Iraqi, U.S. forces patrol streets of south Baghdad
Maj. Alayne Conway, 4th Brigade Combat Team PAO 

BAGHDAD Nov. 29, 2005– Iraqi Security Forces and Task Force Baghdad Soldiers kept the pressure on terrorists operating in the Al-Rashid district Nov. 27-28 in an effort to set the conditions for the Dec. 15 elections and deny the enemy the opportunity to carry out attacks. On Nov. 28, elements from 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment conducted a cordon and search in western Rashid detaining three terror suspects.

Iraqi forces from the 4th Public Order Brigade received small-arms fire in Dora Nov. 27 around 7 p.m.  The attackers fled and ran into a mosque, causing the Iraqi forces to follow them. The Ministry of Interior approved the mosque entry for the Iraqi forces at 11 p.m.  The Iraqi forces entered and found a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, an RPG round and 190 rounds of machine-gun ammunition.  There were no detainees in the incident.   

 Early in the evening of Nov. 27, Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment responded to a coordinated attack involving a roadside bomb and small-arms fire in eastern Rashid.  The blast from the improvised explosive device caused minimal damage to the patrol.  The Soldiers immediately conducted a counterattack and found an initiation wire leading to a nearby house.  The Soldiers detained two terror suspects found in the house.

             Tip leads Iraqi Security Forces to car bomb
Maj. Russ Goemaere, 2nd Brigade Combat Team PAO 

BAGHDAD  Nov. 29, 2005– A tip from a local resident, given to Iraqi Security Forces Nov. 28, may have helped save many lives. Elements of the Iraqi Army in Adhamiyah, working with Iraqi Police, responded to information provided by a citizen that a vehicle bomb was located near the Abu Baker School and Tahmad Gas Station in the Uhr neighborhood.When they reached the location, the Iraqi Army discovered a silver Hyundai with four 155-millimeter artillery rounds and one propane gas container inside.The area was immediately secured by the ISF and an Iraqi Police explosive ordnance disposal team rendered the improvised explosive device safe. 

“This was a great operation,” aid Capt. Dan Cummings, an operations officer with the U.S. Army’s 1st Battalion, 64th Armor.  “Iraqi citizens are choosing the side of democracy and progress.  The citizen who reported this is a hero and may have saved the lives of many innocent children today.”

The mighty Third is back in the battle again. The 3d Infantry Division has been called back to Iraq to complete the job after they captured Baghdad in 2003. The insurgents have been halting efforts to bring an everlasting peace to the Iraqi citizens. The division was ordered back as Task Force Iraq, a duty to secure the city of Baghdad. Since their arrival the division has had 13 casualties with 6 deaths this month alone.

One of the killed in action on Feb. 26th, 2005 was PFC Min Soo Choi, a Korean immigrant here in the United States living in River Vale, NJ, my hometown, only 7 years. He loved this country dearly. After the attack on United States September 11, 2001 he was very upset knowing well what America did for his country during the Korean War, joined the Army and was later sent to serve with the 3d Infantry at Ft. Stewart, Georgia.

A memorial service was held for him in the school he attended. PFC Choi was not
an American citizen upon entering service and died that way. U.S. Senator Lautenberg, NJ, saw to it that he become a United States citizen posthumously,  Maj. Gen. Michael R. Mazzucchi, presented the parents with the Purple Heart, Bronze Star Medal, Good Conduct Medal and the Combat Infantrymen’s Badge. Mrs. Angela Harris presented Mr. Choi with a pair of spurs and his Dog Tags with a picture of him before departing to Iraq. Mrs. Harris is the wife of LtCol. Michael J. Harris, PFC Choi’s Commander of the 8th Cavalry Regiment.

At the last reunion, General William Webster gave me a few “Outstanding Soldier” coins to present to the families of any 3d Division soldiers killed in action from New Jersey. Angela Harris and I made the presentation on behalf of the Society of the 3d Infantry Division.

A police escort was given to Arlington National Cemetery for the burial at 1:00 PM. Colonel John Insani, Secretary /Treasurer of Outpost 7, in the Washington DC area presented himself to the family. They recognized the 3d Division lapel button on his jacket and were immediately received by the family and were given a red rose for placement on the casket.
Colonel Insani has been instrumental in doing these honorable deeds often throughout the years and is most appreciated by me from Outpost 5.

