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:

Darryn D. Andrews, 34, of Dallas; second lieutenant, Army. Andrews was killed Sept. 4 when his vehicle was attacked with a makeshift bomb and rocket-propelled grenade in southeast Afghanistan’s Paktia province, south of Kabul. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division at Ft. Richardson, Alaska.

Christopher S. Fowlkes, 20, of Gaffney, S.C.; lance corporal, Marine Corps. Fowlkes died Thursday at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany, of injuries suffered Sept. 3 when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle in southwest Afghanistan’s Helmand province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Randy M. Haney, 27, of Orlando, Fla.; sergeant, Army. Haney was killed Sept. 6 when his unit was attacked with small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades in eastern Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 2nd Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division at Ft. Carson, Colo.

Joseph D. Helton, 24, of Monroe Ga.; first lieutenant, Air Force. Helton was killed Tuesday when his vehicle was attacked with a makeshift bomb near Baghdad. He was assigned to the 6th Security Forces Squadron at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla.

Edwin W. Johnson Jr., 31, of Columbus, Ga.; gunnery sergeant, Marine Corps. Johnson was among four troops killed Tuesday during a firefight with insurgents who ambushed their unit in eastern Afghanistan’s Kunar province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 3rd Combat Assault Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan.

Michael E. Johnson, 25, of Virginia Beach, Va.; first lieutenant, Marine Corps. Johnson was among four troops killed Tuesday during a firefight with insurgents who ambushed their unit in eastern Afghanistan’s Kunar province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 7th Communications Battalion, 3rd Marine Headquarters Group, 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force in Okinawa, Japan.

Aaron M. Kenefick, 30, of Roswell, Ga.; staff sergeant, Marine Corps. Kenefick was among four troops killed Tuesday during a firefight with insurgents who ambushed their unit in eastern Afghanistan’s Kunar province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 3rd Combat Assault Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force in Okinawa, Japan.

James R. Layton, 22, of Riverbank, Calif., northeast of Modesto; petty officer third class, Navy. Layton was among four troops killed Tuesday during a firefight with insurgents who ambushed their unit in eastern Afghanistan’s Kunar province, on the Pakistani border. A hospital corpsman who provided medical attention to troops in the field, he was assigned to an embedded training team with the Combined Security Transition Command in Afghanistan, which is responsible for training and equipping Afghan security forces.

Youvert Loney, 28, of Pohnpei, Micronesia; sergeant, Army. Loney was killed Sept. 5 when his unit was attacked with recoilless rifles and small-arms fire during an ambush by insurgents in Abad in eastern Afghanistan’s Kunar province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division at Ft. Carson, Colo.

Thomas F. Lyons, 20, of Fernley, Nev.; private first class, Army. Lyons was among three military police officers killed Tuesday when an armor-piercing rocket struck their convoy vehicle near Baiji, Iraq, north of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 545th Military Police Company, Arctic Military Police Battalion at Ft. Richardson, Alaska.

Joshua S. Meadows, 30, of Bastrop, Texas; captain, Marine Corps. Meadows was killed in combat Sept. 5 in western Afghanistan’s Farah province, on the Iranian border. He was assigned to the 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion, Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command at Camp Pendleton.

Michael C. Murphrey, 25, of Snyder, Texas; staff sergeant, Army. Murphrey was killed Sept. 6 when his unit was attacked with a makeshift bomb in southeast Afghanistan’s Paktika province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division at Ft. Richardson, Alaska.

Zachary T. Myers, 21, of Delaware, Ohio; private first class, Army. Myers was among three military police officers killed Tuesday when an armor-piercing rocket struck their convoy vehicle near Baiji, Iraq, north of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 545th Military Police Company, Arctic Military Police Battalion at Ft. Richardson, Alaska.

Tyler E. Parten, 24, of Jonesboro, Ark.; first lieutenant, Army. Parten was killed Thursday when his unit was attacked with rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire in eastern Afghanistan’s in Kunar province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division at Ft. Carson, Colo.

Shannon M. Smith, 31, of Marion, Ohio; staff sergeant, Army. Smith was among three military police officers killed Tuesday when an armor-piercing rocket struck their convoy vehicle near Baiji, Iraq, north of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 545th Military Police Company, Arctic Military Police Battalion at Ft. Richardson, Alaska.

--

Sources: Department of Defense and the Associated Press

--

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

War casualties

TOTAL U.S. DEATHS*

* In and around Iraq: 4,343

* In and around Afghanistan: 747

* Other locations: 69

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

Source: Department of Defense