Military deaths

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

Steven J. Bishop, 29, of Christiansburg, Va.; specialist, Army Reserve. Bishop died of a noncombat-related illness March 13 at Contingency Operating Base Speicher near Tikrit, Iraq, north of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 422nd Civil Affairs Battalion, 352nd Civil Affairs Command, Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command at Ft. Bragg, N.C.

Robert L. Gilbert II, 28, of Richfield, Ohio; gunnery sergeant, Marine Corps. Gilbert died Tuesday at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., of injuries suffered March 8 when he was shot in the head by a sniper during an ambush in western Afghanistan’s Badghis province, which borders Turkmenistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Marine Special Operations Battalion, Marine Special Operations Regiment, Marine Corps Special Operations Command at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Richard J. Jordan, 29, of Tyler, Texas; staff sergeant, Army. Jordan was killed Tuesday when his vehicle overturned in Mosul, Iraq, north of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division at Ft. Bliss, Texas.

Erin L. McLyman, 26, of Federal Way, Wash.; private first class, Army. McLyman was killed March 13 in a mortar attack on her base in Balad, Iraq, north of Baghdad. She was assigned to the 296th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

Jonathan D. Porto, 26, of Largo, Fla.; corporal, Marine Corps. Porto was killed March 14 when his vehicle overturned in southern Afghanistan’s Helmand province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Glen J. Whetten, 31, of Mesa, Ariz.; sergeant first class, Army. Whetten was killed March 12 when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb near Kandahar, Afghanistan, south of Kabul. He was assigned to the 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division at Ft. Riley, Kan.

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