Joseph M. Poggi
Outpost 5

Two soldiers from Fort Stewart killed in Iraq
They were the first casualties reported from the Division since its 19,000 soldiers deployed for a second tour in Iraq last month.

Sgt Daniel Torres was killed recently while serving in Iraq.
 (AP PHOTO/Family Photo) Family photo FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM /AP

The Associated Press, February 9, 2005
The 3rd Infantry Division has suffered its first fatalities since last month's deployment.

Staff Sgt. Steven G. Bayow, 42, of Colonia, on the island of Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia, and Sgt. Daniel Torres, 23, of Fort Worth, Texas, died Friday in Bayji, Iraq when a roadside bomb exploded, hitting their patrol vehicle.

Five other soldiers were wounded in the blast about 140 miles north of Baghdad.

Torres had been looking forward to the birth of his first child. His girlfriend is five weeks pregnant. But Torres' father said the young soldier had doubts he would return.
"The last time we saw him, he told us not to worry if the Army came to his house to tell us he had died," Sergio Torres said Tuesday from Fort Worth. "He had a hunch it would happen. When he came to visit us in December, he told us he didn't know if he would return."

Bayow entered the Army in 1999 and arrived at Fort Stewart in April 2003. Torres entered the Army in June 2001 and arrived at Fort Stewart that November. Both were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment of the First Brigade. That's the same battalion as Sgt. Kevin Bendermen, who is seeking conscientious objector's status and facing charges of desertion and missing movement.

Although the exact mission of the soldiers' unit is unknown, division spokesman Lt. Col. Robert Whetstone said most of the troops have basically the same mission: helping the Iraqis to set up their own government by providing security and logistics as well as training Iraqi security forces.

Since May 1, 2003, when President Bush declared that major combat operations in Iraq had ended, 1,312 U.S. military members have died, according to AP's count. That includes at least 998 deaths resulting from hostile action, according to the military's numbers.

Savannah Morning News military reporter Michael Fabey contributed to this report.

April 18, 2005-Two soldiers based in Georgia have died in Iraq over the past few days, military authorities said Monday.

The Pentagon said Army Specialist Aleina Ramirez Gonzalez, 33, of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico, of the Fort Stewart-based 3rd Infantry Division was killed in a mortar attack in Tikrit on Friday.

Ramirez Gonzalez was assigned to the Third Brigade Troop Battalion of the 3rd Infantry based at Fort Stewart, officials said. She was the 20th Fort Stewart-based soldier to die since the 19,000 3rd Infantry members from the post deployed to Iraq in January for second time since the 2003 invasion.

Ramirez Gonzalez became the third Puerto Rican woman and the 28th person overall from the U.S. Caribbean territory to die in the Iraq war. Another five Puerto Ricans have died in Afghanistan.

"She was a brave one because it was the third time she went to Iraq," her father, William Ramirez, was quoted as saying in El Nuevo Dia newspaper's Monday edition.

Her father said that Ramirez Gonzalez was born in the southwestern town of Guayanilla and saw him as an example because he had spent 27 years in the U.S. military, serving in Vietnam for two years and twice in Iraq during the Persian Gulf War in 1991. He said she was hoping to retire from military service after 20 years and become eligible for a pension.

He said his daughter arrived in Iraq for the last time in December after she joined up for active duty less than a year ago. Previously, Ramirez Gonzalez spent 14 years in the National Guard in the southern town of Yauco.

Pvt. 1st Class Steven F. Sirko, 20, of Portage, Ind., died Sunday Muqdadiyah, Iraq, of non-combat related injuries, officials said. Sirko was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, of the 3rd Infantry's 3rd Brigade, based at Fort Benning.

Pfc. Danny L. Anderson, 29, of Corpus Christi, Texas, died Feb. 27 in Baghdad, Iraq, from injuries sustained from small arms fire. Anderson was assigned to the Army's 26th Forward Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

SAVANNAH, Ga. - Even after 17 years in the Army with three combat deployments, Sgt. 1st Class David J. Salie maintained a playful appetite for mischief. As a father, he loved to wrestle his children on the floor and engage them in french-fry sword fights at McDonald's. As a soldier, he relished the adrenaline rush of gunfire and explosions.

