

Saturday, December 16, 2006 6:17 PM -
	(1) The Colorado Springs Gazette is reporting further details on 31-year-old Army Private 1st Class Albert M. Nelson, who was killed by small arms fire in Ramadi on December 4th. His mother and younger siblings were unaware that he had deployed to Iraq, only learning that fact when the military came to their door with the news of his death there. He was single and had no children.
Albert M. Nelson, 31. West Philadelphia, PA
	(2) An article has been published in the Miami Herald on 21-year-old Army Private 1st Class Roger Alfonso Suarez-Gonzalez who was killed by small arms fire in Ramadi on December 4th. He was originally from Nicaragua ... and will be buried there when the body is returned to his family.

Sunday, December 17, 2006 7:53 AM - CBS4 in Boston is reporting the death of a 22-year-old soldier from Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. Matthew Stanley died in Iraq in a roadside bomb blast. An exact date of death was not given in the article, but his family was notified Sunday morning, December 17th, making it likely that he was one of the three deaths on the 16th described in this CENTCOM release.

Matthew Stanley, 22, Wolfeboro, New Hampshire

Sunday, December 17, 2006 8:19 AM - The DoD has announced a new death, not previously reported by CENTCOM. Wyoming Army National Guardsman Staff Sergeant Theodore A. Spatol, 59, of Thermopolis, Wyoming, apparently developed pancreatic cancer while serving in Iraq, according to information posted on this blog. He was flown to Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C., where he was actually visited by the blog author on December 10th. The sergeant passed away on the 14th. The blog author implies that he died at Walter Reed. However, the DoD release says he died at Thermopolis. Additional research is needed to clarify this. Spatol was a veteran of both the Vietnam and the Iraq wars.

Theodore A. Spatol, 59, of Thermopolis, Wyoming

Sunday, December 17, 2006 8:36 AM - The Houston Chronicle is reporting the death of a 20-year-old Marine from Kingwood, Texas, in Iraq. Lance Corporal Luke Yepsen was apparently shot during combat on Thursday, December 14th, which would make him one of the two Marine deaths that day described in this CENTCOM release. Unfortunately, we do not know at this time which of the two deaths is his, so cannot immediately add him to the database.

Luke Yepsen, 20,
Kingwood, Texas

Sunday, December 17, 2006 4:05 PM -
	(1) Denver Channel 9 News is reporting the death of a local Marine in Iraq. 19-year-old Nick Palmer of Leadville, Colorado, was killed in action on Saturday, December 16th, the victim of a sniper's bullet. This would appear to be a new death, not previously reported by CENTCOM.
	(2) The Associated Press has published an article on Private 1st Class Paul Balint Jr., 22, of Willow Park, Texas, who died in action in Ramadi on Friday, December 15th.
Paul Balint Jr., 22, Willow Park, Texas

Sunday, December 17, 2006 8:28 PM - MNF-Iraq is now reporting the death of a Regimental Combat Team 5 Marine from hostile action in Al Anbar Province on December 16th. This is most likely referring to Marine Nick Palmer whose death was reported in the media earlier this evening.

Monday, December 18, 2006 4:19 AM - MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a soldier from enemy action in Al Anbar Province on Friday, December 15th. This likely is referring to Private 1st Class Paul Balint Jr., whose death was announced by the DoD last Saturday.

Monday, December 18, 2006 5:24 AM -
	Colorado Springs TV station KOAA is reporting the death of 19-year-old Private 1st Class Seth Stanton in a roadside bomb attack in Iraq. The article does not give an exact date of death ... but does say that he was stationed at Fort Hood, TX. As it happens, the Manchester, New Hampshire, Union Leader is providing more details on another soldier who died in a roadside bomb attack: Specialist Matthew Stanley, 22, who was killed on December 16th along with two other soldiers. Stanley was also based at Fort Hood, leading us to believe that Pfc. Stanton could indeed have died in the same incident. The KOAA article does say that Stanton initially survived the blast but died later in a hospital. This leads us to wonder if he could actually have been the soldier who was reported injured in this CENTCOM release. Could there ultimately have been 4 deaths in this incident, instead of 3? We won't know until these deaths are confirmed by the DoD.
Seth Stanton, 19, Old Colorado City, Colorado

Matthew Stanley, 22, Wolfeboro, New Hampshire

Monday, December 18, 2006 11:45 AM - MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of one Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldier on Monday, December 18th, north of Baghdad when his vehicle rolled over while on a routine patrol.

Tuesday, December 19, 2006 5:40 AM - MNF-Iraq is reporting the combat death of a U.S. Marine from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit in Al Anbar Province on Monday, December 18th.

Tuesday, December 19, 2006 10:20 AM -
	(1) The DoD has confirmed the death of Marine Lance Corporal Nicklas J. Palmer, 19, of Leadville, Colorado, in Al Anbar Province from enemy action on Saturday, December 16th.
Nicklas J. Palmer, 19, Leadville, Colorado
	(2) The DoD has also identified the Marine who died of enemy action in Al Anbar Province on Monday, December 18th: Captain Kevin M. Kryst, 27, of West Bend, Wisconsin.
	(3) The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has an article out on Army Major Gloria D. Davis, 47, originally from Portageville, Missouri, who died in Baghdad on December 12th. The DoD had listed her death as a "non-combat related incident". According to her daughter, she was found dead of a gunshot wound ... whether by accident, homicide or suicide is up to an ongoing investigation to determine.
Gloria Dean Davis, 47, Portageville, Missouri

