Military deaths

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

Ryan C. King, 22, of Dallas, Ga.; specialist, Army. King was among three soldiers killed May 1 when their unit was attacked with small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades near the village of Nishagam in northeastern Afghanistan’s Kunar province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division at Ft. Hood, Texas.

Jeremiah P. McCleery, 24, of Portola, Calif.; specialist, Army. McCleery was one of two soldiers shot and killed May 2 by two Iraqi soldiers who attacked a combat outpost in Hammam Alil, Iraq, north of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

James D. Pirtle, 21, of Colorado Springs, Colo.; sergeant, Army. Pirtle was among three soldiers killed May 1 when their unit was attacked with small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades near the village of Nishagam in northeastern Afghanistan’s Kunar province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division at Ft. Hood, Texas.

Shawn D. Sykes, 28, of Portsmouth, Va.; specialist, Army. Sykes died Thursday at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany, of injuries suffered in a noncombat-related accident Tuesday at Combat Outpost Crazy Horse in Baghdad. He was assigned to the 215th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division at Ft. Hood, Texas.

Jake R. Velloza, 22, of Inverness, Calif.; specialist, Army. Velloza was one of two soldiers shot and killed May 2 by two Iraqi soldiers who attacked a combat outpost in Hammam Alil, Iraq, north of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division at Ft. Hood, Texas.

William D. Vile, 27, of Philadelphia; staff sergeant, Army. Vile was among three soldiers killed May 1 when their unit was attacked with small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades near the village of Nishagam in northeastern Afghanistan’s Kunar province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division at Ft. Riley, Kan.

Sources: Department of Defense and the Associated Press