Friday, December 08, 2006 9:47 AM - MNF-Iraq is reporting that two more Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldiers have been killed on Thursday, December 7th, when an improvised explosive device blew. They were on dismounted patrol south of Baghdad.

Friday, December 08, 2006 3:22 PM - The DoD has confirmed the death of Specialist Nicholas R. Gibbs, 25, of Stokesdale, North Carolina. But contrary to what an earlier media article had reported, the DoD has his date of death as Wednesday, December 6th. He died of enemy small arms fire "while conducting observation and security observations" ... which makes him sound very much like the soldier who was reported shot while manning a machine gun nest on a rooftop in Ramadi in Al Anbar Province.

Friday, December 08, 2006 3:53 PM -
	(1) The media are reporting that Staff Sergeant Robert L. Love, Jr., who died on December 1st in Ramadi, was not from Meridian, Mississippi, as reported by the DoD, but from Livingston, Alabama. More information on the soldier can be found, however, in an article that appeared in the Meridian Star where Love has relatives.
	(2) Dustin M. Adkins, who died in the crash of a Chinook helicopter on December 3rd near Haditha, has been posthumously promoted to sergeant.

Friday, December 08, 2006 5:48 PM - The DoD has identified one of the Marines who died from enemy action in Al Anbar Province on Wednesday, December 6th: Corporal Dustin J. Libby, 22, of Presque Isle, Maine. His unit, the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, is a part of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (see this article from the Marine Corps Times and this article at Wikipedia). They have been stationed in southeastern Ramadi.

Dustin J. Libby, 22, Presque Isle, Maine

Saturday, December 09, 2006 4:19 AM - This morning, MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a Regimental Combat Team 5 Marine from enemy action in Al Anbar Province on Thursday, December 7th. We believe that this is the death already identified by DoD as Lance Corporal Brent E. Beeler. The Detroit Free Press has a write-up on Beeler this morning. According to his mother, he was shot in the chest during a battle near Fallujah, dying despite the body armor he wore.

Saturday, December 09, 2006 9:26 AM - MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a Regimental Combat Team 5 Marine from enemy fire in Al Anbar Province "today". The release is dated Saturday, December 9th.

Saturday, December 09, 2006 2:05 PM -
	(1) The DoD has released the identities of the five soldiers who died in a roadside bomb explosion near Kirkuk on Wednesday, December 6th:
		Sergeant Jesse J.J. Castro, 22, of Chalan Pago, American Samoa
Jesse J.J. Castro, 22, Chalan Pago, American Samoa
		Corporal Jason I. Huffman, 23, of Conover, North Carolina
		Specialist Joshua B. Madden, 21, of Sibley, Louisiana
Joshua B. Madden, 21, Sibley, Louisiana
		Specialist Yari Mokri, 26, of Pflugerville, Texas
Yari Mokri, 26, Pflugerville, Texas
		Private 1st Class Travis C. Krege, 24, of Cheektowaga, New York
Travis C. Krege, 24, Cheektowaga, New York
		They actually died in the vicinity of Hawijah, a town between Bayji and Kirkuk in Salah ad Din Province.
	(2) Obviously, Specialist Vincent Pomante was NOT one of the above deaths as we'd thought earlier. However, the DoD has now issued the identities of two soldiers who died in an IED blast in Ramadi in Al Anbar Province on Wednesday, December 6th ... and Pomante is one of them:
		Captain Travis L. Patriquin, 32, of Texas
		Specialist Vincent J. Pomante III, 22, of Westerville, Ohio
		This poses a problem, as although CENTCOM has reported 8 army deaths on December 6th, the DoD has now identified 9 soldiers dead on the 6th. As such, we are forced to increase the death count by one until more information comes to light.

Sunday, December 10, 2006 8:43 AM - The DoD has identified the two soldiers who died south of Baghdad in an improvised explosive device attack on Thursday, December 7th:
	Staff Sergeant Henry W. Linck, 23, of Manhattan, Kansas
Henry W. Linck, 23, Manhattan, Kansas
	Specialist Micah S. Gifford, 27, of Redding, California
Micah S. Gifford, 27, Redding, California

Monday, December 11, 2006 5:29 AM - MNF-Iraq is reporting the deaths of three U.S. soldiers in northern Baghdad from a roadside bomb attack the evening of Sunday, December 10th.

