Military deaths

L.A. Times Archives

July 20, 2008 12 AM PT

The Defense Department last week identified the following American military personnel killed in Afghanistan and Iraq or who died at a U.S. hospital of their injuries:

Sergio S. Abad, 21, of Morganfield, Ky.; private first class, Army. Abad was among nine soldiers killed July 13 when insurgents armed with machine guns, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades mounted a fierce assault on a remote, relatively lightly manned U.S. outpost near the village of Wanat in northeastern Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team in Vicenza, Italy.

Jonathan R. Ayers, 24, of Snellville, Ga.; corporal, Army. Ayers was among nine soldiers killed July 13 when insurgents armed with machine guns, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades mounted a fierce assault on a remote, relatively lightly manned U.S. outpost near the village of Wanat in northeastern Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team in Vicenza, Italy.

Jason M. Bogar, 25, of Seattle; corporal, Army. Bogar was among nine soldiers killed July 13 when insurgents armed with machine guns, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades mounted a fierce assault on a remote, relatively lightly manned U.S. outpost near the village of Wanat in northeastern Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team in Vicenza, Italy.

Jonathan P. Brostrom, 24, of Aiea, Hawaii; first lieutenant, Army. Brostrom was among nine soldiers killed July 13 when insurgents armed with machine guns, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades mounted a fierce assault on a remote, relatively lightly manned U.S. outpost near the village of Wanat in northeastern Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team in Vicenza, Italy.

Israel Garcia, 24, of Long Beach; sergeant, Army. Garcia was among nine soldiers killed July 13 when insurgents armed with machine guns, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades mounted a fierce assault on a remote, relatively lightly manned U.S. outpost near the village of Wanat in northeastern Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team in Vicenza, Italy.

Brian S. Leon Guerrero, 34, of Hagatna, Guam; specialist, Army National Guard. Leon Guerrero was one of two guardsmen killed July 10 when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb near Babo Kheyl in eastern Afghanistan’s Paktia province. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 294th Infantry Regiment in Barrigada, Guam.

Jason D. Hovater, 24, of Clinton, Tenn.; corporal, Army. Hovater was among nine soldiers killed July 13 when insurgents armed with machine guns, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades mounted a fierce assault on a remote, relatively lightly manned U.S. outpost near the village of Wanat in northeastern Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team in Vicenza, Italy.

Jackie L. Larsen, 37, of Tacoma, Wash.; technical sergeant, Air Force. Larsen died of natural causes Thursday at Balad Air Base, Iraq, north of Baghdad. The exact cause of death was not released. She was assigned to the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base, Calif.

Jason D. Mann, 29, of Woodlynne, N.J.; first lieutenant, Marine Corps. Mann died in a nonhostile incident Thursday in Afghanistan’s Helmand province, southwest of Kabul. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 6th Marines, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Samson A. Mora, 28, of Dededo, Guam; specialist, Army National Guard. Mora was one of two guardsmen killed July 10 when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb near Babo Kheyl in eastern Afghanistan’s Paktia province. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 294th Infantry Regiment in Barrigada, Guam.

Matthew B. Phillips, 27, of Jasper, Ga.; corporal, Army. Phillips was among nine soldiers killed July 13 when insurgents armed with machine guns, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades mounted a fierce assault on a remote, relatively lightly manned U.S. outpost near the village of Wanat in northeastern Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team in Vicenza, Italy.

Pruitt A. Rainey, 22, of Haw River, N.C.; corporal, Army. Rainey was among nine soldiers killed July 13 when insurgents armed with machine guns, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades mounted a fierce assault on a remote, relatively lightly manned U.S. outpost near the village of Wanat in northeastern Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team in Vicenza, Italy.

Willington M. Rhoads, 23, of Las Vegas; private first class, Army. Rhoads died of non-combat-related injuries Wednesday in Bagram, Afghanistan, north of Kabul. He was assigned to the 173rd Brigade Support Battalion (Airborne) in Vicenza, Italy.

Jeffery S. Stevenson, 20, of Newton, N.J.; lance corporal, Marine Corps. Stevenson died July 13 in a nonhostile incident in Iraq’s Anbar province, west of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 7th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton.

David W. Textor, 27, of Roanoke, Va.; staff sergeant, Army. Textor was killed Tuesday in a non-combat-related vehicle accident in Mosul, Iraq, north of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Ft. Lewis, Wash.

Daniel R. Verbeke, 25, of Exton, Pa.; petty officer third class, Navy. Verbeke died Monday at Paoli Hospital in Paoli, Pa., of complications from injuries he suffered in a flight deck accident in December 2005 while serving aboard the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Jeremy D. Vrooman, 28, of Sioux Falls, S.D.; staff sergeant, Army. Vrooman died Tuesday in Baghdad of injuries suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near him during combat operations in Kn’an. He was assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division in Vilseck, Germany.

Mitchell W. Young, 39, of Jonesboro, Ga.; master sergeant, Army. Young was killed July 13 when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb near Kajaki Sofla in Afghanistan’s Helmand province, southwest of Kabul. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Ft. Bragg, N.C.

Gunnar W. Zwilling, 20, of Florissant, Mo.; corporal, Army. Zwilling was among nine soldiers killed July 13 when insurgents armed with machine guns, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades mounted a fierce assault on a remote, relatively lightly manned U.S. outpost near the village of Wanat in northeastern Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team in Vicenza, Italy.

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

On latimes.com

Remembering California’s war dead

“Well israel was a great guy and friend . . . he was always smiling and full of joy that would make everyone laugh . . . israel was a great leader for himself, his family, and his friends . . . he will always be remember in our minds and will always be in our hearts. . . .”

-- Ibarra family,

posted Thursday on Army Sgt. Israel Garcia, 24, of Long Beach, who was among nine soldiers killed July 13 when their remote outpost in northeastern Afghanistan was attacked with machine guns, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades. It was the worst loss of U.S. troops’ lives in a single incident in Afghanistan since June 2005

Do you have a memory to share about one of California’s more than 500 fallen troops? Post your remembrances at latimes.com/wardead. The Times’ database of Californians killed in Afghanistan and Iraq allows you to search by name, hometown, high school and more, as well as read hundreds of obituaries and view links to personal websites and other news reports.

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War casualties

Total U.S. deaths*:

* In and around Iraq**: 4,124

* In and around Afghanistan***: 477

* Other locations***: 65

*Includes military and Department of Defense-employed civilian personnel killed in action and in nonhostile circumstances.

**As of Friday

***As of July 12

Source: Department of Defense