Tuesday, March 06, 2007 3:55 AM - MNF-Iraq is reporting the deaths of three Task Force Lightning soldiers from a roadside bomb attack in Diyala Province on Monday, March 5th.

Tuesday, March 06, 2007 4:08 AM - MNF-Iraq is reporting the deaths of six more Task Force Lightning soldiers ... this time from a roadside bomb attack in Salah ad Din Province on Monday, March 5th. Three soldiers were also wounded in the attack.

Tuesday, March 06, 2007 2:50 PM - The Fayetteville Observer is reporting that military sources have said that the six Task Force Lightning soldiers who died in an IED attack in Salah ad Din Province on Monday, March 5th, were all from the 2nd Brigade, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division out of Fort Bragg, NC. The attack happened near Samarra.

Wednesday, March 07, 2007 11:57 AM - MNF-Iraq is reporting the deaths of three Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldiers in an improvised explosive device attack northwest of Baghdad on Wednesday, March 7th.

Wednesday, March 07, 2007 2:34 PM -
	Pennsylvania station WFMZ has identified another one of the three soldiers who died in a roadside bomb attack in central Baghdad on Saturday, March 3rd: Sergeant Ashly Lynn Moyer, 21, of Macungie, Pennsylvania. The article states that at one point, Moyer was stationed at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, guarding prisoners there ... so she could very well have been with the same military police company that Sergeant Brandon Parr, the other known death from that incident, belonged to.
Ashly Lynn Moyer, 21, of Macungie, Pennsylvania

Thursday, March 08, 2007 7:41 AM - The Richmond (Virginia) Times-Dispatch has identified another one of the six soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division who died in a roadside bomb attack near Samarra on Monday, March 5th: Staff Sergeant Robert Stanley, 27, of Spotsylvania, Virginia. Stanley had originally joined the army in 1999 ... and had been one of the first to land in Afghanistan after the September 2001 attacks. He was eventually discharged, but re-enlisted at some point and was currently serving on his fourth overseas deployment. His father recalls recent conversations with his son in which he reported that the intensity of combat was definitely increasing ... that the patrols were getting more intense and frequent ... and that the insurgents' weaponry was getting more advanced. Stanley had been married for five years. The Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star also has a write-up on Stanley.

Thursday, March 08, 2007 7:59 AM - The Lafayette (Louisiana) Daily Advertiser is reporting the death of Army soldier Mark Graham, 22, a native of Lafayette. Graham, the gunner on a Bradley vehicle, was the only survivor when the Bradley hit a roadside bomb northwest of Baghdad on Friday, March 2nd (Staff Sergeant Paul Latourney and Specialist Luis Rodriguez-Contrera died in the blast). However, his injuries were severe. Both of his legs had to be amputated, he lost one kidney, and he suffered from third degree burns over more than 60% of his body. Graham made it as far as Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, where he succumbed to his wounds on Wednesday, March 7th. The Associated Press has also covered his death.

Thursday, March 08, 2007 10:55 AM - The Associated Press has identified one of the three soldiers who died in an IED attack northwest of Baghdad on Wednesday, March 7th: Specialist Shawn Rankinen, 28, of Independence, Missouri. According to his mother, he had already served six years in the Navy, but then enlisted in the Army last August. He had only been in Iraq for one week at the time of his death.

Thursday, March 08, 2007 1:33 PM -
	Louisiana station KATC has an article out on soldier Mark Graham who died at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, TX, on Wednesday, March 7th. He was 22 years old. His wife and parents were with him at the hospital when he passed away.
Mark Graham, Lafayette, 22, Louisiana

Thursday, March 08, 2007 7:15 PM -
	(1) The DoD has identified the six 82nd Airborne Division soldiers who died near Samarra in a roadside bomb attack on Monday, March 5th:
		Staff Sergeant Justin M. Estes, 25, of Sims, Arkansas
		Staff Sergeant Robert M. Stanley, 27, of Spotsylvania, Virginia
		Sergeant Andrew C. Perkins, 27, of Northglenn, Colorado
		Specialist Ryan M. Bell, 21, of Colville, Washington
		Specialist Justin A. Rollins, 22, of Newport, New Hampshire
		Private 1st Class Cory C. Kosters, 19, of The Woodlands, Texas
	(2) The DoD has also confirmed the death of Private Mark W. Graham, 22, of Lafayette, Louisiana. Graham was severely injured in a roadside bomb blast northwest of Baghdad on March 2nd. He was transferred to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, for treatment but died there on Wednesday, March 7th.