Monday, December 11, 2006 9:26 AM - The DoD has released the identity of the Marine from I Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group who was killed in action in Al Anbar Province on Wednesday, December 6th: Major Megan M. McClung, 34, of Coupeville, Washington. She was a Marine Corps press officer stationed in downtown Ramadi. A blog called Patterico's Pontifications has a few more details on what may have sent her out on patrol that day.

Megan M. McClung, 34, Coupeville, Washington

Monday, December 11, 2006 2:11 PM - Seattle's KING5.com published a story telling some of Megan McClung's many accomplishments. For instance: "She is said to be the highest-ranking female service member to die in Iraq." And, "An avid runner, McClung organized the first-ever satellite running of the Marine Corps Marathon in the desert of Iraq....More than 200 service members from all branches of the Armed Services registered to run the 26.2-mile race called Marine Corps Marathon Forward in October. The race took place the same day of the original Marine Corps Marathon in Arlington, VA."

Monday, December 11, 2006 11:54 AM -
	(1) The DoD has released the identity of the U.S. Marine who died in a non-hostile, unspecified incident in Al Anbar Province on Wednesday, December 6th: Lance Corporal Cody G. Watson, 21, of Oxford, Alabama. According to an Associated Press article, Watson collapsed on Wednesday from an unknown illness and could not be revived. Incidentally, the AP gives his hometown as Anniston, Alabama.
Cody G. Watson, 21, Oxford, Alabama
	(2) On December 6th, CENTCOM issued a statement about a duplicate press release, at the bottom of which was this sentence: "A total of 7 U.S. servicemembers were killed in Iraq Dec. 4, including one non-combat related death." As of today, however, the DoD has only confirmed 5 deaths on that day. In the interest of not unnecessarily inflating the casualty count, we have decided to remove the two extra deaths we'd added to our database that day as it is looking more and more as if the CENTCOM statement was made in error. This will reduce our death count by two.

Monday, December 11, 2006 12:18 PM - The Associated Press is reporting the death of a Reno Marine in Al Anbar Province: 1st Lieutenant Nathan Krissoff, a "counterintelligence officer assigned to a reconnaissance battalion based in Okinawa, Japan." The article implies that Krissoff died on Friday, December 8th. This could very well correspond to this CENTCOM release dated December 9th as the release could have been written when "today" was the 8th and not published until the 9th. We will have a better idea of actual date of death when the DoD eventually confirms this one.

Nathan Krissoff, Reno, Nevada

Tuesday, December 12, 2006 5:06 AM -
	(1) More details have emerged on the death of Marine Major Megan McClung in Ramadi on December 6th in an article published in the Orange County Register. She had apparently grown up in Mission Viejo in southern California, graduating from high school there. Her parents, however, currently reside in Coupeville, Washington. McClung died while escorting media in a convoy through Ramadi when a roadside bomb detonated. According to the article, two other military personnel died with her in the attack, likely Captain Travis Patriquin and Specialist Vincent Pomante. The journalists were not seriously injured.
	(2) The website thefacts.com out of Brazoria County, Texas, is reporting the death of a local soldier in Iraq. 21-year-old Army Specialist Philip Cody Ford died on Sunday, December 10th, in a roadside bomb attack on his patrol in Baghdad. Unfortunately, there were two fatal roadside bomb attacks in Baghdad that day, one west of the city and one in a northern neighborhood. At this time, there is not enough information available to determine which of the two Ford died in. Ford grew up in Jones Creek, Texas.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006 12:39 PM -
	(1) MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a soldier near Diwaniyah south of Baghdad on Monday, December 11th, from an unknown medical condition. The soldier apparently collapsed and could not be revived.
	(2) MNF-Iraq is also reporting the deaths of four Marines in Al Anbar Province on Monday, December 11th:
		(a) A Regimental Combat Team 7 Marine died from a non-hostile unspecified cause.
		(b) Three 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing Marines died from enemy action.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006 3:37 PM -
	(1) The DoD has confirmed the death of Marine 1st Lieutenant Nathan M. Krissoff, 25, of Reno, Nevada, from enemy action in Al Anbar Province. His date of death is given as Saturday, December 9th. According to a write-up in the Monterey (California) Herald, the Krissoff family owned a second home in Carmel, and their son attended private school in Monterey County as a boarder. The family told the paper's reporter that Krissoff died when an improvised explosive device detonated.
	(2) Earlier today, MNF-Iraq reported the death of a soldier near Diwaniyah south of Baghdad when he collapsed from a medical condition and could not be revived. The date of death given was December 11th. Now the DoD has identified the victim: Staff Sergeant Thomas W. Clemons, 37, of Leitchfield, Kentucky. However, they give his date of death as December 10th. More research will be needed to determine which date is correct. Clemons was a Kentucky Army National Guardsman serving in Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 123rd Armor Regiment out of Leitchfield.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006 5:28 AM -
	(1) The Anchorage Daily News is reporting that the three soldiers killed in northern Baghdad on Sunday, December 10th, were from the 4th Brigade, 25th Infantry Division based out of Fort Richardson, Alaska. Their names will be released later today.
	(2) The Aiken Standard and the Associated Press both have articles on the death of an Aiken Marine in Iraq. Corporal Matt Dillon, 25, was apparently one of the three 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing Marines who were killed in action in Al Anbar Province on Monday, December 11th. His parents were told that he died in the vicinity of the town of Al Khalidiyah (near Fallujah) when an improvised explosive device detonated. Dillon was assigned to Marine Wing Support Squadron 373 (MWSS 373), Marine Wing Support Group 37 based at the Miramar Marine Corps Air Station in California.
Parents of Matt Dillon, 25, Aiken, South Carolina