"My husband said he was the ultimate Dennis the Menace," Salie's wife, Deanna, said Friday. "His job was wonderful because he got to blow up stuff, break things and do things that he got spanked for as a kid." Salie, 34, of Columbus died Monday when a bomb ripped open his armored Humvee in Baqouba, Iraq, killing him instantly. He was assigned to Fort Benning's 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment of the 3rd Infantry Division.

The deaths of Salie and Pfc. David J. Brangman, 20, of Lake Worth, Fla. - killed Sunday in Uvanni, Iraq, when a mortar round hit his vehicle - raised to seven the number of 3rd Infantry troops killed since the Fort Stewart-based division deployed last month for its second tour in Iraq. "You never think that your son won't come home," Brangman's mother, Inez Ortiz, told the Palm Beach Post, saying her son had his 20th birthday two weeks before he was killed. "To lose your child in the same month that you brought him in is doubly hard."

When Salie arrived at Fort Benning in 2003 as an infantry platoon sergeant, he had served in the U.S. invasion of Panama in 1989 and the 1991 Persian Gulf War. He stood an imposing 6 feet, 5 inches and weighed 230 pounds. But the veteran soldier was troubled about going to Iraq. His wife said he confided two months before deploying that he felt he wouldn't come home alive. He also left videotapes with personal messages for his wife and their three young children if his premonition came true.

On one tape, "he told me that he felt in his heart he was doing the right thing, he was going to right some wrongs he saw the last time he was there," Deanna Salie said. "He said the cause was bigger than himself and the cost was well worth it - meaning his life," she said. "I'm in total disagreement with him on that one, but that's what he said." Salie was killed on Valentine's Day. Days earlier his wife received a card from him, mailed from Kuwait, with a picture of an elderly couple on the front. "It had hearts on it that said `decrepit' and `over the hill,'" Deanna Salie said. "He wrote on the inside, `Ha, ha, ha. I'm sorry. They didn't have much of a selection and this was the best I could do.'"

Salie's father saw signs that his son, at an early age, wanted to be a soldier. Jim Salie was serving in Vietnam when he received a photograph in the mail of 2-year-old David, naked in the bathtub, saluting the camera. Twenty years later, father and son both deployed with the Army to the first Gulf War, where the elder Salie used his field-grade officer status to visit his grown-up, gung-ho son at his base camp. "He was chomping at the bit, he was ready to go war with his squad. He would say, `Dad, when are we gonna go,'" said Jim Salie, a retired policeman who spent 30 years in the Army and reserves. "David was a professional soldier and he knew what his job was. He was always very proud of his men." Salie's younger brother, Army Capt. Brian Salie, is also deployed to Iraq and is escorting his brother's body home for the funeral Wednesday.

Salie's children - 11-year-old Chyna, 6-year-old Luke and 2-year-old Hunter - will have fresh memories of their father for years to come on. "He made videos for my children for every important event in their life - their wedding days, birthdays," Deanna Salie said. "That's the kind of father he was."

Twenty-year-old Private First Class David Brangman of Lake Worth, Florida was assigned to the 3rd Battalion 69th Armor Regiment of the 3rd ID out of Fort Stewart. Defense officials say Brangman died Sunday at Patrol Base Uvanni, a military post in the Iraqi city of Samarra.

Soldier Who Died in Iraq Dreamed of Serving
'He loved what he was doing,' says a relative of the Iowan who died in a Humvee accident.

By WILLIAM PETROSKI
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
February 17, 2005

An Iowa soldier who died Sunday in Iraq loved his country and had wanted to serve in the U.S. Army since he was a little boy, a relative said Wednesday.

Spc. Dakotah "Koty" Gooding, 21, of Des Moines and two other Army soldiers died after their armored Humvee failed to negotiate a curve and plunged into frigid waters of a canal near Balad, Iraq, U.S. Department of Defense officials said.
A fourth U.S. serviceman drowned trying to save them, and several other soldiers involved in the rescue effort received medical treatment, military officials said. Temperatures in the area were about 30 degrees when the accident occurred at 5:10 a.m.