Tuesday, December 19, 2006 2:26 PM -
	(1) The DoD has confirmed the death of Marine Lance Corporal Luke C. Yepsen, 20, of Kingwood, Texas, from enemy action in Al Anbar Province on December 14th. His unit, the 1st Tank Battalion of the 1st Marine Division, was assigned to Regimental Combat Team 5, making Yepsen the RCT-5 death described in this CENTCOM release.
	(2) The DoD has also identified the Regimental Combat Team 7 Marine who also died from enemy action in Al Anbar Province on December 14th: Lance Corporal Matthew W. Clark, 22, of St. Louis, Missouri.
	(3) The DoD is announcing a new death, not previously reported by CENTCOM. Staff Sergeant Henry K. Kahalewai, 43, of Hilo, Hawaii, was injured in a roadside bomb blast near Taji, just northwest of Baghdad, on November 21st. He died of his wounds at the Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas on Friday, December 15th.
	(4) On December 17th, MNF-Iraq reported a roadside bombing north of Baghdad on December 16th that claimed the lives of 3 soldiers and wounded a fourth. Today, in two separate press releases, here and here, the Dod gives the identities of the three who died at the time of the blast ... and also the name of the fourth, who passed away from his injuries a day later in a medical facility in Balad. Killed on the 16th:
		Staff Sergeant David R. Staats, 30, of Pueblo, Colorado
		Specialist Matthew J. Stanley, 22, of Wolfeboro Falls, New Hampshire
		Private 1st Class Joe L. Baines, 19, of Newark, New Jersey
Joe L. Baines, 19, Newark, New Jersey
	The soldier who died on the 17th was Private 1st Class Seth M. Stanton, 19, of Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Wednesday, December 20, 2006 6:41 AM -
	(1) The Merced (California) Sun-Star is reporting the death of a 20-year-old local Marine in Iraq. Corporal Joshua Pickard of Merced was killed Tuesday, December 19th, by small arms fire, presumably in Al Anbar Province.
Joshua Pickard, 20, Merced, California
	(2) The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel is providing further details on the death of 27-year-old Marine Captain Kevin Kryst of West Bend, Wisconsin. He died on Monday, December 18th, in a mortar attack on his base at Camp Korean Village near Rutbah on the Jordanian border. According to his mother, he sustained abdominal injuries from the shrapnel. Although a helicopter pilot, he was not in a helicopter at the time. "He was in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Kevin Kryst, 27, West Bend, Wisconsin
	(3) The Honolulu Star-Bulletin has an article this morning on Army Sergeant Henry Kahalewai Jr. who died at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, on December 15th of wounds suffered in Iraq. He happened to be outside his Stryker vehicle on November 21st when the roadside bomb hit it, thus taking the brunt of the blast which severed a lag and sprayed him with shrapnel.
Henry Kahalewai Jr., 44, Hilo, Hawaii

Wednesday, December 20, 2006 9:47 AM -
	(1) MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of one soldier in an IED attack in a southern Baghdad neighborhood on Wednesday, December 20th.
	(2) MNF-Iraq is also reporting the death of one soldier in an IED attack southwest of Baghdad on Wednesday, December 20th.

Wednesday, December 20, 2006 5:11 PM -
	(1) The DoD has confirmed the death of Marine Corporal Joshua D. Pickard, 20, of Merced, California, from enemy action in Al Anbar Province on Tuesday, December 19th.
	(2) The DoD has also identified the soldier who died in a vehicle rollover accident northwest of Baghdad in the vicinity of Taji on Monday, December 18th: Staff Sergeant Brian L. Mintzlaff, 34, of Fort Worth, Texas.
Brian L. Mintzlaff, 34, Fort Worth, Texas

	Wednesday, December 20, 2006 5:45 PM - The DoD is announcing a new death, not previously reported by CENTCOM. Army Specialist Andrew P. Daul, 21, of Brighton, Michigan, was killed when a roadside bomb detonated near his Abrams tank in the vicinity of Hit in Al Anbar Province on Tuesday, December 19th.
Andrew P. Daul, 21, Brighton, Michigan

Thursday, December 21, 2006 4:07 AM -
	(1) MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldier from a roadside bomb blast south of Baghdad on Wednesday, December 20th. Three soldiers were wounded in the incident.
	(2) MNF-Iraq is also reporting the death of a soldier assigned to Regimental Combat Team 7 from enemy action in Al Anbar Province on Tuesday, December 19th. We believe, however, that this is a reference to the death of Army Specialist Andrew Daul who died from an IED attack in the vicinity of Hit according to the DoD. MNF-Iraq had not issued a report on this incident up until now.
	(3) MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a Marine assigned to 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division "today" from enemy action in Al Anbar Province. The press release is dated Thursday, December 21st.

Thursday, December 21, 2006 10:34 AM - MNF-Iraq has issued a correction to a release issued earlier this morning. Apparently the Marine assigned to 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division died on the 20th, not the 21st.

	Thursday, December 21, 2006 12:15 PM - The Lafayette (Louisiana) Daily Advertiser is reporting the death of an Opelousas native in Iraq. Marine Lance Corporal Myles Cody Sebastien, 21, was killed on Wednesday, December 20th ... making him a likely candidate for the Marine death described in this CENTCOM release.
Myles Cody Sebastien, 21, Opelousas, Louisiana

Friday, December 22, 2006 6:31 AM -
	(1) MNF-Iraq is reporting the deaths of four servicemembers from enemy action in Al Anbar Province on Thursday, December 21st: three Marines and one Sailor assigned to Regimental Combat Team 7.
	(2) MNF-Iraq is also reporting the death of a Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldier west of Baghdad on Friday, December 22nd, when his patrol was hit with small arms fire and mortars.

Friday, December 22, 2006 1:26 PM -
	(1) The DoD has identified one of the soldiers who died in roadside bomb blasts in the Baghdad area on Wednesday, December 20th: Specialist Robert J. Volker, 21, of Big Spring, Texas. His unit, the 1st Battalion of the 5th Cavalry Regiment, appears to be stationed at Camp Liberty southwest of Baghdad near the Baghdad International Airport. This could mean he was the death "southwest of the Iraqi capitol" described in this CENTCOM release.
	(2) The DoD has identified another of the soldiers who died in roadside bomb blasts in the vicinity of Baghdad on Wednesday, December 20th: Specialist Scott D. Dykman, 27, of Helena, Montana. His unit, the 1st Battalion of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment is currently operating in the area south of Baghdad and are based at Iskandariyah in northern Babil Province. This would make him a likely candidate for the death "south of the Iraqi capitol" described in this CENTCOM release.
Scott D. Dykman, 27, of Helena, Montana

Saturday, December 23, 2006 6:50 AM -
	The DoD has identified two of the Marine deaths that occurred on Thursday, December 21st, from enemy action in Al Anbar Province:
		Lance Corporal Ryan J. Burgess, 21, of Sanford, Michigan
Ryan J. Burgess, 21, Sanford, Michigan
		Lance Corporal Ryan L. Mayhan, 25, of Hawthorne, California
	According to an article in the Midland (Michigan) Daily News, Burgess was injured about a month ago when the vehicle he was riding in hit an improvised explosive device. He had only been released from the hospital from that incident for two days when the same thing happened again, only with fatal results.