Monday, March 12, 2007 6:17 PM - The DoD has released the identity of the Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldier who died of a non-hostile, unspecified cause in Baghdad on Sunday, March 11th: Specialist Jonathan K. Smith, 19, of Atlanta, Georgia. Smith was assigned to the 1st Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division which has been stationed at Camp Taji northwest of Baghdad.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007 3:18 PM - MNF-Iraq has sent out a press release announcing the deaths of Task Force Lightning soldiers in Diyala Province on Wednesday, March 14th. It would seem that two soldiers died in separate roadside bomb attacks ... and one additional soldier died from small arms fire. The release also states that nine soldiers were wounded.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007 6:17 PM - The DoD has confirmed the death of Army Reservist Sergeant 1st Class Douglas C. Stone, 49, of Taylorsville, Utah. He died of a non-hostile and as yet unspecified cause "in Iraq" on Sunday, March 11th, per the DoD. His father is quoted in an article in the Deseret Morning News that Stone was in northern Iraq "with the Kurds" at the time of his death.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007 7:06 PM -

The DoD has announced the death of Marine Lance Corporal Nathanial D. Windsor, 20, of Scappoose, Oregon, from enemy action in Al Anbar Province. The DoD release gives Windsor's date of death as Tuesday, March 13th. But we believe that this is likely in error as the date of the press release itself is March 13th. The military would not identify anybody until 24 hours after the next of kin were notified. Fortunately, the Oregonian is reporting that Windsor was questioning a group of detainees on Sunday, March 11th, when a sniper shot him through the neck. He was bandaged up and rushed to a hospital but died about an hour later. This would make him the death described in this CENTCOM release.

Thursday, March 15, 2007 2:49 PM - MNF-Iraq is reporting the deaths of four Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldiers in an eastern section of Baghdad on Thursday, March 15th, when their vehicles were hit by multiple IEDs.

Friday, March 16, 2007 1:15 PM -
	(1) The DoD has identified one of the two Marine non-hostile, unspecified cause deaths from Wednesday, March 14th, in Al Anbar Province: Lance Corporal Steven M. Chavez, 20, of Hondo, New Mexico. Details of his death are still unclear, although the Las Cruces (New Mexico) Sun-News has interviewed the Marine's father. According to that article, Chavez had less than a week to go before his Iraq stint was to end.
	(2) The DoD has also identified one of the Task Force Lightning soldiers who died in Diyala Province in a roadside bomb attack on Wednesday, March 14th: Specialist Adam J. Rosema, 27, of Pasadena, California. According to the DoD, Rosema died south of Ba'qubah.
	(3) The DoD has identified the second Task Force Lightning roadside bomb death in Diyala Province on Wednesday, March 14th, as well: Corporal Brian L. Chevalier, 21, of Athens, Georgia, who died in the vicinity of the town of Mufrek, a suburb of Ba'qubah. The Zanesville (Ohio) Times Recorder is reporting that Chevalier lived in Crooksville, Ohio, up until the age of six, at which point his parents split up. He then lived with his mother in many different places in Florida, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Georgia ... she currently resides in Athens, Georgia, the hometown of record listed by the DoD for Chevalier. He is survived by a 5-year-old daughter.
	(4) The DoD has identified the Task Force Lightning soldier who died in a small arms fire attack in Diyala Province on Wednesday, March 14th: Specialist Stephen M. Kowalczyk, 32, of San Diego, California. According to the DoD, he died in the vicinity of the town of Muqdadiyah about 35 km northeast of Ba'qubah.
Stephen M. Kowalczyk, 32, of San Diego, California

Saturday, March 17, 2007 9:57 AM -
	(1) MNF-Iraq has issued a correction to an earlier press release. Apparently two Marines have indeed died of non-hostile, unspecified causes in Al Anbar Province. One did die on March 14th ... but the other died on Thursday, March 15th (not the 14th as originally reported). The DoD has identified the March 15th death as Lance Corporal Raymond J. Holzhauer, 19, of Dwight, Illinois.
	(2) The DoD has identified the soldier who died in an IED blast in southern Baghdad on Tuesday, March 13th: Sergeant Robert M. Carr, 22, of Warren, Ohio. Carr's unit, the 2nd Battalion of the 12th Infantry Regiment out of Fort Carson, CO, was stationed at Camp Falcon in southern Baghdad. The Warren Tribune-Chronicle reports that Carr was due home on leave in a couple of weeks at which time he and his wife of one year were planning to have a second wedding ceremony with friends and family. Instead, the family will be planning a funeral. Carr's older brother, Matthew, is also in the army, stationed at Fort Drum, NY. He has sought permission to serve as special escort to bring his brother's body home.
Robert M. Carr, 22, of Warren, Ohio

Saturday, March 17, 2007 10:28 AM -
	(1) The DoD has identified the soldier who died in north Baghdad in an attack involving a roadside bomb and small arms fire on Tuesday, March 13th: Private 1st Class Alberto Garcia Jr., 23, of Bakersfield, California. His unit, the 1st Battalion 26th Infantry had been stationed at Camp Taji northwest of Baghdad. The Bakersfield Californian is reporting that Garcia was a religious man belonging to Valley Bible Fellowship. His family is declining interviews at this time.
	(2) The DoD has also released the names of the four soldiers who died in eastern Baghdad in a roadside bomb attack on Thursday, March 15th:
		Staff Sergeant Blake M. Harris, 27, of Hampton, Georgia
		Staff Sergeant Terry W. Prater, 25, of Speedwell, Tennessee
		Sergeant Emerson N. Brand, 29, of Rigby, Idaho
		Private 1st Class James L. Arnold, 21, of Mattawan, Michigan