SPECIAL TO THE REGISTER
Proud to serve: Spc. Dakotah "Koty" Gooding, 21, of Des Moines enrolled in the Army at 17
and had served in Korea and the United States before being deployed to Iraq in January.
Copyright © 2004, The Des Moines Register.

Gooding grew up in Keokuk and joined the Army about four years ago, said Melissa Bonnell, 34, of St. Charles, the deceased soldier's cousin. His mother, Judith Gooding, moved to the Des Moines area about five years ago and now lives in Urbandale, where military officials notified her Sunday night of her son's death, Bonnell said.

Joined Army at 17
Gooding attended Scavo Alternative School and Lincoln High School in Des Moines, withdrawing from classes in October 2000, said Klark Jessen , district spokesman. Bonnell said Gooding enrolled in the Army at 17 and had served in Korea and the United States before being deployed to Iraq in January.
"From the time that he was 5 years old, he always played soldier. He always wanted to be a soldier, and he comes from a long line of military family members," Bonnell said. The family plans to display a photograph outside the soldier's casket that showed him grinning from ear to ear as a boy while wearing a military uniform.

Besides his mother, other immediate survivors include Gooding's wife, Angela, of Georgia and two sisters, Jessicca and Brandy, both of Des Moines. Tentative plans call for Gooding's funeral and burial to take place on Friday or Saturday in Georgia, Bonnell said. Relatives are in Georgia, awaiting the return of his body to the Fort Stewart military base.

Checking Rocket Fire
Gooding was an Army scout who served with the Army 5th Squadron, 7th Cavalry, 3rd Infantry Division, based at Fort Stewart. He and the other two soldiers who died Sunday morning had reportedly been sent to investigate rocket fire that had been bombarding their camp near Balad, about 50 miles north of Baghdad. Gooding was the 21st Iowa serviceman to die in Iraq or Afghanistan over the past two years.

"First and foremost, he loved his family and he loved God, and he loved what he was doing," Bonnell said. "He knew that he had a mission, and it was something that we had talked about in our family for ages, and it was to protect the United States. He knew that by protecting the surrounding countries and people and by making sure that all of God's children around the world were protected and safe, that we would be protected and safe."

Gooding was especially close to his mother, who is disabled, Bonnell said. He died about three weeks after arriving in Iraq. "The one thing that I can remember him saying before he even went over there was that he was telling his mom that he was going to be OK and he was going to be fine," Bonnell said.

April 27, 2005-Spc. Gary W. Walters Jr., 31, of Victoria, Texas, died April 24 in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV. Walters was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 9th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

April 22, 2005-The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died April 19 in Baghdad, Iraq, when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated near their dismounted patrol. Both Soldiers were assigned 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, and Fort Stewart, Ga.

Spc. Jacob M. Pfister, 27, of Buffalo, N.Y. 

 
Pfc. Kevin S. K. Wessel, 20, of Newport, Ore.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - A soldier from western New York was killed when a car bomb exploded near his patrol in southern Baghdad, his family said Wednesday.
Spc. Jacob Pfister grew up in Buffalo and Evans but moved to Florida after joining the Army four years ago, his mother Amy MacGregor said.

A spokesman with the 3rd Infantry Division said the Tuesday night attack by a suicide bomber killed another U.S. soldier and wounded four. Seven Iraqi civilians were taken to the hospital with injuries.
The Department of Defense has not released information on Pfister's death.

MacGregor described her son as a serious man who loved his family.
``The way he put it to me is, `Mom, who would you rather have over there defending you, me or some other joker?''' MacGregor told WIVB-TV.
Pfister is survived by his wife, who is expecting their first child in June.
Funeral arrangements were pending.

Pfc. Wesley R. Riggs, 19, of Baytown, Texas died May 17 in Tikrit, Iraq, from injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his dismounted position. Riggs was assigned to the Army's 2d Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3d Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

Pfc. Travis W. Anderson, 28, of Hooper, Colo., died May 13 in Bayji, Iraq, when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated near his convoy. Anderson was assigned to the Army's 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga

Spec. Steven R. Givens, 26, of Mobile, Ala., died May 8 in Balad, Iraq, from injuries sustained from enemy small arms fire. Givens was assigned to the Army's 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3d Brigade, 3d Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Ga.