Saturday, December 23, 2006 4:36 PM -
	(1) MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a soldier southeast of Baghdad in a roadside bombing on Saturday, December 23rd. Four others were wounded in the incident.
	(2) MNF-Iraq is also reporting the death of a soldier in a roadside bombing southwest of Baghdad on Saturday, December 23rd.

Sunday, December 24, 2006 9:13 AM - MNF-Iraq is reporting the deaths of three 89th Military Police Brigade soldiers in eastern Baghdad on Saturday, December 23rd, when an improvised explosive device exploded near their vehicle. One soldier was also wounded in the attack.

Sunday, December 24, 2006 10:34 AM - MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division soldier from an explosion in Diyala Province on Saturday, December 23rd. One soldier was also wounded in the incident.

Monday, December 25, 2006 9:20 AM -
	(1) MNF-Iraq is reporting the deaths of a Marine and also a Soldier assigned to Regimental Combat Team 7 from enemy action in Al Anbar Province on Sunday, December 24th.
	(2) MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of one soldier in a roadside bomb blast in a southern part of Baghdad on Christmas Day, December 25th. Two other soldiers were injured in the incident.

	Monday, December 25, 2006 2:57 PM - The Dallas Morning News has identified the sailor who was killed in enemy action in Al Anbar Province on Thursday, November 21st. Navy medic Kyle Nolan, 21, of Ennis, Texas, died when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device. He and his wife have two small children.
Kyle Nolen, 21, of Ennis, Texas, his spouse, Cassie, and their two children.

Monday, December 25, 2006 6:14 PM -
	(1) MNF-Iraq is reporting the deaths of two soldiers southwest of Baghdad on Christmas Day, December 25th, when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle. In addition, one soldier was wounded.
	(2) MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of one soldier southwest of Baghdad in a separate incident on Christmas Day when a roadside bomb exploded near his patrol. Two soldiers were also wounded.

Monday, December 25, 2006 8:25 PM - As more information comes out about the three IED deaths that happened in Baghdad in three separate incidents on December 20th, we are able to make some better judgements as to which identified soldier died in which incident:
	(a) The first incident occurred in a southern neighborhood of Baghdad, killing one soldier and wounding two. The patrol was performing route clearing at the time of the blast. According to an article in the Big Spring (Texas) Herald, Army Specialist Robert J. Volker, 21, was a combat engineer engaged in clearing roadways of IEDs. The article also states that two other soldiers were wounded in the blast that killed Volker.
	(b) The second incident occurred southwest of Baghdad, killing one soldier and wounding four. This was a dismounted patrol. According to an article in the Anchorage Daily News, Army Specialist Scott D. Dykman, 27, most closely fits this death. The article specifically states that he was on foot patrol ... and that four soldiers were wounded in the same incident that killed Dykman.
	(c) The third incident occurred south of Baghdad, killing one soldier and wounding three. Today, the Associated Press is carrying an article that would appear to identify the victim: Army Staff Sergeant Jacob Gerald McMillan, 25, of Lafayette, Louisiana. Although no date or description of his death is given, the article does state that his family received the news of his death on December 21st, that he died in the Baghdad area ... and that three soldiers were wounded in the incident. An article in the Lafayette Daily Advertiser concurs.
Jacob Gerald McMillan, 25, Lafayette, Louisiana

Tuesday, December 26, 2006 4:11 AM - CENTCOM is reporting the deaths of three soldiers in a roadside bomb blast northwest of Baghdad (likely near Taji) on Tuesday, December 26th. One soldier was also wounded.

Tuesday, December 26, 2006 9:59 AM -
	(1) The DoD has confirmed the death of Navy Hospitalman Kyle A. Nolen from enemy action in Al Anbar Province on December 21st. The 21-year-old Nolen was from Ennis, Texas.
	(2) MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldier south of Baghdad when his vehicle rolled over along a dirt canal road on Tuesday, December 26th. Two soldiers were also injured in the accident.

Tuesday, December 26, 2006 11:51 AM -
	(1) The DoD has identified the third of three Marines who died from enemy action in Al Anbar Province on December 21st: Lance Corporal Fernando S. Tamayo, 19, of Fontana, California.
	(2) The DoD has confirmed the death of Staff Sergeant Jacob G. McMillan, 25, of Lafayette, Louisiana, on Wednesday, December 20th. He died in the Baghdad vicinity when an IED exploded near his vehicle, following which insurgents opened up with small arms fire.

Tuesday, December 26, 2006 2:43 PM - The Houston Chronicle is reporting the death of a Marine from Lake Jackson, Texas, in Iraq. Stephen Lloyd Morris, 21, died in fighting in Al Anbar Province on Sunday, December 24th. The only Marine death reported by CENTCOM so far on the 24th is on this press release.

Tuesday, December 26, 2006 3:33 PM -
	(1) The DoD has identified the soldier who died from small arms fire in Baghdad on Friday, December 22nd: Specialist Joshua D. Sheppard, 22, of Quinton, Oklahoma.
	(2) The DoD has also identified the soldier who died in Diyala Province on Saturday, December 23rd: Specialist John Paul Barta, 25, of Corpus Christi, Texas. The CENTCOM statement for this death described the cause as "an explosion". The DoD has clarified this, stating it was caused by indirect fire, likely a mortar attack, near Buhriz. The Corpus Christi Caller-Times has published an article on Barta, describing him as a gifted high school athlete who enlisted in the army two years ago.
John Paul Barta, 25, Corpus Christi, Texas
	(3) The DoD has identified the soldier who died in Al Anbar Province on Sunday, December 24th: Private Evan A. Bixler, 21, of Racine, Wisconsin. Bixler was killed in the town of Hit from enemy indirect fire, likely a mortar attack.
	(4) The DoD has announced a new death, not previously reported by CENTCOM. Private 1st Class Eric R. Wilkus, 20, of Hamilton, New Jersey, died on Christmas Day at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany of a non-hostile, unspecified injury he received in Baghdad on December 22nd.

