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

Sunday, September 03, 2006 7:49 AM - CENTCOM's headquarters in Iraq, MNF-Iraq, is reporting the deaths of two U.S. soldiers in eastern Baghdad from an IED attack on September 3rd.

Sunday, September 03, 2006 9:01 AM - MNF-Iraq is now reporting two more deaths, this time of U.S. Marines: one has died in the eastern portion of Al Anbar Province on September 1st, the other in the western portion of Al Anbar Province on September 3rd. Both were hostile fire deaths.

Monday, September 04, 2006 1:58 AM - MNF-Iraq, CENTCOM's headquarters in Iraq, is reporting the deaths of two Marines from Regimental Combat Team 5 due to enemy action in the Al Anbar Province on September 3rd.

Monday, September 04, 2006 6:16 AM - The British Ministry of Defense have announced the deaths of two of their soldiers near the town of Ad Dayr, north of Basrah, when they were attacked by a roadside bomb and small arms fire on September 4th. According to this report, another British soldier was seriously wounded.

Monday, September 04, 2006 8:54 AM -
	(1) MNF-Iraq is announcing the death of a 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team soldier from an IED attack near Mosul on September 3rd.
	(2) MNF-Iraq is also announcing the death of a 1st Brigade, 34th Infantry Division soldier from an IED attack north of Baghdad on September 4th.
	(3) MNF-Iraq is announcing the death of a 15th Sustainment Brigade soldier from a non-hostile, unspecified cause early in the morning on September 4th. The place of death is not reported.

Monday, September 04, 2006 5:54 PM - MNF-Iraq has issued a press release regarding yet another death on September 3rd: this time a U.S. soldier killed in an IED attack near Ba'qubah up north of Baghdad.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006 6:42 AM -
	(1) The Lancashire Evening Post is reporting the death of Stephen Wright, 20, in a roadside bombing near Basrah on September 4th. He was from Leyland in Lancashire, England. (2) The Associated Press has revealed that one of the Marines killed in the Al Anbar Province on September 3rd was Lance Corporal Philip Alexander Johnson, 19, from Enfield, Connecticut. He died in a roadside bombing near Ramadi with another Marine.
Steven Wright, 20, Lancashire, England