Saturday, March 17, 2007 1:35 PM -
	(1) MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a Multi-National Corps - Iraq soldier in Ba'qubah, Diyala Province, from small arms fire on Saturday, March 17th.
	(2) The DoD has announced that a soldier who was wounded in an IED blast near Samarra on March 5th has now died at Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas on March 14th: Specialist Joshua M. Boyd, 30, of Seattle, Washington. Six soldiers from Boyd's 82nd Airborne Division unit were killed in the original blast. Although the DoD lists his hometown as Seattle, the Abilene (Texas) Reporter-News states that he was from Abilene, graduating from high school there in 1995, although he had lived in Seattle for several years.
Joshua M. Boyd, 30, of Seattle, Washington
	(3) The DoD has identified the soldier who died from enemy action in Al Anbar Province on Wednesday, March 14th: Specialist Forrest J. Waterbury, 25, of Richmond, Texas.

Sunday, March 18, 2007 8:24 AM - MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a Marine in enemy action in Al Anbar Province on Saturday, March 17th.

Sunday, March 18, 2007 6:25 PM - MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a Task Force Lightning soldier in an explosion in Diyala Province on Saturday, March 17th. Five other soldiers were wounded in the incident.

Monday, March 19, 2007 7:33 AM - The Boston Herald is reporting the death of Private 1st Class John Landry Jr., 20, of Lowell, Massachusetts. Details of his death in Iraq are not yet available, but his unit is given: the 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment out of Fort Hood, TX. That particular unit is currently attached to the 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division and is operating in the Ghazaliya neighborhood in western Baghdad. This alone makes it likely that Landry was one of the four roadside bomb deaths in western Baghdad on Saturday, March 17th, as described in this CENTCOM release. Landry had only just returned to Iraq after an eight day leave spent with his family.

Monday, March 19, 2007 2:32 PM -
	(1) The DoD has released the identity of the soldier who died in an IED blast south of Baghdad on Friday, March 16th: Sergeant 1st Class Christopher R. Brevard, 31, of Phoenix, Arizona.
Christopher R. Brevard, 31, of Phoenix, Arizona
	(2) The DoD has also released the identity of the Task Force Lightning soldier who died in an explosion in Diyala Province on Saturday, March 17th: Sergeant 1st Class Benjamin L. Sebban, 29, of [later correction: South Amboy, New Jersey]. Sebban died in the vicinity of Ba'qubah from a roadside bomb blast.
	(3) Finally, the DoD has released the identity of the Marine who died from enemy action in Al Anbar Province on Saturday, March 17th: Lance Corporal Harry H. Timberman, 20, of Minong, Wisconsin. According to an article from the Associated Press, Timberman was originally from Colorado, but moved with his mother to Minong in his sophomore year in high school in 2001. He joined the Marines in 2005 and had been in Iraq since January.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007 4:59 AM -

Anthony A. Kaiser, 27, of Narrowsburg, New York

The DoD has released the identity of a soldier who reportedly died in Baghdad of small arms fire on Saturday, March 17th: Private 1st Class Anthony A. Kaiser, 27, of Narrowsburg, NY. Kaiser was a military policeman stationed at Fort Lewis, WA. The units that currently make up Multi-National Corps - Iraq are also based at Fort Lewis. Recently, certain of those units have been shifted up north to Diyala Province to help quell rising violence around Ba'qubah ... in fact, they experienced a death on March 14th when Cpl. Brian Chevalier was killed in a suburb of Ba'qubah. All of this leads us to believe that Kaiser was the MNC-I death described in this CENTCOM release. According to an article in the Middletown (New York) Times Herald-Record, Kaiser's father lost his wife to cancer in the early 90's, then lost a son in a car accident in 1997 ... and now has lost another son to the war on Iraq. Anthony Kaiser had set his sights on being a state patrolman. But after completing training, he decided it was not for him. In 2004 he joined the army and was currently in Iraq training Iraqi soldiers. He leaves behind a wife, his father and a younger brother.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007 5:57 AM -