Tuesday, December 26, 2006 3:56 PM - The DoD has identified one of the Baghdad IED deaths from Saturday, December 23rd: Sergeant Curtis L. Norris, 28, of Dansville, Michigan. His unit, the 2nd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, out of Fort Drum, NY, is split between Camp Stryker at the Baghdad International Airport southwest of Baghdad, and Mahmudiyah, south of Baghdad, in Babil Province. Thus, it would make sense that Norris was the soldier killed southwest of Baghdad as reported in this CENTCOM release.

Wednesday, December 27, 2006 4:11 AM -
	(1) The DoD has identified one of the soldiers who died in various IED attacks in the Baghdad area on Christmas Day, December 25th: Sergeant Jason C. Denfrund, 24, of Cattaraugus, New York. His unit, the 2-14 Infantry Regiment of the 10th Mountain Division, is stationed out of Mahmudiyah southwest of Baghdad. It is possible that he is the single death described in this CENTCOM release.
Jason C. Denfrund, 24, Cattaraugus, New York
	(2) The Racine (Wisconsin) Journal Times is carrying an article this morning on Racine soldier Private Evan A. Bixler, 21, who died in Hit in Al Anbar Province in an indirect fire attack on Sunday, December 24th. According to his family, Bixler had always wanted an army career, but was turned down due to a medical condition. He eventually applied for a medical waiver to join ... and even then was only accepted upon his second application made to a different recruiting office. He had only been in Iraq one month when he was killed.
Evan A. Bixler, 21, Racine, Wisconsin

Wednesday, December 27, 2006 5:22 AM -
	(1) TulsaWorld.com has published an article on Army Specialist Joshua Dean Sheppard, 22, a native of Quinton, Oklahoma. His mother spoke to him by phone on December 21st, at which time he told her, "I love you, and I'll call home at Christmas." Sheppard was killed in Baghdad in a small arms fire attack on Friday, December 22nd.
Joshua Dean Sheppard, 22, Quinton, Oklahoma
	(2) The Lansing State Journal has published an article on a soldier from the town of Dansville near Lansing, Michigan. Army Sergeant Curtis L. Norris was killed in Baghdad when a roadside bomb detonated on Saturday, December 23rd. The 28-year-old sergeant had a wife and 5-year-old daughter.
Curtis L. Norris , 28, Dansville, Michigan

Wednesday, December 27, 2006 9:26 AM - The Republic of Latvia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued an English-language notification that two of their soldiers were killed on Wednesday, December 27th, when an improvised explosive device detonated beneath their vehicle in Iraq. According to an Associated Press account, the Ministry spokesman did not know where the attack occurred in Iraq, but that more information would be given out at a news conference later on Wednesday. These are only the second and third deaths the Latvian contingent has experienced in Iraq, the first being 1st Lieutenant Olafs Baumanis in June of 2004.

Wednesday, December 27, 2006 10:03 AM -
	(1) The DoD has confirmed the death of Marine Lance Corporal Myles C. Sebastien from enemy action in Al Anbar Province on December 20th. The 21-year-old Marine was from Opelousas, Louisiana.
	(2) The DoD has identified the three soldiers who died together in one improvised explosive device attack in the Baghdad vicinity on Saturday, December 23rd (see this CENTCOM release). All were Michigan Army National Guardsmen:
		Specialist Chad J. Vollmer, 24, of Grand Rapids, Michigan
		Private 1st Class Wilson A. Algrim, 21, of Howell, Michigan
		Private Bobby Mejia II, of Saginaw, Michigan
	Bobby Mejia II, of Saginaw, Michigan
	They died in the vicinity of Salman Pak, a town in Baghdad Province, southeast of the capitol.

Wednesday, December 27, 2006 10:34 AM -
	(1) The DoD has confirmed the death of Marine Lance Corporal Stephen L. Morris, 21, of Lake Jackson, Texas, on Sunday, December 24th. He died from enemy action in Al Anbar Province.
	(2) CENTCOM is reporting that a second soldier has died from injuries he received when the vehicle he was riding in overturned on a dirt canal trail on Tuesday, December 26th. It is unclear if the soldier died the same day as the accident, or the next. We will put him on the 26th for now until more information becomes available.
	(3) CENTCOM is also reporting the death of a soldier at Logistics Support Area Anaconda at Balad on Saturday, December 23rd. The soldier died from non-hostile, unspecified injuries.
	(4) Lastly, CENTCOM is reporting the death of a Marine assigned to Regimental Combat Team 5 due to enemy action in Al Anbar Province. The death occurred "today" ... the report was dated Wednesday, December 27th.

Wednesday, December 27, 2006 11:11 AM -
	Recently, CENTCOM reported a roadside bombing southwest of Baghdad that happened on Christmas Day, killing two soldiers and wounding one. Now the DoD has identified the two soldiers who died at the site of the bombing ... and has announced that the wounded soldier died the very next day, December 26th. Killed on the 25th:
		Specialist Aaron L. Preston, 29, of Dallas, Texas
		Private 1st Class Andrew H. Nelson, 19, of Saint Johns, Michigan
	Dying on the 26th: Sergeant John T. Bubeck, 25, of Collegeville, Pennsylvania.

Vitalijs Vasiljevs and Gints Bleija, of Latvia

Wednesday, December 27, 2006 2:05 PM - The Latvian Ministry of Defense has published a news release in the Latvian language that would appear to identify their two December 27th Iraq deaths: " ... dižkareivis Vitālijs Vasiļjevs un dižkareivis Gints Bleija". Dižkareivis is the Latvian word for 'Private 1st Class' according to this breakdown of Latvian army ranks. The Latvian MOD has a mirror image English language site, but news release translations lag behind their publication in Latvian.