Tuesday, September 05, 2006 6:54 AM - The Associated Press is reporting the death of a soldier in Iraq on September 2nd ... one not previously announced by CENTCOM. Sergeant Angel D. Mercado Velazquez, 25, of Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico, died in a mortar attack in Yusufiyah in Babil Province.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006 8:15 AM -
	(1) The Buffalo News is reporting the death of Marine Lance Corporal Cliff Golla, 21, in a roadside bombing near Habbaniyah in the Al Anbar Province on September 1st. Although born in Buffalo, Lance Corporal Golla was raised in Charlotte, North Carolina.
	(2) CENTCOM is reporting the deaths of two Marines and a Navy sailor due to hostile action in the Al Anbar Province on September 4th.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006 9:40 AM -
	(1) The Daily Item is reporting on the death of Private 1st Class Justin Dreese, 22, of Freeburg, Pennsylvania. The striking thing about this article is that the details of the death exactly mirror that of Sergeant Angel Mercado Velasquez in a mortar attack on September 2nd ... a mortar attack that CENTCOM has issued no report on. In fact, this article actually states that "a sergeant" was also killed in the attack that killed Dreese. We think it is safe to say that Dreese and Mercado died together
	(2) According to this AFX news item, the two Marines and Navy sailor who died together on September 4th died in Fallujah when a roadside bomb blew apart their vehicle.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006 10:04 AM - Two sources, the Columbus Dispatch and Ohio News Now have stories out about the death of Marine Lance Corporal Ryan Miller on September 3rd. The details of the roadside bomb attack coupled with the fact that he was serving "west of Habbaniyah" lead us to believe that he was the Marine who died with Lance Corporal Philip Johnson near Ramadi. Lance Corporal Miller was 21 years old and from Gahanna, Ohio.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006 2:13 PM -
	(1) The British Ministry of Defense is confirming the death of Gunner Stephen Robert Wright, 20, in Iraq on September 4th. According to the MOD, the other British soldier who died in the same incident was also assigned to Gunner Wright's 12 Regiment Royal Artillery unit, although his name has not been released yet.
	(2) The DoD has identified the 3rd Heavy Brigade, 4th Infantry Division soldier who died in an IED attack at Ba'qubah on September 3rd: Private 1st Class Nicholas A. Madaras, 19, of Wilton, Connecticut.
Nicholas A. Madaras, 19, Wilton, Connecticut
	(3) The Associated Press is reporting the death of Staff Sergeant Eugene Alex, 32, of Bay City, Michigan, on September 2nd. He was wounded by small arms fire in Baghdad on August 30th ... and died at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006 5:41 PM -
	(1) The DoD has confirmed the death of Army Staff Sergeant Eugene H.E. Alex, 32, of Bay City, Michigan, at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center on September 2nd.
	(2) The DoD has also confirmed the death of Marine Lance Corporal Cliff K. Golla, 21, of Charlotte, North Carolina, on September 1st. He died in combat in the Al Anbar Province.
	(3) The DoD has identified the Marine from Regimental Combat Team 7 who died in the Al Anbar Province on September 3rd: Lance Corporal Shane P. Harris, 23, of Las Vegas, New Mexico. Lance Corporal Harris was assigned to the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division ... a unit that is known to be operating in the far west of Anbar with RCT-7, at Rutbah and more recently at Rawah.
	(4) The DoD has confirmed the death of Marine Lance Corporal Philip A. Johnson, 19, of Hartford, Connecticut. He died in the Al Anbar Province on September 3rd.
	(5) The DoD has announced the death of Marine Reservist Lance Corporal Eric P. Valdepenas, 21, of Seekonk, Massachusetts, in the Al Anbar Province on September 4th. According to an article posted at TurnTo10 Local News' website, Lance Corporal Valdepenas was one of the three servicemen who died when a roadside bomb blew apart their vehicle "according to military officials".

Tuesday, September 05, 2006 6:12 PM -
	(1) The DoD has confirmed the death of Marine Private Ryan E. Miller, 21, of Gahanna, Ohio, on September 3rd in the Al Anbar Province.
	(2) The DoD has announced the death of Marine Reservist Corporal Jared M. Shoemaker, 29, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, on September 4th in the Al Anbar Province. Because his reserve unit matches that of Lance Corporal Valdepenas, they were likely killed by the same roadside bomb in Fallujah.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006 8:53 PM - The website Omaha.com is reporting the death of a Nebraska National Guardsman from Omaha: Specialist Germaine Debro, 33. The article says he died in an IED attack near Tikrit. It also identifies his unit as the 1st Squadron, 167th Cavalry Regiment. That particular unit is part of the 1/34th Brigade Combat Team. Therefore, it is likely that Specialist Debro died on September 4th in an attack that CENTCOM reported as occurring "north of Baghdad".

Germaine Debro, 33,
Omaha, Nebraska

	Wednesday, September 06, 2006 4:18 AM - The British Ministry of Defense has released the name of the second British soldier who died near Basrah on September 4th: Gunner Samuela "Sammy" Vanua, 27, from the Pacific island of Fiji.
Sammy Vanua, 27, Fiji

Wednesday, September 06, 2006 5:07 AM - The Associated Press is reporting the death of a Portland, Oregon, man on September 3rd in Mosul, Iraq: 33 year old Sergeant 1st Class Richard Henkes. He died in a roadside bombing and is likely the Mosul death covered in this CENTCOM release.

Wednesday, September 06, 2006 1:37 PM -
	(1) The DoD has identified the soldier who died in Iraq on September 4th of a non-hostile, unspecified cause: Private 1st Class Hannah L. Gunterman, 20, of Redlands, California.
	(2) The DoD has also identified the sailor who died in the Al Anbar Province on September 4th in an IED attack: Petty Officer 2nd Class Christopher G. Walsh, 30, of St. Louis, Missouri. The Associated Press has a write-up about him here.