The El Paso (Texas) Times is reporting the death of a 26-year-old soldier from Grand Rapids, Michigan, in Iraq: Private 1st Class William Davis. Although an exact date of death was not given in the article, Davis's unit is the same as Pfc. John Landry Jr. It was a unit currently known to be operating in a western neighborhood of Baghdad, Ghazaliya. Thus, Davis is likely one of the four soldiers who died in an IED blast on Saturday, March 17th, in western Baghdad. His mother says, "He wanted to join [the army] when he was 18 and I kicked the recruiter out of my house." But his grandfather had served in WWII and his father in Vietnam ... and he wanted to serve as well. He signed up less than a year ago. Davis was scheduled to return home on leave in less than a month to attend the birth of his son. He also has a 3-year-old daughter.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007 6:31 AM -
John S. Stephens, 41, of La Grande, Oregon	(1) The DoD has released the identity of the soldier who died in an explosion in the vicinity of Tikrit in Salah ad Din Province on Thursday, March 15th: Sergeant 1st Class John S. Stephens, 41. According to an article that appears in the Oregonian, Stephens was born in Prineville, Oregon, but grew up in the town of La Grande, attending high school there ... followed by two years at Eastern Oregon University in La Grande. He had served in the army since August of 1985 ... and was thinking of retiring and trying for a second career with the CIA working with computers. Stephens had been deployed to Operation Desert Storm and three other overseas tours, including one to Bosnia. His father was told that he was riding in a command vehicle on March 15th when it was hit by an improvised explosive device. Stephens is survived by a wife, three children and two grandchildren.
Nimo W. Tauala, 29, of Honolulu, Hawaii	(2) The DoD has also identified the Task Force Lightning soldier who died of a non-hostile unspecified cause on Saturday, March 17th: Sergeant Nimo W. Tauala, 29, of Honolulu, Hawaii. He died in Muqdadiyah in Diyala Province. His death is under investigation.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007 10:37 AM - MNF-Iraq is reporting the deaths of two Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldiers from a roadside bomb attack in a southern Baghdad neighborhood on Tuesday, March 20th.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007 12:04 PM -
	(1) The DoD has announced a new death, one that does not appear to have been previously reported by CENTCOM. According to them, Specialist Marieo Guerrero, 30, of Fort Worth, Texas, was killed by a roadside bomb in Baghdad on Saturday, March 17th. His unit, the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division is currently attached to the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division in Baghdad. They are believed to be based out of FOB Prosperity in central Baghdad. No currently known death would seem to match this one.
Marieo Guerrero, 30, of Fort Worth, Texas
	(2) The DoD is also announcing the death of a soldier at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany: Sergeant Ryan P. Green, 24, of Woodlands, Texas. Green was wounded on March 15th in a roadside bomb attack that killed four other soldiers in eastern Baghdad. He was airlifted to Germany, but died there on Sunday, March 18th. Today, March 20th, an article appeared at the DoD's DefendAmerica website that focuses on Green's unit and in which he was quoted, likely the last quote he gave before his injury.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007 4:44 PM - The DoD has identified the four soldiers who died in a roadside bombing in western Baghdad on Saturday, March 17th:
	Sergeant John E. Allen, 25, of Palmdale, California
	Sergeant Ed Santini, 25, of Toa Baja, Puerto Rico
	Private 1st Class William N. Davis, 26, of Adrian, Michigan
	Private 1st Class John F. Landry Jr., 20, of Lowell, Massachusetts

Wednesday, March 21, 2007 12:34 PM -
	A family member has written us to correct the mistaken hometown information initially given by the Department of Defense on the Task Force Lightning soldier who died in an explosion in Diyala Province on Saturday, March 17th: Sergeant 1st Class Benjamin L. Sebban, 29. Sebban grew up in South Amboy, N.J. According to this AP story, Sebban was born in Tunisia, North Africa, as a U.S. citizen and at age 4 moved to South Amboy with his mother. He graduated from East Brunswick Vocational High School in New Jersey, and Word of Life Bible College in Schroon Lake, N.Y.
Benjamin L. Sebban, 29, of South Amboy, New Jersey

Wednesday, March 21, 2007 5:45 PM - Five months after the fact, the DoD has announced the death of Lieutenant Colonel Peter E. Winston, 56, of Plant City, FL. He is reported to have died on November 13, 2006, in Kaiserslautern, Germany, from a non-hostile unspecified cause that occurred while he was stationed in Iraq. [Note: This entry is logged directly into our November 2006 Archive.]

Thursday, March 22, 2007 4:43 AM -
	(1) CENTCOM is reporting the death of a Marine from enemy action in Al Anbar Province on Wednesday, March 21st.
	(2) CENTCOM is also reporting the death of a soldier from enemy action in Al Anbar Province on Wednesday, March 21st.
	(3) Lastly, CENTCOM is reporting the death of a soldier in a small arms fire attack in a western neighborhood of Baghdad on Wednesday, March 21st.