Vitālijs Vasiļjevs and Gints Bleija, of Latvia

Wednesday, December 27, 2006 2:47 PM -
	(1) The DoD has identified a soldier who died from a roadside bomb attack in the Baghdad area on Saturday, December 23rd: Specialist Elias Elias, 27, of Glendora, California. His unit, the 3-61st Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, is currently working out of FOB Rustamiyah in southeast Baghdad, which makes him a good candidate for the death "southeast of the Iraqi capitol" described in this CENTCOM release.
	(2) The DoD has also identified another soldier who died from a roadside bomb attack in the Baghdad area: Sergeant Jae S. Moon, 21, of Levittown, Pennsylvania. Moon, however, was wounded in an attack on December 14th. Apparently, he was being treated in a Baghdad hospital for his injuries. According to the DoD, he died there on Christmas Day, December 25th.

Thursday, December 28, 2006 8:39 AM -
	(1) WTHR-TV in Indianapolis, Indiana, has identified one of the deaths from a vehicle roll-over south of Baghdad on Tuesday, December 26th: Private 1st Class Joseph Strong of Lebanon, Indiana. According to an article by Indianapolis station WISH-TV, he was 21 years old.
Joseph Strong, 21, Lebanon, Indiana
	(2) CENTCOM is reporting the death of a second Marine from enemy action in Al Anbar Province on Wednesday, December 27th. Station WBIR-TV in Knoxville, Tennessee, has identified that Marine as Lance Corporal William C. Koprince Jr. of Lenoir City, Tennessee. He was apparently killed by an improvised explosive device while on a foot patrol.
	(3) CENTCOM is also reporting the death of a soldier in eastern Baghdad when a roadside bomb detonated while he was on a route clearing patrol on Wednesday, December 27th. Two soldiers were wounded in the blast.
	(4) CENTCOM is reporting the deaths of two soldiers southwest of Baghdad when an improvised explosive device detonated near their dismounted patrol on Wednesday, December 27th. One soldier was also wounded in the incident.
	(5) CENTCOM is also reporting the death of a soldier north of Baghdad when a roadside bomb exploded near his dismounted patrol on Thursday, December 28th. One soldier was wounded in the blast.
	(6) The Saginaw (Michigan) News has written an article on Michigan Army National Guardsman Private Bobby Mejia II who died in a roadside bomb blast on Saturday, December 23rd. He was reportedly 20 years old.
	(7) On Wednesday, CENTCOM issued a notice dated December 27th about a Marine who died "today" from enemy action in Al Anbar Province. Now, the Associated Press is reporting the death of a Wisconsin Marine on Tuesday, December 26th: Joshua Schmitz, 22, of Loyal, Wisconsin. These two deaths could very well be one and the same, although we won't know for sure until the DoD weighs in with a confirmation. For now, Schmitz will be entered on the 27th pending a DoD release.

Thursday, December 28, 2006 9:10 AM - The Associated Press is reporting the death of a Pennsylvania soldier at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. 24-year-old Army Sergeant Edward Shaffer of Mont Alto, Pennsylvania, was burned over 80 percent of his body in a November 13th roadside bomb blast in Ramadi in Al Anbar Province. Since then he had undergone at least five surgeries "during which both hands and a foot were amputated". Throughout his ordeal, doctors gave him only a 10 percent chance of survival. He passed away Wednesday afternoon, December 27th. Note: USWarWatch reported on Shaffer's injuries in Stories of the Wounded on December 8th.

Edward Shaffer, 24,
Mont Alto, Pennsylvania

Thursday, December 28, 2006 10:51 AM - Several English-language media sources, including the International Herald Tribune, have now published more information on the deaths of the two Latvian soldiers in Iraq on Wednesday, December 27th. Apparently, both soldiers were scheduled to be rotated out of Iraq and were travelling in a convoy with their replacements to get them familiar with the countryside. They were west of the town of Diwaniyah, about 80 miles south of Baghdad in Qadissiya Province, when a roadside bomb detonated under their vehicle. Their names, ranks and ages, confirmed in English: Private 1st Class Vitalijs Vasiljevs, 24, and Private 1st Class Gints Bleija, 25.

Thursday, December 28, 2006 12:12 PM - The DoD has identified a soldier who was killed in the Baghdad area when a roadside bomb detonated near his vehicle on Christmas Day: Sergeant 1st Class Dexter E. Wheelous, 37, of Winder, Georgia. By process of elimination, he should be the soldier who died "in a southern neighborhood of the Iraqi capitol" as described in this CENTCOM release.

Thursday, December 28, 2006 1:51 PM -
	(1) The DoD has released the identity of the 13th Sustainment Command soldier who died of a non-hostile, unspecified injury at Camp Anaconda near Balad on Saturday, December 23rd: Specialist Michael J. Crutchfield, 21, of Stockton, California.
	(2) The DoD has also confirmed the death of Marine Lance Corporal William Craig Koprince Jr., who died from a roadside bombing in Al Anbar Province on Wednesday, December 27th. The Associated Press has published more information on Koprince as well. The 24-year-old Marine was originally from Southgate, Michigan. However, his family moved to Tennessee when he was 10. This makes him the 6th soldier with Michigan ties to die in Iraq in the past week alone.
	(3) The DoD has identified the two soldiers who died in a vehicle rollover on a dirt canal trail that occurred south of Baghdad on Tuesday, December 26th:
		Specialist Joseph A. Strong, 21, of Lebanon, Indiana
		Specialist Douglas L. Tinsley, 21, of Chester, South Carolina
	The release did not specify which of the two died at the scene, and which of the two died later at a military medical facility.
	(4) The DoD has confirmed the death of Marine Corporal Joshua M. Schmitz, 21, of Spencer, Wisconsin, from enemy action in Al Anbar Province. As we suspected, the DoD is giving his date of death as Tuesday, December 26th, in keeping with media reports. So "today" in the CENTCOM release for his death was actually the day before that release was published.

Thursday, December 28, 2006 2:29 PM - Earlier this week, CENTCOM reported a roadside bombing in a southern neighborhood of Baghdad on Christmas Day, December 25th, that claimed the life of one soldier, and wounded two others. The DoD has previously identified that death as Sergeant 1st Class Dexter E. Wheelous. Now it would appear that one of the wounded soldiers has died as well ... that same day at a military hospital in Balad. The DoD is announcing the death of Captain Hayes Clayton, 29, of Georgia. Both he and Wheelous were assigned to the same unit: the 842nd Military Training and Transition Team with the 1st Infantry Division out of Fort Riley, KS. This is a new death, not previously reported by CENTCOM.