Wednesday, September 06, 2006 2:28 PM -
	(1) The DoD has confirmed the death of Staff Sergeant Angel D. Mercado-Velazquez, 24, in a mortar attack in Yusufiyah, Babil Province. But their release gives his date of death as September 1st, contrary to the media reported death date of the 2nd. As CENTCOM did not provide a public notice of this death, we will defer to the DoD and go with the 1st.
	(2) The DoD has confirmed the death of Private 1st Class Justin W. Dreese, 21, of Northumberland, Pennsylvania, in a mortar attack in Yusufiyah, Babil Province, on September 2nd. But the same release announces a new death from the same incident: Sergeant Ralph N. Porras, 36, of Merrill, Michigan.
	Note: Either the above three men were all wounded in the same attack on September 1st, with only Sgt. Mercado-Velazquez actually dying on that day ... or we are dealing with two separate attacks. CENTCOM has not issued a public notice for any Yusufiyah deaths on the 1st or 2nd.

Wednesday, September 06, 2006 2:47 PM - The DoD has confirmed the death of Sergeant 1st Class Richard J. Henkes II, 32, of Portland, Oregon, in an IED attack on September 3rd in Iraq.

Wednesday, September 06, 2006 7:32 PM - The Charlottesville NewsPlex website is reporting the death of Private 1st Class Edwin J. Andino, 23, of Culpeper, Virginia, in an IED attack in Iraq on September 3rd. He is likely one of the two men CENTCOM reported killed in action in east Baghdad on that day.

Thursday, September 07, 2006 4:36 AM - MNF-Iraq, CENTCOM's headquarters in that country, has two new deaths to report for September 6th:
	(a) a 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division soldier who was shot and killed near Hawijah.
	(b) a soldier assigned to 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division who died from enemy action in the Al Anbar Province.

Thursday, September 07, 2006 12:32 PM -
	(1) The Southeast Missourian is reporting the death of an 18-year-old local man in Iraq: Jeremy Shank of Jackson, Missouri, died on September 6th. Details of his death are not know at this time. However, the article does state that he was with the 25th Infantry Division out of Hawaii. That would make him a likely candidate for the Hawijah small arms fire death that CENTCOM announced earlier today.
Jeremy Shank, 18, Jackson, Missouri	(2) MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a Marine on September 7th due to wounds he received in combat in Al Anbar Province on September 6th.

Thursday, September 07, 2006 7:43 PM -
	(1) The DoD has confirmed the death of Nebraska Army National Guardsman Sergeant Germaine L. Debro in an IED attack in the vicinity of Balad on September 4th. He was 33 and from Omaha, Nebraska.
	(2) The DoD has announced a new death not previously reported by CENTCOM. Lieutenant Colonel Marshall A. Gutierrez, 41, of New Mexico, died on September 4th at Camp Virginia, Kuwait, from a non-hostile, unspecified cause.
Marshall A. Gutierrez, 41, Las Vegas, New Mexico
	(3) The DoD is also confirming the death of Private 1st Class Jeremy R. Shank, 18, of Jackson, Missouri. Pfc. Shank died in a Balad medical facility from wounds he received from small arms fire on September 6th in Hawijah.

Friday, September 08, 2006 9:42 AM -
	(1) The British Ministry of Defense is announcing the death on September 7th of one of their soldiers who was wounded in "a shooting incident in the town of Al Qurnah" (located about 70 km northwest of Basrah) on September 5th.
	(2) MNF-Iraq has announced the death of a U.S. soldier south of Baghdad when he was struck by a roadside bomb on September 8th.
	(3) The DoD has identified a Marine who died in combat in the Al Anbar Province on September 7th: Private 1st Class Vincent M. Frassetto, 21, of Toms River, New Jersey. CENTCOM had not previously issued a release for this death.
		(4) RedlandsDailyFacts.com has published an article on the young woman who died in Taji, Iraq, on September 4th. She was born "Hannah Lee Heavrin" 20 years ago. In November of 2004 she gave birth to her son, Todd Avery "Gunterman", who was given the last name of his father whom Hannah had never married. In October of 2005, she became "Hannah Lee McKinney" when she married a fellow soldier at Fort Lewis where she was stationed. According to her mother, Barbie Heavrin, Hannah had left her guard post at Taji to walk a distance to a latrine. On her way, she was struck and run over by a Humvee.
	Hannah Lee Heavrin Gunterman McKinney, 20, Redlands, CA

Friday, September 08, 2006 3:56 PM - The DoD has confirmed the death of Private Edwin A. Andino II, 23, of Culpeper, Virginia, in an IED attack in Baghdad on September 3rd. They have also identified the soldier who died with him in the attack: Sergeant Jason L. Merrill, 22, of Mesa, Arizona.

