Military deaths

The Defense Department last week identified the following American military personnel killed in Afghanistan and Iraq or who died in the United States of their injuries:

Joe L. Baines, 19, of Newark, N.J.; private first class, Army. Baines was killed Dec. 16 when a roadside bomb exploded near his Humvee in Taji, Iraq, north of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division at Ft. Hood, Texas.

Ryan J. Burgess, 21, of Sanford, Mich.; lance corporal, Marine Corps. Burgess was one of two Marines killed in combat Thursday in Iraq’s Al Anbar province, west of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force in Twentynine Palms, Calif.

Matthew W. Clark, 22, of St. Louis; lance corporal, Marine Corps. Clark was one of two Marines killed in combat Dec. 14 in Iraq’s Al Anbar province, west of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.

Andrew P. Daul, 21, of Brighton, Mich.; specialist, Army. Daul was killed Tuesday when a roadside bomb exploded near his Abrams tank in Hit, Iraq, west of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 37th Armored Regiment, 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division in Friedberg, Germany.

Scott D. Dykman, 27, of Helena, Mont.; specialist, Army. Dykman was killed Wednesday when a roadside bomb exploded near him while on foot patrol in Baghdad. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division at Ft. Richardson, Alaska.

Henry K. Kahalewai, 43, of Hilo, Hawaii; staff sergeant, Army. Kahalewai died Dec. 15 at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio of wounds suffered Nov. 21 when a roadside bomb exploded near his Stryker vehicle in Baghdad. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) at Ft. Lewis, Wash.

Kevin M. Kryst, 27, of West Bend, Wis.; captain, Marine Corps. Kryst was killed Monday in a mortar attack on his base in Iraq’s Al Anbar province, west of Baghdad. He was assigned to Marine Light-Attack Helicopter Squadron 267, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton.

Ryan L. Mayhan, 25, of Hawthorne; lance corporal, Marine Corps. Mayhan was one of two Marines killed in combat Thursday in Iraq’s Al Anbar province, west of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force in Twentynine Palms, Calif.

Brian L. Mintzlaff, 34, of Fort Worth; staff sergeant, Army. Mintzlaff was killed Monday when his Bradley fighting vehicle overturned in Taji, Iraq, north of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division at Ft. Hood, Texas.

Nicklas J. Palmer, 19, of Leadville, Colo.; lance corporal, Marine Corps. Palmer was killed Dec. 16 when he was shot in the neck by a sniper in an ambush while his Humvee was stopped outside Fallouja, Iraq, west of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton.

Joseph E. Phaneuf, 38, of Eastford, Conn.; staff sergeant, Army National Guard. Phaneuf was killed Dec. 15 when a roadside bomb exploded near his armored Humvee in Mehtar Lam, Afghanistan, northeast of Kabul. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 102nd Infantry Brigade, Army National Guard in Hartford, Conn.

Joshua D. Pickard, 20, of Merced, Calif.; corporal, Marine Corps. Pickard was killed Tuesday when his unit was attacked with small-arms fire in Iraq’s Al Anbar province, west of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Theodore A. Spatol, 59, of Thermopolis, Wyo.; staff sergeant, Army National Guard. Spatol died of an undisclosed, noncombat-related illness in his hometown Dec. 14 after returning from combat in Iraq. He was assigned to the 1041st Engineer Company, Army National Guard in Rock Springs, Wyo.

David R. Staats, 30, of Pueblo, Colo.; staff sergeant, Army. Staats was one of two soldiers killed Dec. 16 when a roadside bomb exploded near their Humvee in Taji, Iraq, north of Baghdad. A third soldier died the next day of injuries suffered in the blast. Staats was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division at Ft. Hood, Texas.

Matthew J. Stanley, 22, of Wolfeboro Falls, N.H.; specialist, Army. Stanley was one of two soldiers killed Dec. 16 when a roadside bomb exploded near their Humvee in Taji, Iraq, north of Baghdad. A third soldier died the next day of injuries suffered in the blast. Stanley was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division at Ft. Hood, Texas.

Seth M. Stanton, 19, of Colorado Springs, Colo.; private first class, Army. Stanton died Dec. 17 in Balad, Iraq, of injuries suffered a day earlier when a roadside bomb exploded near his Humvee in Taji, north of Baghdad. Two other soldiers were killed in the blast. Stanton was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division at Ft. Hood, Texas.

Robert J. Volker, 21, of Big Spring, Texas; specialist, Army. Volker was killed Wednesday when a roadside bomb exploded near his Humvee in Baghdad. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division at Ft. Hood, Texas.

Luke C. Yepsen, 20, of Kingwood, Texas; lance corporal, Marine Corps. Yepsen was one of two Marines killed in combat Dec. 14 in Iraq’s Al Anbar province, west of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 1st Tank Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force in Twentynine Palms, Calif.

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Sources: Department of Defense, Times staff reports and the Associated Press