Thursday, March 22, 2007 5:50 AM -
	The DoD has identified the two soldiers who died in a roadside bomb blast in southern Baghdad on Tuesday, March 20th:
		Sergeant Wayne R. Cornell, 26, of Holstein, Nebraska
		Private 1st Class Stephen K. Richardson, 22, of Bridgeport, Connecticut
	According to Hastings (Nebraska) station KHAS-TV, Cornell had been in the Nebraska Army National Guard based out of Hastings before signing up with the regular army. The Beatrice (Nebraska) Daily Sun is reporting [broken link] that he was also a volunteer firefighter in Holstein, where he was raised. One of Cornell's passions was Tae Kwon Do, a sport in which he held a black belt. In fact, he taught the martial arts to soldiers in special operations. He had previously been deployed to Afghanistan and Bosnia, but this was his first assignment in Iraq. His wife is expecting their third child.
	The Jamaica Observer has an article out on Richardson, a Jamaican who had been living in the United States since 1999 and who had joined the army two years ago. He had only been in Iraq for about 6 weeks at the time of his death. His mother in Jamaica first heard the news of his death from his wife ... but later, a lieutenant from the American Embassy in Kingston came to her home to confirm it. "She told the Observer that she had cried so much the day before, she felt like she had no more tears left." She would like him to be buried in Jamaica. Richardson has one child ... and a second on the way.

Thursday, March 22, 2007 7:56 PM -
	(1) MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldier when an improvised explosive device detonated in a western neighborhood of Baghdad on Thursday, March 22nd.
	(2) The DoD is also announcing a second new death not previously reported by CENTCOM: Private 1st Class Joey T. Sams II, 22, of Spartanburg, South Carolina. Sams died at Camp Beuhring in Kuwait on Wednesday, March 21st, of injuries he received when he was pinned between two vehicles.
Joey T. Sams II, 22, of Spartanburg, South Carolina
	(3) The DoD has announced what looks like a new death not previously reported by CENTCOM. Specialist Curtis E. Glawson Jr., 24, of Daleville, Alabama, died on Tuesday, March 20th, in Baghdad from wounds he received in a roadside bomb attack. It is possible that he was the soldier reported wounded in this CENTCOM release ... the same attack that killed Sgt. Wayne Cornell and Pfc. Stephen Richardson. All three men were with the 1st Infantry Division based out of Fort Riley, KS. A brief Associated Press article says that Glawson was a light-wheel vehicle mechanic on his first deployment to Iraq.

Thursday, March 22, 2007 8:35 PM -

An article from the Associated Press and also a piece from the Meridian Star are reporting the death of Marine Corporal Dustin Lee, 20, of Stonewall, Mississippi. According to his father, Lee died on Wednesday, March 21st, when he was hit in the chest by shrapnel during a mortar attack in Fallujah in Al Anbar Province. He is likely the death described in this CENTCOM release. Lee dreamed of someday following in his father's footsteps and becoming a highway patrolman.

Friday, March 23, 2007 8:55 AM -
	(1) The DoD has confirmed the death of Marine Corporal Dustin J. Lee, 20, of Quitman, Mississippi, from enemy action in Al Anbar Province on Wednesday, March 21st. Lee served with the Headquarters Battalion of the Marine Corps Logistics Command based at the 3300 acre Marine Corps Logistics Base at Albany, GA.
Nicholas J. Lightner, 29, of Newport, Oregon	(2) On March 15th, a 6-man team from 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment out of Fort Hood, TX, was struck by a roadside bomb in eastern Baghdad. Four members of the team died instantly: Staff Sgt. Blake Harris, Staff Sgt. Terry Prater, Sgt. Emerson Brand and Pfc. James Arnold. The fifth team member, Sgt. Ryan Green made it as far as Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany before succumbing to his wounds on March 18th. On Wednesday, March 21st, the last surviving teammember, 29-year-old Army medic Sergeant Nick Lightner of Toledo, Oregon, died at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., this according to an article in the Oregonian. Family members were on their way to visit him at the time of his death. Lightner had enlisted in the army four years ago and was deployed to Iraq last November.
	(3) CENTCOM is reporting the death of a Marine from enemy action in Al Anbar Province on Thursday, March 22nd.

Friday, March 23, 2007 10:19 AM - The DoD has announced what would appear to be a new death, not previously reported by CENTCOM. They are confirming the death of Sergeant 1st Class Darrell R. Griffin Jr., 36, of Alhambra, California, in a small arms fire attack on Wednesday, March 21st. But they are saying that he died in Balad in Salah ad Din Province. There was a small arms fire death in western Baghdad on the 21st, but that was a soldier assigned to Multi-National Division - Baghdad. Griffin's unit, the Stryker unit 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment out of Fort Lewis, WA, was assigned to Multi-National Corps - Iraq ... and stationed, at least recently, south of Baghdad in Iskandariyah in Babil Province [see this article from US News & World Report from March 11th in which Griffin is actually quoted in the second paragraph]. It is possible that he was wounded elsewhere and died in Balad as they were attempting to airlift him out of the country. At this point, not enough information is available to know with certainty what the exact circumstances of his death were.