Friday, December 29, 2006 7:57 AM - The British Ministry of Defense is reporting the death of one of their soldiers in Basra City when a roadside bomb detonated beneath his patrol vehicle on Thursday, December 28th.

Friday, December 29, 2006 11:37 AM - MNF-Iraq is reporting the deaths of three Marines from enemy action in Al Anbar Province on Thursday, December 28th.

Friday, December 29, 2006 12:33 PM - The Associated Press is reporting the death of a Marine from Vassar, Michigan, in Al Anbar Province: Corporal Christopher Esckelson, 23. According to his father, he died in "a fierce firefight after taking a direct hit to his flak jacket". He was a Marine Reservist with the Michigan based 1st Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment. The article does not give a date of death, but does say that his family was notified on Thursday, December 28th. As his unit was part of Regimental Combat Team 5, it is possible he is one of the three Marine deaths on December 28th described in this CENTCOM release. As it happens, the Detroit Free Press had published an in-depth article on Esckelson's unit on the day before Christmas, December 24th, in which Eschelson's picture appears. The article vividly describes their situation based in Fallujah.

Members of the Bravo Company of the 1st Battalion of the 24th Marine Regiment in Fallujah, Iraq. From L: Ryan Asam, 21, of Traverse City, Martin Gonzales, 30, of Saginaw, Christopher Esckelson, 23, of Vassar, Chris Shell, 23, of Croswell, and Josh Kerkau, 20 (hometown?). (DAVID P. GILKEY/Detroit Free Press)

Friday, December 29, 2006 6:31 PM -
	(1) The DoD has released the identity of one of the three soldiers who died in two roadside bomb blasts in Baghdad on Wednesday, December 27th: Private Clinton T. McCormick, 20, of Jacksonville, Florida. His unit, the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, worked out of FOB Rustamiya on the east side of Baghdad. Therefore, it's likely he was the east Baghdad death described in this CENTCOM release.
	(2) The Associated Press has published an interview with the aunt of Marine Corporal Joshua Schmitz, 21, who died in Al Anbar Province on Tuesday, December 26th. According to her, Schmitz was killed by a suicide bomber.

Friday, December 29, 2006 9:39 PM -
	The DoD has released the identities of the three Marines who died from enemy action in Al Anbar Province on Thursday, November 28th:
		Corporal Christopher E. Esckelson, 22, of Vassar, Michigan
		Lance Corporal Nicholas A. Miller, 20, of Silverwood, Michigan
	Nicholas A. Miller, 20, Silverwood, Michigan
		Lance Corporal William D. Spencer, 20, of Paris, Tennessee
	All three were Marine Corps Reservists.

Friday, December 29, 2006 9:51 PM -
	(1) MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a soldier in northwestern Baghdad when his patrol was hit by a roadside bomb on Friday, December 29th. Two soldiers were wounded in the attack.
	(2) MNF-Iraq is also reporting the death of a 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division soldier from enemy action in Al Anbar Province on Saturday, December 30th.

Saturday, December 30, 2006 6:20 AM - Both the Memphis Commercial Appeal and Memphis Eyewitness News are running features on Army Captain Hayes Clayton Jr. who was killed in Baghdad on Christmas Day when a roadside bomb detonated. Hayes was born in Memphis, Tennessee, although his family later moved to Texas and then to Georgia. He earned his degree at Fort Valley (Georgia) State University. His grandmother stated that his real interest was political science ... and that he joined the army because he wanted that experience before he ran for public office. He was married and had an infant son.

Hayes Clayton Jr., 29, of Georgia, (or Kansas, or Memphis TN)

Saturday, December 30, 2006 9:54 AM -
	(1) MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a soldier in a roadside bombing in a southwestern Baghdad neighborhood on Friday, December 29th. Three other soldiers were wounded in the incident.
	(2) The British Ministry of Defense has identified the soldier who died in an IED blast in Basra City on Thursday, December 28th: Sergeant Graham Hesketh, 35, of Runcorn (Cheshire), England. Hesketh was born in Liverpool, but grew up in Runcorn, joining the British Army at age 17. He served for three years, leaving in 1992. But unable to find suitable employment in civilian life, he signed back up in 1995, receiving his promotion to sergeant in 2005. He leaves behind a 7 year old daughter and a 3 year old son.
Graham Hesketh, 35, Runcorn (Cheshire), England

	Saturday, December 30, 2006 10:18 AM - Station WJXT in Jacksonville, Florida, has an article out on 20-year-old Private Clinton Tyler McCormick who died in a roadside bombing in Baghdad Wednesday, December 27th. Although the article states that he died the day after Christmas, the 26th, this could be a reference to stateside time, not Iraq time. The DoD has confirmed his death on the 27th.
Clinton Tyler McCormick, 20, Jacksonville, Florida

Saturday, December 30, 2006 10:53 AM - The Anchorage Daily News is quoting an Army spokesman from Fort Richardson, AK, that a Fort Richardson based paratrooper was killed by small arms fire while on security duty in Karmah, a town on the outskirts of Fallujah in Al Anbar Province, on Thursday, December 28th. So far, there has been no formal notice from either MNF-Iraq or CENTCOM of this particular death.

Saturday, December 30, 2006 2:36 PM - The Galveston County (Texas) Daily News is reporting the death of a soldier from Dickinson, Texas: Nathaniel Given, 21. The circumstances of his death were not reported ... but he is said to have died on Wednesday, December 27th. Since he was assigned to the 10th Mountain Infantry, whose forces are primarily southwest of Baghdad, he is likely one of the two roadside bomb deaths southwest of Baghdad on the 27th as described in this CENTCOM release.

