Defense Department has identified casualties.
A soldier from the 172nd Stryker Brigade
Combat Team died June 1 in a noncombat-related incident, military
officials in Iraq reported, and the Defense Department has identified earlier
casualties.
Officials provided no other details on the Stryker Brigade soldier's
death. The soldier's name is being withheld pending notification of the
next of kin.
Meanwhile, the Defense Department has identified several servicemembers
who died recently in Iraq:
- Army Spc. Brock L. Bucklin, 28, of Grand Rapids, Mich., died May 31
in Balad of a noncombat-related cause. Bucklin was assigned to the 1st
Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th
Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.
- Army Sgt. Benjamin E. Mejia, 25, of Salem, Mass., died in Marez on
May 31 of noncombat-related causes. Mejia was assigned to the 4th
Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Fort
Wainwright, Alaska.
- Army Cpl. Alexander J. Kolasa, 22, of White Lake, Mich., died in
Baghdad on May 31 of noncombat-related causes. Kolasa was assigned to the
704th Main Support Battalion, 4th Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort
Hood, Texas.
- Army Cpl. Bobby R. West, 23, of Beebe, Ark., died in Baghdad on May
30 of injuries suffered when a roadside bomb detonated during a
dismounted patrol. West was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry
Regiment, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
- Army Capt. James A. Funkhouser, 35, of Katy, Texas, died in Baghdad
on May 29 of injuries suffered when a vehicle-borne bomb detonated near
his Humvee during a reconnaissance patrol. Funkhouser was assigned to
the 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 4th Infantry
Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
- Marine Cpl. Richard A. Bennett, 25, of Girard, Kan., and Marine Capt.
Nathanael J. Doring, 31, of Apple Valley, Minn., died May 30 following
a nonhostile helicopter accident near Taqaddum on May 27. Both were
assigned to Marine Light/Attack Helicopter Squadron 169, Marine Aircraft
Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp
Pendleton, Calif.