Friday, March 23, 2007 10:51 AM - The DoD has confirmed the death of Sergeant Nicholas J. Lightner, 29, of Newport, Oregon, at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, March 21st. He was wounded in a roadside bomb blast in Baghdad on March 15th.

Saturday, March 24, 2007 7:32 AM -
	(1) CENTCOM is reporting the death of a Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldier when his dismounted patrol was hit with an improvised explosive device south of Baghdad on Friday, March 23rd.
	(2) CENTCOM is also reporting the death of a Multi-National Force - West soldier from enemy action in Al Anbar Province on Friday, March 23rd.

Saturday, March 24, 2007 7:49 AM -

The Tacoma (Washington) News-Tribune has clarified some of the details of the death of Staff Sergeant Darrell R. Griffin Jr., 36, on Wednesday, March 21st. They report that he was actually shot in the Baghdad area, but died in a Balad medical facility as they were attempting to airlift him out of the country. This news makes it possible that he was actually the death described in this CENTCOM release. However, we will leave him as a separate death for the time being because, to the best of our knowledge, he was not assigned to Multi-National Division - Baghdad, but to Multi-National Corps - Iraq. Griffin was an experienced infantry squad leader with the Stryker brigade out of Fort Lewis, WA, who had also served for three years in the Army National Guard. He had been on active duty since 2001. His former commander wrote of him, "He's a tough SOB, but he is going to train you to the max and keep you straight when the bullets are flying."

Saturday, March 24, 2007 8:17 PM -

The Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune is reporting the death of a Minnesota Army National Guardman in Iraq on Friday, March 23rd. Sergeant Greg Riewer, 28, of Frazee, Minnesota, was killed in the vicinity of Fallujah, Al Anbar Province, when an IED detonated near his vehicle while out on patrol. An Associated Press article states that Riewer was one of 13 siblings in his family ... and that his brother, Staff Sergeant Andrew Riewer, was serving in the same ANG company with him.

Sunday, March 25, 2007 7:03 AM -
	Dallas/Fort Worth station CBS-11 is reporting the death of Specialist Lance Springer II, 23, of Benbrook, Texas. The army medic died on Friday, March 23rd, in an improvised explosive device attack. He is likely the death described in this CENTCOM release.

Sunday, March 25, 2007 7:40 AM -

The DoD has identified the soldier who died in an IED attack in western Baghdad on Thursday, March 22nd: Sergeant Freeman L. Gardner Jr., 26, of Little Rock, Arkansas. Gardner was assigned to the 3rd Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, out of Fort Lewis, WA, which brigade has conducted joint security operations recently with Iraqi troops in the western Baghdad district of Mansour. Apparently, Gardner attended the University of Oklahoma and belonged to the first fraternity founded by black men. His fraternity brothers mourn his passing here. He was married.

Sunday, March 25, 2007 10:54 AM -
	(1) The DoD has confirmed the death of Specialist Lance C. Springer II, 23, of Fort Worth, Texas, from a roadside bomb attack south of Baghdad on Friday, March 23rd.
	(2) The DoD has also confirmed the death of Minnesota Army National Guardsman Sergeant Greg N. Riewer, 30, of Frazee, Minnesota, in a roadside bomb attack at Habbaniyah near Fallujah in Al Anbar Province on Friday, March 23rd.
	(3) The DoD has identified the soldier who died from enemy action in Al Anbar Province on Wednesday, March 21st. Sergeant Adrian J. Lewis, 30, of Mauldin, South Carolina, died in a small arms fire attack in the vicinity of Ramadi. An article from the Columbia (South Carolina) station WLTX quotes the Associated Press as saying that Lewis leaves behind a wife and four children. He was on his third overseas deployment.
Adrian J. Lewis, 30, of Mauldin, South Carolina

Sunday, March 25, 2007 5:43 PM -
	(1) CENTCOM is reporting the deaths of four Task Force Lightning soldiers in a roadside bomb attack in Diyala Province on Sunday, March 25th. Two other soldiers were wounded in the attack.
	(2) CENTCOM is also reporting the death of a Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldier in a roadside bomb attack in a northwestern section of Baghdad on Sunday, March 25th. Two other soldiers were wounded.

Monday, March 26, 2007 1:23 PM -

The Portland (Maine) Press Herald is reporting the death of South Portland native Jason Swiger, 24. According to his mother, Swiger was one of four soldiers killed in Diyala Province on Sunday, March 25th. The army told her that Swiger and four other soldiers had stopped their vehicle to give candy to children when a passing motorcyclist blew himself up, killing Swiger and three of the others. He was on his third deployment to Iraq ... and is the second South Portland native to die there this month, Pfc. Angel Rosa having been killed on the 13th.