Saturday, September 09, 2006 6:14 AM -
		(1) The British MOD has identified the soldier who died in a German hospital on September 7th of a single gunshot wound received in Al Qurna, Iraq, on September 5th: Gunner Lee Darren Thornton, 22, of Blackpool, England.
	Lee Darren Thornton, 22, Blackpool, England
		(2) The East Valley Tribune has published an article on Sergeant Jason L. Merrill, 22, of Mesa, Arizona, who died in a Baghdad IED attack on September 3rd along with Private Edwin A. Andino II.
	Jason L. Merrill, 22, Mesa Arizona
	(3) The DoD has identified the soldier who died in an IED attack in Baghdad on September 8th: Sergeant David W. Gordon, 23, of Williamsfield, Ohio.

Sunday, September 10, 2006 6:58 PM -
	(1) KARE-11 is reporting the death of a U.S. Marine at Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas on September 9th of injuries suffered by a roadside bomb in Iraq on June 17th: Johnathan Benson, 21, of North Branch, Minnesota.
		Johnathan Benson, 21, North Branch, Minnesota.
	(2) MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a U.S. soldier on September 10th from a small arms fire attack north of Baghdad.

Monday, September 11, 2006 9:48 AM -
	(1) The DoD has released the name of a soldier who died on September 7th at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, of wounds he received in an IED attack in Iraq on September 1st: Sergeant Luis A. Montes, 22, of El Centro, California.
	(2) The St. Paul Pioneer Press has published a few more details about Marine Corporal Johnathan Benson who also died at the Brooke Medical Center recently (September 9th). The reporter describes his unit as the "3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Division" ... and says he died near Habbaniyah in the Al Anbar Province. He likely belonged to the 3rd Battalion of the 5th Marines out of Camp Pendleton as they were operating in that area at the time the corporal was wounded.

Monday, September 11, 2006 3:21 PM - The DoD has confirmed the death of Marine Corporal Johnathan L. Benson, 21, of North Branch, Minnesota, on September 9th at the Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas from wounds received in Iraq.

Monday, September 11, 2006 6:41 PM -
	(1) The DoD has released the name of the soldier who was killed in Al Anbar Province on September 6th: Sergeant John A. Carroll, 26, of Ponca City, Oklahoma. The sergeant died in the vicinity of Ramadi when his patrol encountered small arms fire.
	(2) The DoD has also identified a soldier who died on September 9th in Baghdad when his base was hit with rocket or mortar fire: Private 1st Class Anthony P. Seig, 19, of Sunman, Indiana. This death was not previously reported by CENTCOM.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006 6:34 AM - The Anchorage Daily News is reporting that the soldier who died north of Baghdad on September 10th was from the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team based out of Fort Wainwright, AK. They were the brigade who had their one year tour of duty in Iraq extended and who were subsequently re-deployed to Baghdad from the Mosul area.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006 4:18 PM - The DoD has identified the soldier killed in Baghdad by small arms fire on September 10th: Specialist Alexander Jordan, 31, of Miami, Florida.

Wednesday, September 13, 2006 3:14 AM -
	(1) CENTCOM is reporting the death of a soldier in combat in the Al Anbar Province on September 11th.
	(2) CENTCOM is also reporting the death of a soldier in a roadside bomb attack south of Baghdad on September 12th.

Thursday, September 14, 2006 7:05 AM -
	(1) CENTCOM has announced the death of a soldier southeast of Baghdad from small arms fire on September 14th.
	(2) CENTCOM has also announced the death of a soldier south of Baghdad from a roadside bomb on September 14th.