Wednesday, December 13, 2006 6:04 AM - The Lexington (Kentucky) Herald-Leader is reporting that Kentucky Army National Guardsman Staff Sergeant Thomas W. Clemons died of a heart attack as his unit was preparing to go out on patrol near Ad Diwaniyah south of Baghdad. They are giving his date of death as Monday, December 11th, which agrees with the date given in the CENTCOM release issued for his death. Clemons resided in Falls of Rough, Kentucky, about 16 miles northwest of Leitchfield.

Thomas W. Clemons, 37, Falls of Rough, Kentucky

Wednesday, December 13, 2006 9:49 AM - The DoD has released the identities of the three 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing Marines who died in Al Anbar Province on Monday, December 11th:
	Lance Corporal Budd M. Cote, 21, of Marana, Arizona
Budd M. Cote, 21, Marana, Arizona
	Corporal Matthew V. Dillon, 25, of Aiken, South Carolina
	Lance Corporal Clinton J. Miller, 23, of Greenfield, Iowa
Clinton J. Miller, 23, Greenfield, Iowa

Wednesday, December 13, 2006 11:24 AM - The DoD has identified the three Fort Richardson, AK, soldiers who died in Baghdad when a roadside bomb exploded on Sunday, December 10th:
	Sergeant Brennan C. Gibson, 26, of Tualatin, Oregon
Brennan C. Gibson, 26, Tualatin, Oregon
	Specialist Philip C. Ford, 21, of Freeport, Texas
Philip C. Ford, 21, Freeport, Texas
	Private 1st Class Shawn M. Murphy, 24, of Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Shawn M. Murphy, 24, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Wednesday, December 13, 2006 12:39 PM - The DoD has identified the Marine who died in a non-hostile incident on Monday, December 11th: Master Sergeant Brian P. McAnulty, 39, of Vicksburg, Mississippi. According to the DoD, McAnulty died when the CH-53 helicopter he was riding in crashed just after take-off. We are wondering now if that was the CH-53 "hard landing" described in this MNF-Iraq press release ... which failed to mention that any deaths had occurred. McAnulty's unit, the 3rd Battalion 4th Marines, is stationed at Al Qaim out on the border with Syria making them a part of Regimental Combat Team 7. This is the unit's fourth deployment to Iraq.

