DOD (DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE NEWS)
Three U.S. soldiers in Iraq died yesterday in Anbar province, and Defense Department officials have identified five soldiers killed earlier. The deceased soldiers were assigned to 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division. Their names are being withheld pending notification of next of kin. The Defense Department identified three soldiers who died Aug. 6 in Iraq when an improvised explosive device detonated near their Humvee. All three soldiers were assigned to the Army's 2nd Brigade Troop Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky. Killed were: -- Staff Sgt. Stephen A. Seale, 25, of Grafton, W.Va.; -- Sgt. Carlton A. Clark, 22, of South Royalton, Vt.; and -- Cpl. Jose Zamora, 24, of Sunland Park, N.M. Officials also identified two other soldiers killed supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom: -- Army Spc. Brian J. Kubik, 20, of Harker Heights, Texas, died Aug 5 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, of injuries suffered Aug. 2 when his unit encountered enemy small-arms fire in Baghdad. Kubik was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky. -- Army Sgt. Leroy Segura Jr., 23, of Clovis, N.M., died Aug. 4, in Habbaniyah, Iraq, of injuries suffered from a Humvee accident. Segura was assigned to the 362nd Engineer Company, 54th Engineer Battalion, Fort Benning, Ga.
Three U.S. soldiers in Iraq died yesterday in Anbar province, and Defense Department officials have identified five soldiers killed earlier. The deceased soldiers were assigned to 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division. Their names are being withheld pending notification of next of kin. The Defense Department identified three soldiers who died Aug. 6 in Iraq when an improvised explosive device detonated near their Humvee. All three soldiers were assigned to the Army's 2nd Brigade Troop Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky. Killed were: -- Staff Sgt. Stephen A. Seale, 25, of Grafton, W.Va.; -- Sgt. Carlton A. Clark, 22, of South Royalton, Vt.; and -- Cpl. Jose Zamora, 24, of Sunland Park, N.M. Officials also identified two other soldiers killed supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom: -- Army Spc. Brian J. Kubik, 20, of Harker Heights, Texas, died Aug 5 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, of injuries suffered Aug. 2 when his unit encountered enemy small-arms fire in Baghdad. Kubik was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky. -- Army Sgt. Leroy Segura Jr., 23, of Clovis, N.M., died Aug. 4, in Habbaniyah, Iraq, of injuries suffered from a Humvee accident. Segura was assigned to the 362nd Engineer Company, 54th Engineer Battalion, Fort Benning, Ga.
The bodies of two soldiers missing after an Aug. 8 helicopter crash in Iraq's Anbar province have been recovered, U.S. officials announced today. Both soldiers died as a result of the accident. "Our thoughts are with the families of the soldiers," Marine spokesman Maj. Riccoh Player said. The U.S. Army UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from the 82nd Aviation Ambulance Company, in direct support of 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, went down with six servicemembers on board during an area familiarization flight. The remaining four servicemembers, two Army and two Navy, are in stable condition. Aircraft recovery efforts are ongoing. Officials said the incident does not appear to be a result of enemy action, and the incident is under investigation. In other news from Iraq, U.S. patrols found three weapons caches earlier this week. A patrol from Company A, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, found a weapons cache west of Baghdad at about 10:30 a.m. Aug. 9. The patrol seized six AK-47 assault rifles, 1,500 PKC machine gun rounds, three cases of 7.62 mm rounds, 300 loose 7.62 mm rounds, six AK-47 magazine guns, a hand grenade, and a sniper scope. Elsewhere, Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers discovered two large weapons caches during a cordon operation south of Baghdad Aug. 8 night. Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, discovered the first cache during the search of a building and the second cache in a grove adjacent to the building. The caches consisted of two RPK machine guns, three PKM machine guns, a spare PKM machine gun barrel, 19 packages of PKM ammunition, five drums of PKM ammunition, seven AK-47 rifles, 45 AK-47 magazines, eight AK-47 ammunition vests, a 60 mm mortar system, seven 60 mm mortars, 18 grenades, six grenade fuses, a rocket-propelled-grenade launcher, a long-range rifle, 18 RPG rounds, 18 RPG boosters, 250 7.62 mm rounds, 19 sticks of explosives, and a shotgun. An explosive ordnance disposal team destroyed the explosives.
Missing WWII Marine is Identified The Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that a U.S. Marine missing in action from World War II has been identified and is being returned to his family for burial with full military honors. He is Sgt. John H. Branic, U.S. Marine Corps, of Madera, Pa. He is to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. Branic was a platoon leader for L Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division on Aug. 19, 1942, when a Japanese force overran his defensive position on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. During the attack, Branic was killed, but the Marines of L Company counterattacked and succeeded in driving the Japanese back. The location of Branic's remains was not reported to headquarters, as the L Company executive officer was also killed. In February 1992, the U.S. Embassy, Solomon Islands, reported to the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) that remains believed to be those of an American had been recovered at a construction site on Guadalcanal. JPAC took possession of those remains the following month, and excavated the site where they found additional remains. In the same general area, they found World War II-era ammunition, but no additional remains. In 2004, an American researcher with the First Marine Division association reported to JPAC that a Solomon Islander had possession of a ring with the inscription "JHB" on the inside. The ring was found at the initial burial site. JPAC scientists and Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory specialists used mitochondrial DNA as one of the forensic tools to help identify the remains. Laboratory analysis of dental remains also confirmed the identification.