Thursday, September 14, 2006 7:50 AM - CENTCOM is reporting the death of a soldier in a hostile fire attack near Mosul. According to the report, the soldier was wounded on September 13th, but died "later". We'll put him in the database on the 13th for now, but that may change to the 14th depending on what date appears on the DoD release when it is issued.

Thursday, September 14, 2006 11:32 AM - CENTCOM has just announced the deaths of two soldiers in a suicide car bombing west of Baghdad on September 14th. In addition to the deaths, 25 soldiers were injured, 4 seriously.

Thursday, September 14, 2006 3:40 PM - The DoD has identified the soldier who died in Mosul on September 13th from enemy small arms fire: Captain Matthew C. Mattingly, 30, of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.

Thursday, September 14, 2006 8:08 PM - The Associated Press is reporting the death of Sergeant David Weir, 23, of Cleveland, Tennessee, in Iraq. Details of the death are none too clear. The article says that he was killed "late Tuesday or early Wednesday" ... and that "he may have been killed in Baghdad". It is possible that he is the "south of Baghdad" death on September 12th reported in this CENTCOM release. The 101st Airborne Division, to which Sgt. Weir belonged, did have units serving in the area south of Baghdad.

Friday, September 15, 2006 6:02 AM -
	(1) CENTCOM is reporting the death of a soldier from a roadside bomb northwest of Baghdad on September 14th.
	(2) CENTCOM is also reporting the death of a Marine who died in action in the Al Anbar province on September 15th.
	(3) The Associated Press has a story out on Captain Matthew Mattingly who died in Mosul on Wednesday, September 13th. He was the commander for the 82nd Airborne Division's Troop A, 1st Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment. He was wounded when his OH-58 Kiowa reconnaissance helicopter was fired on during combat ... and later died of those wounds. The DoD statement issued yesterday gave his hometown as Reynoldsburg, a suburb of Columbus, Ohio. But the AP story says he was actually from Beavercreek, near Dayton.
	(4) Local Texas/Oklahoma station KTEN is reporting the death of Clint Williams, 25, from Kingston in Marshall County, Oklahoma. The Williams family was apparently notified of the death on Thursday morning, September 14th. They were told he died from a roadside bomb in Iraq. So he could be the "south of Baghdad" roadside bomb death reported by CENTCOM in this release.

Friday, September 15, 2006 12:16 PM - The DoD has confirmed the death of Sergeant David T. Weir, 23, of Cleveland, Tennessee, in Iraq. Unfortunately, his death was confirmed for September 14th, not the 12th as we'd originally believed from news reports. Apparently he was wounded in Baghdad on the 13th in an attack involving small arms fire and RPGs ... but did not die until the 14th. Because his family was notified of his death Thursday morning, it would now appear that he was the small arms fire death southeast of Baghdad early in the morning on the 14th described in this CENTCOM report.

Friday, September 15, 2006 12:50 PM -
	(1) For the past 9 days, we have had a U.S. Marine death listed on September 6th for which the DoD has not released a name. For openers, this was our mistake. The death should have been listed on the 7th as a careful reading of the CENTCOM release would indicate. The DoD DID release the identity of a Marine who died on the 7th: Pfc. Vincent Frassetto. It would appear that Frassetto is the Marine that the CENTCOM release was referring to. The database has been adjusted accordingly by removing the "extra" death from the 6th.
	(2) CENTCOM is reporting the death of a U.S. Army soldier in a roadside bomb attack south of Baghdad on September 15th.
	(3) CENTCOM has also issued an update on the casualties from the September 14th suicide car bombing west of Baghdad. They are now saying that one soldier is DUSTWUN (Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown). In a case such as this, it is likely that the explosion was so devastating that a body may have been nearly incinerated, requiring DNA testing to positively identify the remains. Since two soldiers have already been confirmed dead, we may very well see a third death reported once DNA testing is complete. Also, CENTCOM is now saying that one soldier was "very seriously injured, one seriously injured, 17 not seriously injured and eleven were returned to duty" ... giving a total of 33 casualties from this one incident.