Monday, March 26, 2007 3:10 PM -
	(1) Correction: On March 22nd, CENTCOM issued a notice of a small arms fire death in western Baghdad on March 21st. Then on March 23rd, the DoD identified a soldier, Sergeant 1st Class Darrell R. Griffin Jr., who had died in Balad from a small arms fire attack on the 21st. At the time, it was not apparent that both deaths were one and the same, so each was listed separately. We now know, however, that Griffin was wounded in Baghdad and died in Balad as they were attempting to airlift him out of the country. These deaths do appear to be duplicates and will be combined, thus reducing the death count by one.
	(2) The DoD has identified the Marine who died from enemy action in Al Anbar Province on Thursday, March 22: Corporal Henry W. Bogrette, 21, of Richville, New York. The Associated Press reports that Bogrette was raised by his grandmother after his father was killed in a car accident in 1990. He graduated from Hermon-Dekalb Central High School in 2004 ... but returned several times after becoming a Marine to talk to the students about the realities of the war in Iraq. He served as a military policeman and has two siblings that are also in military service.
Henry W. Bogrette, 21, of Richville, New York
	(3) The DoD has announced a new death, one not previously reported by CENTCOM. Marine Reservist Lance Corporal Trevor A. Roberts, 21, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, died in enemy action in Al Anbar Province on Saturday, March 24th.
Trevor A. Roberts, 21, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Monday, March 26, 2007 7:52 PM - The Associated Press is quoting a spokesman for the 143rd Sustainment Command in Orlando, FL, as saying that Army Reservist Lieutenant Colonel Peter Winston, 56, of Plant City, Florida, had committed suicide. Winston, a long time member of the Florida National Guard and Army Reserve, had volunteered for active duty four years ago and had served in Kuwait as a safety officer. According to information gleaned from the DoD casualty databases, his death occurred at Rhine Ordnance Barracks adjacent to Ramstein Air Base in Kaiserslautern, Germany, on November 13, 2006. [Note: This entry is logged directly into our November 2006 Archive.]

Tuesday, March 27, 2007 11:30 AM - The DoD has added a new name to their database of American military deaths associated with Operation Iraqi Freedom: Staff Sergeant Gina Renae Sparks, 35, of Drury, Missouri. This is a very old death. She died on October 4, 2004, at Fort Polk, LA, from a non-hostile, unspecified cause ... and we have been unable to learn more. She was assigned to the 115th Field Hospital out of Fort Polk, a unit that did serve in Iraq from July of 2004 to at least the fall of 2004, stationed at the Abu Ghuraib prison just west of Baghdad. [Note: we have re-numbered all U.S. military deaths in our database to reflect this sad news. If you know anything more about Gina Renae Sparks, please send to: USWarWatch websteward.]

Tuesday, March 27, 2007 3:57 PM -
	(1) MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a Marine from enemy action in Al Anbar Province on Tuesday, March 27th.
	(2) The Associated Press is reporting that there were casualties when Baghdad's Green Zone came under rocket attack on Tuesday, March 27th: one U.S. soldier and one American working as a government contractor were killed.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007 4:49 PM - The DoD has identified the four soldiers who died in Ba'qubah in Diyala Province on Sunday, March 25th, when a suicide bomber on a motorcycle blew himself up nearby after they had exited their vehicle:
	Sergeant Jason W. Swiger, 24, of South Portland, Maine
	Corporal Jason Nunez, 22, of Naranjito, Puerto Rico
	Private 1st Class Orlando E. Gonzalez, 21, of New Freedom, Pennsylvania
	Private 1st Class Anthony J. White, 21, of Columbia, South Carolina

Tuesday, March 27, 2007 7:46 PM - MNF-Iraq has now confirmed earlier media reports of a U.S. soldier's death in a rocket attack on the Green Zone in central Baghdad on Tuesday, March 27. That soldier was assigned to Multi-National Corps - Iraq. The statement added that a second soldier was wounded in the attack.

Wednesday, March 28, 2007 3:19 PM -

Moosic (Pennsylvania) station WNEP is reporting the death of Army National Guardsman Sergeant 1st Class Sean Thomas of Hughesville, Pennsylvania, in Iraq on Tuesday, March 27th. According to his relatives, he was merely walking down the street in Baghdad's Green Zone when he was struck by a missile. Thomas had already served one tour of duty in Afghanistan and was on his second tour of Iraq. Last April he had married ... and 6 months ago his wife had given birth to a baby girl.

Wednesday, March 28, 2007 5:56 PM -
	(1) The DoD has identified the soldier who died in a roadside bomb attack in northwest Baghdad on Sunday, March 25th: Specialist Sean K. McDonald, 21, of Rosemount, Minnesota.
Sean K. McDonald, 21, of Rosemount, Minnesota
	(2) The DoD is also announcing a new death, one not previously reported by CENTCOM: Sergeant Curtis J. Forshey, 22, of Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. Forshey died of a non-combat related illness at a hospital in Homburg, Germany, on Tuesday, March 27th.
Curtis J. Forshey, 22, of Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania

Thursday, March 29, 2007 5:46 AM -
	The DoD has released the identity of the Marine Reservist who died from enemy action in Al Anbar Province on Tuesday, March 27th: Staff Sergeant Marcus A. Golczynski, 30, of Lewisburg, Tennessee. Golczynski had served a six month stint in Fallujah in 2004, returning to the States in October of that year. He volunteered for a second deployment last summer.