Brian P. McAnulty, 39, Vicksburg, Mississippi

	Wednesday, December 13, 2006 5:07 PM - The DoD has announced a new death, not previously reported by CENTCOM. Sergeant Brent W. Dunkleberger, 29, of New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania, died on Tuesday, December 12th, in Mosul when his vehicle was struck by a rocket propelled grenade. The Carlisle (Pennsylvania) Sentinel has a brief article on the soldier. He is survived by a wife and three children.
Brent W. Dunkleberger, 29, New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania

	Thursday, December 14, 2006 6:58 AM - The Los Angeles area Valley Sun is reporting the death of a young soldier from La Crescenta, California, in Iraq. Specialist Nick Steinbacher was killed on Sunday, December 10th, when a roadside bomb detonated near his vehicle while on patrol west of Baghdad. He had just turned 22 on December 8th. Steinbacher was with the 1st Cavalry Division.
Nicholas P. Steinbacher, 22, La Crescenta, California

Thursday, December 14, 2006 11:32 AM - The North Carolina News & Observer has published an article on Army Private 1st Class Shawn Murphy who was killed in Baghdad in an IED blast on December 10th. Murphy is the son of Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Mark Murphy ... and as such was raised at various bases all over the world, although he listed Fort Bragg as his "hometown".

Thursday, December 14, 2006 7:47 PM - The DoD has announced a new death, not previously reported by CENTCOM: Major Gloria D. Davis, 47, of St. Louis, Missouri. She died in Baghdad on Tuesday, December 12th, of a non-hostile unspecified cause. Davis was assigned to the Department of Defense in Washington, DC, working specifically for the Defense Security Cooperation Agency which "provides financial and technical assistance, transfer of defense matériel, training and services to allies, and promotes military-to-military contacts" per Wikipedia.

Monday, December 18, 2006 11:45 AM - MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of one Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldier on Monday, December 18th, north of Baghdad when his vehicle rolled over while on a routine patrol.

Tuesday, December 19, 2006 5:40 AM - MNF-Iraq is reporting the combat death of a U.S. Marine from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit in Al Anbar Province on Monday, December 18th.

Tuesday, December 19, 2006 10:20 AM -
	(1) The DoD has confirmed the death of Marine Lance Corporal Nicklas J. Palmer, 19, of Leadville, Colorado, in Al Anbar Province from enemy action on Saturday, December 16th.
Nicklas J. Palmer, 19, Leadville, Colorado
	(2) The DoD has also identified the Marine who died of enemy action in Al Anbar Province on Monday, December 18th: Captain Kevin M. Kryst, 27, of West Bend, Wisconsin.
	(3) The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has an article out on Army Major Gloria D. Davis, 47, originally from Portageville, Missouri, who died in Baghdad on December 12th. The DoD had listed her death as a "non-combat related incident". According to her daughter, she was found dead of a gunshot wound ... whether by accident, homicide or suicide is up to an ongoing investigation to determine.
Gloria Dean Davis, 47, Portageville, Missouri

Tuesday, December 19, 2006 2:26 PM -
	(1) The DoD has confirmed the death of Marine Lance Corporal Luke C. Yepsen, 20, of Kingwood, Texas, from enemy action in Al Anbar Province on December 14th. His unit, the 1st Tank Battalion of the 1st Marine Division, was assigned to Regimental Combat Team 5, making Yepsen the RCT-5 death described in this CENTCOM release.
	(2) The DoD has also identified the Regimental Combat Team 7 Marine who also died from enemy action in Al Anbar Province on December 14th: Lance Corporal Matthew W. Clark, 22, of St. Louis, Missouri.
	(3) The DoD is announcing a new death, not previously reported by CENTCOM. Staff Sergeant Henry K. Kahalewai, 43, of Hilo, Hawaii, was injured in a roadside bomb blast near Taji, just northwest of Baghdad, on November 21st. He died of his wounds at the Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas on Friday, December 15th.
	(4) On December 17th, MNF-Iraq reported a roadside bombing north of Baghdad on December 16th that claimed the lives of 3 soldiers and wounded a fourth. Today, in two separate press releases, here and here, the Dod gives the identities of the three who died at the time of the blast ... and also the name of the fourth, who passed away from his injuries a day later in a medical facility in Balad. Killed on the 16th:
		Staff Sergeant David R. Staats, 30, of Pueblo, Colorado
		Specialist Matthew J. Stanley, 22, of Wolfeboro Falls, New Hampshire
		Private 1st Class Joe L. Baines, 19, of Newark, New Jersey
Joe L. Baines, 19, Newark, New Jersey
	The soldier who died on the 17th was Private 1st Class Seth M. Stanton, 19, of Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Wednesday, December 20, 2006 6:41 AM -
	(1) The Merced (California) Sun-Star is reporting the death of a 20-year-old local Marine in Iraq. Corporal Joshua Pickard of Merced was killed Tuesday, December 19th, by small arms fire, presumably in Al Anbar Province.
Joshua Pickard, 20, Merced, California
	(2) The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel is providing further details on the death of 27-year-old Marine Captain Kevin Kryst of West Bend, Wisconsin. He died on Monday, December 18th, in a mortar attack on his base at Camp Korean Village near Rutbah on the Jordanian border. According to his mother, he sustained abdominal injuries from the shrapnel. Although a helicopter pilot, he was not in a helicopter at the time. "He was in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Kevin Kryst, 27, West Bend, Wisconsin
	(3) The Honolulu Star-Bulletin has an article this morning on Army Sergeant Henry Kahalewai Jr. who died at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, on December 15th of wounds suffered in Iraq. He happened to be outside his Stryker vehicle on November 21st when the roadside bomb hit it, thus taking the brunt of the blast which severed a lag and sprayed him with shrapnel.
Henry Kahalewai Jr., 44, Hilo, Hawaii