Friday, September 15, 2006 2:27 PM - The DoD has identified the soldier who died from hostile means in Al Anbar Province on September 11th: Specialist Harley D. Andrews, 22, of Weimar, California. He died in Ramadi when his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb.
	Harley D. Andrews, 22, Weimar, California, with his son

Friday, September 15, 2006 5:06 PM - The DoD has announced the death of Specialist David Joseph Ramsey, 27, of Tacoma, Washington, in a very unusual release. They state that he was medically evacuated from Iraq on August 24th ... but died from a "non-combat related incident" on September 7th in Spanaway, Washington. From this description, it is hard to know if the DoD intends to "count" him as an official Iraq War casualty. Was his death in Spanaway related to the reason he was evacuated from Iraq, or not? There is an obituary posted on the Internet, but it sheds no light on the circumstances of his death. We may have to wait until the DoD updates its database later this month before adding this death to our own list.

David Joseph Ramsey,
27, Tacoma, Washington

Saturday, September 16, 2006 6:39 AM - The DoD has released the identity of a U.S. Marine who died in the Al Anbar Province "while conducting combat operations" on September 14th: Lance Corporal Ryan A. Miller, 19, of Pearland, Texas. We have no previously reported Marine deaths from CENTCOM on this day. However, CENTCOM did report a Marine death "today" in a release dated September 15th. It is entirely possible that this release was written when "today" was still the 14th and not published until the 15th. Lance Corporal Miller's unit, the 3rd Battalion of the 3rd Marines, was definitely assigned to Regimental Combat Team 7 operating in the western half of Anbar with headquarters at Haditha. Therefore, the lance corporal will be placed in this Marine slot with a change of date until further information proves us wrong.

Incidentally, this death should not be confused with another Marine death from earlier this month on September 3rd: that of 21 year old Private Ryan E. Miller of Gahanna, Ohio.

Saturday, September 16, 2006 1:36 PM - The central Texas station KWTX is reporting the death of Army Private 1st Class Jeffrey Shaffer, 21, of Waco, Texas, in a roadside bombing in Ramadi, Al Anbar Province, on September 13th. This would appear to be a new death, not previously announced by CENTCOM.
	Mark and Lisa Adams share memories of their son, Jeffrey Shaffer, 21, Waco, Texas

	Saturday, September 16, 2006 3:36 PM - The DoD has released the identity of the soldier who was killed in an IED attack south of Baghdad on September 12th: 2nd Lieutenant Emily J.T. Perez, 23, of Texas. (9/23 update: Media are reporting that Emily's hometown was Fort Washington, Maryland.)
Emily J. T. Perez, 23, Fort Washington, Maryland

Marcus Cain, 20, from Jennings, Louisiana

Sunday, September 17, 2006 9:42 AM - Articles have appeared on the websites of both stations KLFY and KATC reporting the death in Iraq on Wednesday evening, September 13th, of Army Sergeant Marcus Cain, 20, from Jennings, Louisiana. The death was apparently from an IED attack. And since he was stationed at Fort Hood, chances are it occurred in the Baghdad area. There do not appear to be any previous CENTCOM-reported deaths that seem to match his. So, at least for the time being, we will enter him as a new death on the 13th.

Marcus Cain, 20,
Jennings, Louisiana

Sunday, September 17, 2006 11:44 AM - CENTCOM is reporting the death of a Navy sailor due to enemy action in the Al Anbar Province on September 16th.

Monday, September 18, 2006 3:32 PM - The DoD has identified the sailor who died in combat in Al Anbar Province on September 16th: Petty Officer 2nd Class David S. Roddy, 32, of Aberdeen, Mississippi. According to this article at station WAVY, Roddy was killed when an IED he was attempting to defuse exploded ... this a month after an IED in the same place took the life of his teammate, Chief Petty Officer Paul Darga, on August 22nd.

Monday, September 18, 2006 4:00 PM - The DoD has confirmed the death of Sergeant Clint E. Williams, 24, of Kingston, Oklahoma, in the Baghdad area on September 14th. Research on his unit, the 1st Squadron of the 10th Cavalry Regiment, turned up this article in Stars & Stripes which describes the kind of action his unit has been seeing in their assigned area south of Baghdad. This would tend to verify that Sergeant Williams was indeed the September 14th "south of Baghdad" death described in this CENTCOM release.