DoD Identifies Army Casualties The Department of Defense announced today the death of three soldiers, who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died in Baghdad, Iraq on Aug. 6, when an improvised explosive device detonated near their HMMWV while conducting a combat operations. All soldiers were assigned to the Army's 2nd Brigade Troop Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky. Killed were: Staff Sgt. Stephen A. Seale, 25, of Grafton, W.V. Sgt. Carlton A. Clark, 22, of South Royalton, Vt. Spc. Jose Zamora, 24, of Sunland Park, N.M.
DoD Identifies Army Casualty The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Staff Sgt. Tracy L. Melvin, 31, of Seattle, Wash., died of injuries sustained on Aug. 6, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during combat operations in Ar Ramadi, Iraq. Melvin was assigned to the Army's 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Division, Baumholder, Germany. Media with questions about this soldier should contact the 1st Armored Division public affairs office at 011-49-611-705-4862.
DoD Identifies Army Casualty The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Pfc. Brian J. Kubik, 20, ofHarker Heights, Texas, died on Aug 5 in Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Landstuhl, Germany, of injuries suffered on Aug 2 when his unit encountered enemy small arms fire in Baghdad, Iraq. Kubik was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.
A roadside bomb killed three Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers yesterday southwest of Baghdad, and the Defense Department released the names of servicemembers killed recently in Iraq. The names of the soldiers killed yesterday are being withheld pending notification of next of kin. The Defense Department announced the identities of three soldiers and two Marines who died recently in Iraq: Army Staff Sgt. Clint J. Storey, 30, of Enid, Okla., and Army Sgt. Bradley H. Beste, 22, of Naperville, Ill., died Aug. 4 in Ramadi, when a makeshift bomb detonated near their Humvee. Both soldiers were assigned to the 1st Calvary Regiment, 1st Armored Division, Friedberg, Germany. Marine Sgt. George M. Ulloa Jr., 23, of Austin, Texas, died Aug. 3 from wounds suffered in Anbar province. He was assigned to 2nd Tank Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. Marine Lance Cpl. Kurt E. Dechen, 24, of Springfield, Vt., died Aug. 3 from wounds suffered in Anbar province. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, while attached to Regimental Combat Team 5, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif. Army Sgt. Joshua A. Ford, 20, of Wayne, Neb., died July 31 in Numaniyah. Ford was assigned to the Army National Guard's 189th Transportation Company, 485th Corps Support Battalion, Norfolk, Neb.
DoD Identifies Army Casualty The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Sgt. Leroy Segura Jr., 23, of Clovis, N.M., died on Aug 4, in Habbaniyah, Iraq, of injuries suffered from a HMMWV accident. Segura was assigned to the 362nd Engineer Company, 54th Engineer Battalion, Fort Benning
Soldier Missing in Action From the Korean War is Identified The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Korean War, have been identified and returned to his family for burial with full military honors. He is Cpl. Edward F. Blazejewski, U.S. Army, of Elizabeth, N.J. He is to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C. on Friday. Blazejewski was assigned to Medical Company, 8th Cavalry Regiment, when his unit came under heavy artillery attack by Chinese forces near Unsan, North Korea, on Nov. 1, 1950. During the attack, Cpl. Blazejewski and other soldiers killed in action were left behind when their unit moved to a previous defensive position. A U.S. soldier who had been held as a prisoner of war by the North Koreans told debriefers that Blazejewski and others had been killed by a grenade explosion. In August 1997, a joint U.S.-North Korean team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) excavated a site in Pyongan Province believed to contain the remains of several U.S. soldiers. Remains representing four men were recovered, as well as an identification tag and a denture, neither of which were associated with Blazejewski. The other three soldiers were identified and buried in 2000. Buried at Arlington were Sgt. James T. Higgins, Benham, Ky.; and Pfc. John L. Hoey, Philadelphia, Pa. Sgt. Andrew Ernandis, Brooklyn, N.Y., was buried in Hicksville, N.Y. Group remains representing all four soldiers will also be buried Friday at Arlington. Among other forensic identification tools, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA in the identification of Blazejewski's remains, matching a DNA sequence from a maternal relative.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. Staff Sgt. Daniel A. Suplee, 39, ofOcala , Fla., died on Aug 3 at James A. Haley Veterans Hospital, Tampa, Fla., of injuries sustained on Apr 1 in Kabul, Afghanistan, when his HMMWV was involved in a traffic accident. Suplee was assigned to the National Guard 153rd Cavalry Squadron, Ocala, Fla.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a sailor who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Petty Officer 2nd Class Marc A. Lee, 28, of Hood River, Ore., was killed on Aug. 2 during combat operations while on patrol in Ramadi, Iraq. Lee was an aviation ordnanceman and a member of a West Coast-based SEAL Team.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Lance Cpl. Kurt E. Dechen, 24, of Springfield, Vt., died Aug. 3 from wounds received while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, while attached to Regimental Combat Team 5, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Sgt. George M. Ulloa Jr., 23, of Austin, Texas, died Aug. 3 from wounds suffered while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Tank Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. Media with questions about this Marine can call the 2nd Marine Division
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Sgt. Joshua A. Ford, 20, of Wayne, Neb., died on July 31 during combat operations in Al Numaniyah, Iraq. Ford was assigned to the Army National Guard 189th Transportation Company, 485th Corps Support Battalion, Norfolk, Neb.