Wednesday, December 20, 2006 5:11 PM -
	(1) The DoD has confirmed the death of Marine Corporal Joshua D. Pickard, 20, of Merced, California, from enemy action in Al Anbar Province on Tuesday, December 19th.
	(2) The DoD has also identified the soldier who died in a vehicle rollover accident northwest of Baghdad in the vicinity of Taji on Monday, December 18th: Staff Sergeant Brian L. Mintzlaff, 34, of Fort Worth, Texas.
Brian L. Mintzlaff, 34, Fort Worth, Texas

	Wednesday, December 20, 2006 5:45 PM - The DoD is announcing a new death, not previously reported by CENTCOM. Army Specialist Andrew P. Daul, 21, of Brighton, Michigan, was killed when a roadside bomb detonated near his Abrams tank in the vicinity of Hit in Al Anbar Province on Tuesday, December 19th.
Andrew P. Daul, 21, Brighton, Michigan

Thursday, December 21, 2006 10:34 AM - MNF-Iraq has issued a correction to a release issued earlier this morning. Apparently the Marine assigned to 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division died on the 20th, not the 21st.

	Thursday, December 21, 2006 12:15 PM - The Lafayette (Louisiana) Daily Advertiser is reporting the death of an Opelousas native in Iraq. Marine Lance Corporal Myles Cody Sebastien, 21, was killed on Wednesday, December 20th ... making him a likely candidate for the Marine death described in this CENTCOM release.
Myles Cody Sebastien, 21, Opelousas, Louisiana

Friday, December 22, 2006 1:26 PM -
	(1) The DoD has identified one of the soldiers who died in roadside bomb blasts in the Baghdad area on Wednesday, December 20th: Specialist Robert J. Volker, 21, of Big Spring, Texas. His unit, the 1st Battalion of the 5th Cavalry Regiment, appears to be stationed at Camp Liberty southwest of Baghdad near the Baghdad International Airport. This could mean he was the death "southwest of the Iraqi capitol" described in this CENTCOM release.
	(2) The DoD has identified another of the soldiers who died in roadside bomb blasts in the vicinity of Baghdad on Wednesday, December 20th: Specialist Scott D. Dykman, 27, of Helena, Montana. His unit, the 1st Battalion of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment is currently operating in the area south of Baghdad and are based at Iskandariyah in northern Babil Province. This would make him a likely candidate for the death "south of the Iraqi capitol" described in this CENTCOM release.
Scott D. Dykman, 27, of Helena, Montana

Saturday, December 23, 2006 6:50 AM -
	The DoD has identified two of the Marine deaths that occurred on Thursday, December 21st, from enemy action in Al Anbar Province:
		Lance Corporal Ryan J. Burgess, 21, of Sanford, Michigan
Ryan J. Burgess, 21, Sanford, Michigan
		Lance Corporal Ryan L. Mayhan, 25, of Hawthorne, California
	According to an article in the Midland (Michigan) Daily News, Burgess was injured about a month ago when the vehicle he was riding in hit an improvised explosive device. He had only been released from the hospital from that incident for two days when the same thing happened again, only with fatal results.

Sunday, December 24, 2006 9:13 AM - MNF-Iraq is reporting the deaths of three 89th Military Police Brigade soldiers in eastern Baghdad on Saturday, December 23rd, when an improvised explosive device exploded near their vehicle. One soldier was also wounded in the attack.