Monday, September 18, 2006 4:15 PM -
	(1) CENTCOM's Iraq headquarters, MNF-Iraq, is reporting the death of a soldier from a roadside bomb in northeastern Baghdad on September 17th.
	(2) MNF-Iraq is also reporting the death of a soldier from a small arms fire attack in north-central Baghdad on September 17th.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006 6:33 AM -
	(1) The DoD has released the identity of the soldier who died in northeastern Baghdad (Sadr City) from an IED attack on September 17th: Sergeant David J. Davis, 32, of Mount Airy, Maryland.
	(2) The DoD has also released the identity of the army reservist who died in a small arms fire attack in north-central Baghdad on September 17th: Sergeant Adam L. Knox, 21, of Columbus, Ohio.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006 7:28 AM - MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a Taskforce 3rd MEDCOM soldier in Baghdad of a non-combat-related cause on September 18th.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006 10:05 AM - MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a soldier in Mosul on September 19th when his vehicle was struck by a suicide car bomber.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006 1:02 PM -
	(1) The DoD has confirmed the death of Private 1st Class Jeffrey P. Shaffer, 21, in an IED attack in Ramadi on September 13th. The release gives his home town as Harrison, Arkansas. But media articles that include interviews with his parents, all cite Waco, Texas. That is where his parents and brother live now ... and where Private Shaffer attended high school.
	(2) The DoD has identified the soldier who died in an IED attack northwest of Baghdad on September 14th: Specialist Russell M. Makowski, 23, of Union, Missouri.
	(3) The DoD has also identified the soldier who died from a non-hostile, unspecified cause in Baghdad on September 18th: Sergeant James R. Worster, 24, of Broadview Heights, Ohio.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006 1:50 AM - MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a soldier northwest of Baghdad when his vehicle was struck by an IED on September 19th.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006 4:58 AM -
	(1) MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a soldier in southwest Baghdad on September 19th from a non-hostile unspecified cause.
	(2) MNF-Iraq is also reporting the death of another soldier from a non-hostile unspecified cause ... this one in Baghdad early in the morning on September 20th.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006 9:39 AM -
	(1) MNF-Iraq is reporting yet another death today: a soldier killed by small arms fire in northeastern Baghdad on September 20th.
	(2) The Kinston (North Carolina) Free Press has published an interview with Kinston native Staff Sgt. Nicholas Bright, 33, who was one of the 30 soldiers wounded in the September 14th suicide car bombing west of Baghdad. In it he gives details of the bombing itself ... and the unit involved: Charley Battery, 4th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment based in Baumholder, Germany. They are part of the 1st Armored Division.

Thursday, September 21, 2006 3:44 AM - MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a soldier from an IED attack in northern Baghdad on Wednesday, September 20th.

Thursday, September 21, 2006 5:50 AM - The Italian Ministry of Defense has announced the death of one of their soldiers in Iraq on September 21st: Caporalmaggiore Scelto Massimo Vitaliano from Galatone in Lecce Province, Italy. The dead man, the machine gunner on his patrol vehicle, was severely injured when that vehicle collided with an Iraqi truck about 10 km southwest of Nasiriyah in Dhi Qar Province. He was flown by Italian helicopter to the American military hospital at Tallil Air Base not far from there where he died despite intensive efforts to save him. The five other soldiers in the vehicle were unhurt.

Thursday, September 21, 2006 6:20 AM - The Daily Item of Lynn, Massachusetts, is reporting the death of Jared Raymond, 20, of Swampscott, MA, in Iraq. The circumstances of his death are not given except to say that he died in combat. However, the article does say that his mother was informed of his death on the evening of September 19th ... and that he served with the 1st Battalion of the 66th Armored Regiment which is out of Fort Hood, Texas. That particular unit sustained four deaths just last August 27th in an IED attack near the Taji Air Base just northwest of Baghdad. As it happens, CENTCOM has reported an IED death in that area late in the afternoon on September 19th. Jared Raymond could very well be that death.