Sgt. Andrew R. Jodon, 27, of Karthaus, Penn., died May 12 in Samarra, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his military vehicle. Jodon was assigned to the Army's 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

Pfc. Kenneth E. Zeigler II, 22, of Dillsburg, Penn., died May 12 in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his military vehicle. Ziegler was assigned to the Army's 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

Staff Sgt. William J. Brooks, 30, of Birmingham, Ala., died May 3 in Baghdad, Iraq, when his unit was conducting a route security mission and an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV. Brooks was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Staff Sgt. Victor M. Cortes III, 29, of Erie, Pa., died May 29 in Baghdad, Iraq of non-combat-related injuries. Cortes was assigned to the 703rd Forward Support Batttalion, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

The Department of Defense announced today the death of three soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died May 24 in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near their HMMWV. They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 76th Field Artillery, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

The Soldiers are:

Sgt. Charles A. Drier, 28, of Tuscola, Mich.

Spec. Dustin C. Fisher, 22, of Fort Smith, Ark.

Pfc. Jeffrey R. Wallace, 20, of Hoopeston, Ill. 

DoD Identifies Department of the Army
Civilian Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Department of an Army civilian who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Ms. Linda J. Villar, 41, of Franklinton, La., died June 3 in Baghdad, Iraq, from injuries sustained when a mortar struck her forward operating base. Villar worked for the U.S. Army Field Support Command, Fort Stewart, Ga.

DoD Identifies Army Casualty
June 14, 2005

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Cpl. Stanley J. Lapinski, of Las Vegas, Nev., died June 11 in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his military vehicle. Lapinski was assigned to the Army's 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

DoD Identifies Army Casualty
June 16, 2005

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Sgt. Anthony G. Jones, of Greenville, S.C., died June 14 in Baghdad, Iraq, where an improvised explosive device detonated near his military vehicle. Sgt. Jones was assigned to the 104th Transportation Company, 36th Engineer Group, 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized), Fort Benning, Ga.

June 24, 2005

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Sgt. Joseph M. Tackett, 22,   of Whitehouse, Ky., died June 23 in Baghdad, Iraq, of a non-combat related injury. Tackett was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 76th Field Artillery, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

July 11, 2005

FORT STEWART, Ga. -- The Department of Defense announced Tuesday, July 5, the death of two 3rd Infantry Division Soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Sergeant Chad M. Mercer, 25, of Waycross, Ga. was assigned to the Army National Guard’s 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, Fitzgerald, Ga. Mercer died June 30 in Baghdad, Iraq when his M2A2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle rolled over while conducting combat operations.

Mercer was an infantryman. He entered the Army March 17, 1998 and arrived at Fort Stewart December 6, 2004.

Specialist Rafael A. Carrillo, Jr., 21,  of Boys Ranch, Texas was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment. Carrillo died June 28 in Baghdad, Iraq when an enemy mortar detonated near his HMMWV.

Carrillo was an indirect fire specialist. He entered the Army August 15, 2002 and arrived at Fort Stewart January 13, 2005

July 26, 2005

Spc. Adam J. Harting,   21, of Portage, Ind., died July 25 in Samarra, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Bradley Fighting Vehicle. Harting was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 42nd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

Sgt. Christopher J. Taylor,  22, of Opelika, Ala., died July 24 in Balad, Iraq, when he was hit by mortar rounds while he was exiting a bunker. Taylor was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 41st Field Artillery, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

July 29, 2005

Pvt. Ernesto R. Guerra,    20, of Long Beach, Calif., died July 29 in Baghdad, Iraq, of injuries sustained on July 28 in Baghdad, Iraq, when his HMMWV was involved in an accident. Guerra was assigned to the Army's 4-3rd Brigade Troops Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

Spc. Edward L. Myers,  21, of St. Joseph, Mo., died July 27 in Samarra, Iraq, where his unit was conducting patrol operations and an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV. Myers was assigned to the Army's 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

August 1, 2005

Pfc. Jason D. Scheuerman,    20, of Lynchburg, Va., died July 30 in Muqdadiyah, Iraq, of non-combat related injuries. Scheuerman was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Ga.

