Military Deaths

The Defense Department last week identified the following American military personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan:

Donald D. Griffith Jr., 29, of Mechanicsville, Iowa; staff sergeant, Army. Griffith was killed March 11 in enemy action in Tal Afar, west of Mosul, Iraq. He was assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment at Ft. Lewis, Wash.

Paul M. Heltzel, 39, of Baton Rouge, La.; specialist, Army National Guard. Heltzel was killed Tuesday when a car bomb exploded while he was on a foot patrol in Baghdad. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 156th Infantry Regiment, 256th Brigade Combat Team, Army National Guard in Eunice, La.

Ricky A. Kieffer, 36, of Ovid, Mich.; staff sergeant, Army National Guard. Kieffer was killed Tuesday when his unit was attacked with small-arms fire in Baghdad. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 182nd Field Artillery Regiment (Multiple Launch Rocket System), Army National Guard in Detroit.

Shane M. Koele, 25, of Wayne, Neb.; staff sergeant, Army. Koele died Wednesday of injuries suffered Tuesday when his Humvee ran over a land mine in Shindand, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 212th Military Police Company in Kitzingen, Germany.

Rocky D. Payne, 26, of Howell, Utah; specialist, Army. Payne was killed Wednesday when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee south of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 497th Transportation Company, 44th Corps Support Battalion, 1st Corps Support Command at Ft. Lewis, Wash.

Joshua L. Torrence, 20, of Lexington, S.C.; lance corporal, Marine Corps. Torrence was killed Monday in enemy action in Iraq’s Al Anbar province. He was assigned to the 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Nicholas E. Wilson, 21, of Glendale, Ariz.; specialist, Army. Wilson was killed March 11 when his Humvee rolled over into a water-filled ditch after the shoulder of the road collapsed while he was on a roving patrol in Ramadi, Iraq. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division at Camp Casey, South Korea.

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Source: Department of Defense