Jared Raymond, 20,
Swampscott, Massachussetts

Thursday, September 21, 2006 10:08 AM - The Italian Ministry of Defense has published photos of the two Italians killed on September 20: Massimo Vitaliano, 25, from Galatone in Lecce Province, Italy, who died in Iraq; and Giuseppe Orlando, 28, of Palermo, Italy, who died in Afghanistan. (In a sadly ironic note today, only a day after the two deaths, it is being reported that Italian minister of defence, Arturo Parisi, made good on Italy's 2005 promise to leave Iraq, officially beginning the process of military withdrawal. See Bloomberg.com article below.)

Massimo Vitaliano, 25, from Galatone in Lecce Province, Italy, who died September 20 in Iraq

Giuseppe Orlando, 28, of Palermo, Italy, who died September 20 in Afghanistan

Italy Ends Military Role in Iraq, Says `Mission Accomplished'

By Steve Scherer (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=aE1zrCIp1SHg&refer=europe)

Sept. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Italy today handed military control of the southern province of Dhi Qar to Iraqi police and military forces during a ceremony in Nassiryah, continuing a withdrawal promised by Prime Minister Romano Prodi.

``We've met our objective, and the mission is accomplished,'' Italian Defense Minister Arturo Parisi said today in a televised speech made during the ceremony. ``We're pulling out our military contingent, but it doesn't mean we're turning our backs on Iraq.''

Parisi said Italy's civilian mission would continue. Italy lost 39 military police and soldiers during its three-year mission, including Corporal Massimo Vitaliano, 25, killed today in a road accident. Yesterday, Corporal Giuseppe Orlando, 28, was killed in Afghanistan when his armored vehicle flipped in a curve during a regular patrol, the defense ministry said.

In keeping with a pledge made during this year's election campaign, Prodi announced Italy's military withdrawal from Iraq during his first speech after taking office in June, calling the 2003 war that toppled Saddam Hussein a ``grave mistake'' that has increased the risk of Middle East violence. The pullout is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.

Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, one of U.S. President George W. Bush's closest allies in Europe, sent more than 3,000 soldiers and military police to Iraq after the fall of Baghdad to help provide security in and around the city of Nassiriyah. Before the April 9-10 elections, Berlusconi had also pledged to complete a withdrawal by the end of this year.

Italy still has about 1,300 soldiers in Afghanistan, and is dispatching 2,500 troops to take part in the United Nations peacekeeping force to police the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah.

To contact the reporter on this story: Steve Scherer in Rome at sscherer@bloomberg.net

Thursday, September 21, 2006 1:41 PM -
	(1) MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a soldier from enemy action in Al Anbar Province on September 21st.
	(2) The Associated Press is reporting the death of a Kentucky National Guard soldier in Iraq on September 20th. Sergeant 1st Class Charles Jason Jones, 29, of Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, apparently died of a non-hostile cause in Baghdad. He is likely the death CENTCOM announced in this release. (Later updates: 9/22 and 9/25.)

Friday, September 22, 2006 12:30 AM -
	(1) The DoD is announcing the death of a Marine in combat in the Al Anbar Province: Sergeant Christopher M. Zimmerman, 28, of Stephenville, Texas. This is a new death not previously reported by CENTCOM.
	(2) An article entitled "Nassyriah, Militare Deceduto in un Incidente Stradale" to be found on the Italian Army website here, gives the age of Caporalmaggiore Scelto Massimo Vitaliano as 25. He was born 10 November 1980 in Galatina, Italy, and was not married.

Friday, September 22, 2006 6:32 AM -

(1) The News & Record is reporting the death of Army Specialist Robert Thomas Callahan, 22, of High Point, North Carolina, in Iraq on September 19th. Details are sketchy, but the death appears to have been non-hostile ... the result of a vehicle overturning. As he was stationed in the Baghdad area with 10th Mountain Division troops out of Fort Drum, NY, it is possible that he is the non-hostile "southwest Baghdad" death described in this CENTCOM release.