Thursday, March 29, 2007 10:45 AM - The DoD has confirmed the death of Pennsylvania Army National Guardsman Master Sergeant Sean M. Thomas, 33, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He died on Tuesday, March 27th, in an indirect fire attack on the Green Zone in Baghdad.

Friday, March 30, 2007 7:04 AM - CENTCOM is reporting the death of a Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldier from an imrovised explosive device attack in southern Baghdad on Thursday, March 29th. Another soldier was wounded in the incident.

Saturday, March 31, 2007 6:35 AM - CENTCOM is reporting the death of a Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldier on Friday, March 30th, from a non-hostile, unspecified cause, presumably in the Baghdad area.

Sunday, April 01, 2007 1:55 PM - MNF-Iraq is reporting the deaths of six Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldiers southwest of Baghdad from improvised explosive devices. Apparently, a first IED detonated late on Saturday, March 31st, killing two soldiers and wounding two. Then, early on Sunday, April 1st, four more soldiers died when a second device went off as the patrol was responding to the first blast.

Sunday, April 01, 2007 2:47 PM - The Middletown (New York) Times Herald-Record has published another article on army soldier Anthony Kaiser, 27, of Narrowsburg, New York, who was killed in a firefight in Iraq on March 17th. Kaiser has been posthumously promoted to the rank of Specialist.

Monday, April 02, 2007 1:34 PM - Syracuse (New York) station News 10 Now is reporting that seven soldiers from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division out of Fort Drum, NY, died in three separate incidents on Saturday, March 31st, and Sunday, April 1st. CENTCOM has already informed us that six of those soldiers died in two separate IED blasts southwest of Baghdad ... two on the 31st and four on the 1st. We have no idea when or where the seventh death happened, so we will assign it to Sunday, April 1st, for the time being ... and will change it later if this turns out to be mistaken.

Monday, April 02, 2007 4:05 PM -
	The DoD has released the identities of two soldiers who died as a result of an IED blast southwest of Baghdad on Saturday, March 31st. Specialist Wilfred Flores Jr., 20, of Lawton, Oklahoma, apparently died at the scene on March 31st. However, the DoD is reporting that Staff Sergeant Jason R. Arnette, 24, of Amelia, Virginia, died the next day, April 1st. The CENTCOM release regarding the March 31st blast did say that two soldiers died (presumably) at the scene, and another two were wounded. We can only assume that Arnette was one of the wounded. If this is true, then Arnette would be the seventh Fort Drum death mentioned in this news article from earlier today.
Wilfred Flores Jr., 20, of Lawton, Oklahoma
Jason R. Arnette, 24, of Amelia, Virginia

Tuesday, April 03, 2007 7:32 AM -
	The DoD has identified the soldier who died in southern Baghdad on March 29th from an attack involving an IED and small arms fire: Sergeant Joe Polo, 24, of Opalocka, Florida.

Tuesday, April 03, 2007 9:05 AM -

Several media articles have appeared now on the death of Army 1st Lieutenant Neale M. Shank, 25, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, in Iraq. But none had provided an exact date or details on his death. Now the Associated Press is reporting that he died on Friday, March 30th ... and the Fort Wayne (Indiana) News-Sentinel is reporting that his family was informed Monday that a fellow soldier had found him dead from a gunshot wound to the head. This leads us to believe that Shank is the non-hostile, unspecified cause death described in this CENTCOM release. Shank enlisted in the army right out of high school, and was later accepted into the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, graduating in 2005. He was halfway through a yearlong deployment to Iraq. Shank was single.

Tuesday, April 03, 2007 3:09 PM -
	(1) The DoD has confirmed the death of 1st Lieutenant Neale M. Shank in a non-combat related incident in Baghdad. However, they list his death on Saturday, March 31st ... whereas CENTCOM had reported what was likely that very death as occurring on the 30th. We will go with the DoD's date unless other information comes to light. Shank was assigned to the 2nd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division out of Fort Drum.
	(2) An earlier article that appeared at News 10 Now claimed that seven soldiers from Fort Drum's 2nd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division had died over the weekend in three separate incidents. In hindsight, it is now clear that 1st Lieutenant Shank was one of those deaths. The IED attack that occurred on March 31st was meant to be the second incident. Two soldiers died as a result: Specialist Wilfred Flores on March 31st and Staff Sergeant Jason Arnette on April 1st. The third incident was the IED attack southwest of Baghdad on April 1st which killed four soldiers. The extra death that we had listed on March 31st will now be deleted, thus reducing our death count by one.