Sunday, December 31, 2006 10:29 AM -
	(1) MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a soldier in a southeastern neighborhood of Baghdad from a roadside bomb attack on Saturday, December 30th. Two soldiers were also wounded in the incident.
	(2) The DoD has released the identity of a Fort Richardson, AK, based soldier who died from small arms fire on Thursday, December 28th: Specialist Dustin R. Donica, 22, of Spring, Texas. Although the DoD says that his death occurred in Baghdad, we feel that this is the death described in this media article in which a Fort Richardson spokesman described a small arms fire death on that day in Karmah, Al Anbar Province. Donica's unit, the 4th Airborne Brigade of the 25th Infantry Division, is operating in a wide area to the southwest of Baghdad which overlaps into Babil and Al Anbar Provinces.
	(3) An article in Stars & Stripes has announced the posthumous promotion of Andrew P. Daul from Specialist to Sergeant. Daul was killed by an improvised bomb in Hit, Al Anbar Province, on December 19th.

Sunday, December 31, 2006 12:13 PM - An article printed in the Saginaw (Michigan) News has verified that Marine Lance Corporal Nicholas A. Miller did indeed die in the same firefight that killed Cpl. Christopher Esckelson in Fallujah on Thursday, December 28th (the article says Wednesday, but is likely referring to stateside time). It states that he was "fatally shot". WCPO-TV in Cincinnati has also verified that Marine Lance Corporal William D. Spencer was "killed in action on the streets of Fallujah by small arms fire" ... the same firefight that killed Miller and Esckelson. The article goes on to say that Spencer was "hit in the abdomen" and "bled out just three minutes later before help could arrive."

William D. Spencer, 20, Paris, Tennessee

Sunday, December 31, 2006 3:51 PM -
	(1) The DoD has identified the two soldiers who died when an improvised explosive device detonated southwest of Baghdad on Wednesday, December 27th:
		Sergeant Christopher P. Messer, 28, of Petersburg, Pennsylvania
	Christopher P. Messer, 28, of Petersburg, Pennsylvania
		Private 1st Class Nathaniel A. Given, 21, of Dickinson, Texas
	Nathaniel A. Given, 21, of Dickinson, Texas
	The Galveston County Daily News has more details on Pfc. Givens and the ambush that killed him and his sergeant.
	(2) The DoD has also confirmed the death of Sergeant Edward W. Shaffer, 23, of Mont Alto, Pennsylvania, at Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas on December 27th. He had been injured in an IED blast in Ramadi on November 13th.

Monday, January 01, 2007 10:13 AM - MNF-Iraq is reporting the deaths of two 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division soldiers from an "explosion" in Diyala Province north of Baghdad on Sunday, December 31st. Two other soldiers were wounded in this incident.

Tuesday, January 02, 2007 5:36 AM - Over the weekend, the DoD confirmed the deaths of Sergeant Christopher P. Messer and Private 1st Class Nathaniel A. Given in a roadside bomb attack in the Baghdad vicinity on December 27th. However, they incorrectly gave Sergeant Messer's hometown as Petersburg, Florida. According to this article in the Toledo Blade and also this notice on the Fort Drum website, Messer was from Petersburg, Michigan. He was married and had a 3-year-old daughter. He died on his third wedding anniversary.

Tuesday, January 02, 2007 9:42 AM - The DoD has issued a release identifying two soldiers who died in Baghdad on Friday, December 29th. The way the release is written implies that they died in the same explosion. However, we suspect this may be mistaken. CENTCOM issued two news releases for deaths on that day: one a roadside bomb death in southwest Baghdad, the other a roadside bomb death in northwest Baghdad. The fact that both men were assigned to different units based in different parts of the city lends further credence to the theory that these were two separate deaths.
	Sergeant Lawrence J. Carter, 25, of Rancho Cucamonga, California, was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division [note: this is NOT the 1st Armored Division as stated in the DoD notice]. This unit is supposedly headquartered at FOB Falcon, 11 km southeast of downtown Baghdad, this according to Wikipedia's Order of Battle. But one company has been operating in the southwestern Bayaa District according to this and other CENTCOM releases. Thus, Carter could be the southwest Baghdad death.
Lawrence J. Carter, 25, of Rancho Cucamonga, California
	Private 1st Class William R. Newgard, 20, of Arlington Heights, Illinois, was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division. Wikipedia's Order of Battle places that unit "near Sadr City" in northeastern Baghdad. Indeed, recent media and CENTCOM articles all place this unit in that area. Until further information is uncovered, we will put him in the slot for the "northwest Baghdad" death, although we certainly cannot tie him to that part of the city. Could the CENTCOM release have said "northwest" in error, when they meant "northeast"?

John Michael Sullivan, 21, of Middle Valley, Tennessee

Tuesday, January 02, 2007 10:26 AM - The Chattanoogan is reporting the death of a Chattanooga area soldier in Iraq. John Michael Sullivan, 21, of Middle Valley, Tennessee, was killed by a roadside bomb on Sunday, December 31st. Although his exact place of death and his unit were not given, it is possible he is one of the two "explosion" deaths in Diyala Province on that day, deaths described in this CENTCOM release.

John Michael Sullivan, 21, Middle Valley, Tennessee

Tuesday, January 02, 2007 7:41 PM - More information is now surfacing about the death of Army Sergeant John Michael Sullivan in Iraq. Initial reports had suggested that he died on Sunday, December 31st. But this turns out not to be the case. Chattanooga station WTVC is reporting that he died on December 30th. Chattanooga station WRCB is actually quoting his grandmother as saying that Sullivan died on the same day that Saddam was executed ... which would have been Saturday. WRCB has his unit as the "217th Field Artillery Unit" ... but what they mean is the 2nd Battalion of the 17th Field Artillery Regiment, a part of the 2nd Infantry Division based at Fort Carson, CO, but now stationed in southeast Baghdad. This would likely make him the death in a southeastern Baghdad neighborhood described in this CENTCOM release. His wife gave birth to their son, John Michael Sullivan, Jr., less than 24 hours after Sullivan died.

Wednesday, January 03, 2007 5:42 AM - MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a soldier from a roadside bomb south of Baghdad on Sunday, December 31st.