August 7, 2005

The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died on Aug. 4, in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, when their vehicle left the road and went into a river. The soldiers were assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Ga.

Killed were:
Pvt. 1st Class Damian J. Garza,  19, of Odessa, Texas.
Pvt. John M. Henderson Jr.,    21, of Columbus, Ga.

August 12, 2005

Spc. Miguel Carrasquillo,  25, of River Grove, Ill., died on Aug. 9 in Baghdad, Iraq, when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated near his military vehicle. Carrasquillo was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 76th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

August 16, 2005

1st Lt. David L. Giaimo,    24, of Waukegan, Ill., died Aug. 12, 2005, in Tikrit, Iraq, where his HMMWV hit a land mine. Giaimo was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

Spc. Rusty W. Bell,  21, of Pocahontas, Ark., died Aug. 12 in Taji, Iraq, of non-combat related injuries. Spc. Bell was assigned to the 603rd Aviation Support Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, Hunter Army Airfield, Ga. as a helicopter repairer. He entered the Army April 30, 2004. He arrived Feb. 7, 2005 to Hunter Army Airfield.

August 22, 2005
DoD Identifies Army Casualties
The Department of Defense announced today the death of four soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died on August 18, 2005, in Samarra, Iraq, where an improvised explosive device detonated near their HMMWV following a mine assessing mission. The soldiers were assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

Killed were:
Sgt. Nathan K. Bouchard, 24, of Wildomar, Calif.
Staff Sgt. Jeremy W. Doyle,  24, of Chesterton, Md.
Spc. Ray M. Fuhrmann, II,  28, of Novato, Calif.
Pfc. Timothy J. Seamans,  20, of Jacksonville, Fla.
 

August 24, 2005

1st Lt. Carlos J. Diaz, 27, of Juana Diaz, P.R., died on Aug. 23, 2005, in Baqubah, Iraq, when enemy forces detonated an explosion near his position. Diaz was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Ga.

September 2, 2005

Sgt. Monta S. Ruth,  26, of Winston-Salem, N.C., died on Aug. 31, 2005, in Samarra, Iraq, where an improvised explosive device detonated near his military vehicle during security patrol operations. Ruth was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Ga.

September 5, 2005
The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died on Sept. 1, 2005, in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near their HMMWV during patrol operations. Both soldiers were assigned to the Army National Guard's 108th Cavalry Regiment, 48th Infantry Brigade, Griffin, Ga.
Killed were:
Staff Sgt. George R. Draughn Jr., 29, of Decatur, Ga.

Sgt. 1st Class Robert L. Hollar Jr., 35, of Griffin, Ga.

Sgt. 1st Class Lonnie J. Parson, 39, of Norcross, Ga., died on Sept. 2, 2005, in Baghdad, Iraq, when his M3A2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle was struck by an enemy explosive device. Parson was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

September 6, 2005

Spc. Luke C. Williams, 35, of Knoxville, Tenn., died on Sept. 5, 2005 in Baghdad, Iraq, when the HMMWV he was riding in accidentally rolled over into a ditch. Williams was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

September 7, 2005

Sgt. Matthew C. Bohling,  22, of Eagle River, Alaska, died on Sept. 5, 2005, in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, where an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during combat operations. Bohling was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Ga.

September 8, 2005
The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died on Sept. 6, 2005, in Baghdad, Iraq, where an improvised explosive device detonated near their HMMWV causing it to rollover. Both soldiers were assigned to the Brigade Troops Battalion, Division Support Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

Killed were:

Staff Sgt. Jude R. Jonaus, 27, of Miami, Fla.

Sgt. Franklin R. Vilorio, 26, of Miami, Fla.
 

September 14, 2005

Sgt. Kurtis D. K. Arcala, 22, of Palmer, Alaska, died on Sept. 11, 2005, in Tikrit, Iraq, where an improvised explosive device detonated near his position during convoy escort operations. Arcala was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.