Wednesday, January 03, 2007 6:40 AM - The Fort Worth Star-Telegram is reporting the death of a young soldier from Arlington, Texas, in Iraq. Rich Smith, 20, died on Sunday, December 31st, in an "explosion". The article does imply that he was stationed at Fort Hood, TX. That would make him a possible candidate for one of the two 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division deaths in Diyala Province that day (see this CENTCOM release).

Rich Smith, 20, Grand Prairie (Arlington), Texas

Wednesday, January 03, 2007 11:18 AM -
	(1) The Ottumwa (Iowa) Courier is reporting the death of a local soldier in Iraq. Corporal Jonathan E. "Jon" Schiller died on Sunday, December 31st. Because he was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division, he could very well be one of the two "explosion" deaths in Diyala Province described in this CENTCOM release. Radio Iowa is giving his age as 20.
Jonathan E. "Jon" Schiller, 20, Ottumwa, Iowa
	(2) The Bay City (Michigan) Times is reporting the death of Army Private 1st Class Alan R. Blohm, 21, of Kawkawlin, Michigan. According to the article, he died in an explosion near Baghdad on Sunday, December 31st. Further research led to a company website called CIRI.com that had posted a notice about Blohm at the time he deployed. They identify him as a Fort Richardson, AK, based soldier. That would indicate that he is likely the soldier who died in the IED blast south of Baghdad described in this CENTCOM release.
Alan R. Blohm, 21, Kawkawlin, Michigan

Wednesday, January 03, 2007 2:54 PM -
	(1) The DoD has confirmed the identities of the two 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division soldiers who died in a roadside bomb blast in the vicinity of Ba'qubah in Diyala Province on Sunday, December 31st:
		Corporal Jonathan E. Schiller, 20, of Ottumwa, Iowa
		Specialist Richard A. Smith, 20, of
	(2) The DoD has confirmed the death of Army Private 1st Class Alan R. Blohm, 21, in an improvised explosive device attack south of Baghdad on Sunday, December 31st. They list his hometown as Kenai, Alaska ... but media reports are indicating that he grew up in Kawkawlin, Michigan, attending high school in Bay City.
	(3) The DoD has identified the soldier who died in a roadside bomb blast north of Baghdad on December 28th: Specialist Luis G. Ayala, 21, of South Gate, California.

Wednesday, January 03, 2007 3:15 PM - The DoD has confirmed the death of Army Sergeant John M. Sullivan, 22, of Hixon, Tennessee, in a roadside bomb blast in southeastern Baghdad on Saturday, December 30th.

Thursday, January 04, 2007 6:21 AM - The Carlisle (Pennsylvania) Sentinel is reporting the death of a local soldier in Iraq. Army Private David Eugene Dietrich, 21, of Marysville, died in a roadside bomb attack. The Associated Press is also reporting the story. According to both sources, he died on December 29th. But we suspect that is a reference to stateside time ... and that he actually died in Iraq on Saturday, December 30th (his girlfriend was notified on that day). Both sources say he was stationed at Camp Ramadi in Al Anbar Province, which means he could very well be the death on the 30th described in this CENTCOM release. Much of the articles are devoted to the fact that Dietrich was an abandoned child who lived in foster homes from the age of 10 on. He'd enlisted in the army less than 7 months ago.

Thursday, January 04, 2007 2:34 PM - The DoD has confirmed the death of Private David E. Dietrich, 21, of Marysville, Pennsylvania ... on Friday, December 29th. So earlier media articles did have his date of death correctly. The "today" cited on the CENTCOM release dated December 30th likely should have been "yesterday". He died in Ramadi in Al Anbar Province from a small arms fire attack.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007 5:10 AM - A Latvian language media entity called V-Diena has posted an article that would appear to be about the funerals of the two Latvian soldiers who were killed in a roadside bomb blast in Iraq on December 27th. The last line of the article seems to name the places where the two men were buried ... which might be the best indication we'll get of their hometowns. 24-year-old Private 1st Class Vitālijs Vasiljevs was buried in the Latvian capitol of Riga ... 25-year-old Private 1st Class Gints Bleija was buried in the village of Ropaži in the east of Latvia.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007 12:08 PM - The DoD has announced the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom: Sergeant Aron C. Blum, 22, of Tucson, Arizona. According to the press release, he died at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, CA, on December 28th after being flown out of Al Anbar Province on December 8th. The Arizona Daily Star recently published an article stating that Blum's death was from a non-combat related illness. Tucson station KGUN went further to say that Blum apparently contracted a rare blood disease while serving in Iraq ... aplastic anemia. Some time prior to being evacuated, Blum began to notice bruises on his body and cuts that wouldn't stop bleeding. Within a very short time, he was dead.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007 12:02 PM - On December 26, 2006, CENTCOM issued this press release announcing the deaths of three Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldiers in a roadside bomb attack northwest of Baghdad on December 26th. It is now January 17th ... and the DoD has failed to issue the names of the victims. In the nearly four years that we have been keeping the casualty count, the DoD has NEVER taken longer than 10 to 15 days after a death to identify that person. We're now forced to believe that this CENTCOM release was simply made in error, especially since the DoD's own database (updated as of January 6th) does not include these three deaths. By eliminating these three deaths from our own records, we will be in exact agreement with the DoD as to the U.S. death toll in Iraq: 3,005 as of January 6th, 2007. Our corrected death toll as of today, January 17th, is 3,023.

Saturday, January 27, 2007 2:16 AM - The DoD is belatedly announcing the death of a sailor who was supporting operations in Iraq. Seaman Sandra S. Grant, 23, of Linwood, North Carolina, was found dead aboard the USS Eisenhower on Sunday, December 31st, apparently after suffering a heart attack. An article in the Navy Times describes her as a "Navy brat", having been born in Subic Bay, the Philippines, where her father, a retired second class boatswain's mate, was serving at the time. Seaman Grant herself joined the Navy in 2004 and had become a damage control fireman. The Lexington (North Carolina) Dispatch also published a piece on the sailor. They report that she was married and had given birth to a baby boy 8 months ago. (This belated entry increases December's Coalition death toll from 114 to 115, including 112 U.S. servicemen and servicewomen. The year ended with 3253 dead, 3003 from the U.S.)

Sandra S. Grant, 23, of Linwood, North Carolina

The current time in Iraq is..

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