U.S. Military Deaths in Afghanistan

As of Thursday, October 31, 2013, at least 2,289 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan as a result of the invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to iCasualties.org.

Since the start of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan, 17,674 U.S. service members have been wounded as of Sept. 30, 2012, according to iCasualties.org.

Latest identifications:

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jeremiah M. Collins Jr., 19, Milwaukee, Wis., died Oct. 5, 2013 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to Combat Logistics Regiment 2, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Army Spc. Angel L. Lopez, 27, Parma, Ohio, died Oct. 5, 2013 in Zabul province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with small-arms fire. He was assigned to the 201st Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Knox, Ky.

Army Sgt. Patrick C. Hawkins, 25, Carlisle, Pa., died Oct. 6, 2013 in Zhari District, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Ga.

Army 1st Lt. Jennifer M. Moreno, 25, San Diego, Calif., died Oct. 6, 2013 in Zhari District, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when enemy forces attacked her unit with an improvised explosive device. She was assigned to Madigan Army Medical Center, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

Army Pfc. Cody J. Patterson, 24, Philomath, Ore., died Oct. 6, 2013 in Zhari District, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Ga.

Army Sgt. Joseph M. Peters, 24, Springfield, Mo., died Oct. 6, 2013 in Zhari District, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 5th Military Police Battalion, Vicenza, Italy.

Army Green Beret Staff Sgt. Patrick H. Quinn, 26, Quarryville, Pa., died Oct. 13, 2013 in Paktika Province, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when the enemy attacked his base with small-arms fire. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group, Fort Carson, Colo.

Army Sgt. Lyle D. Turnbull, 31, Norfolk, Va., died Oct. 18, 2013 after he collapsed following a workout in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. He was assigned to the 62nd Expeditionary Signal Battalion, 11th Signal Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas.

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Christopher O. Grant, 20, Richwood, La., died Oct. 20, 2013 while conducting combat operations in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

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Related reports

Four U.S. Soldiers Killed in Southern Afghanistan

By Gil Aegerter

October 6, 2013

Four U.S. soldiers were killed in an attack in southern Afghanistan, defense officials said Sunday.

The International Security Assistance Force did not identify the nationalities but the four were Americans killed by a bomb in the early hours of Sunday, U.S. defense officials said.

Also in southern Afghanistan, a security guard shot a soldier dead in a separate incident, Reuters reported. It wasn’t clear what nationalities of the guard and the soldier were.

Reuters said that if the gunman turns out to have been an Afghan security guard for coalition troops, it would be the ninth insider attack this year, bringing the death toll of foreign personnel to 14.

That is down dramatically from last year, when a spate of so-called insider attacks prompted NATO to curtail some joint operations with Afghan government forces.

Last month, an Afghan believed to be a soldier killed three Americans in Gardez.

Full story

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Families of Fallen Soldiers to Receive Bodies, No Benefits

Video

Charities fill benefit gap for fallen soldiers’ families (NBC “Today,” Oct. 9, 2013) — The families of soldiers killed since the government shutdown began are at Dover Air Force base to pick up their loved ones’ remains, but still won’t be receiving the emergency death benefits from the Pentagon. Now, private charities are stepping in to fill in the gap. NBC’s Andrea Mitchell reports. (02:36)

By Tony Dokoupil, Erin McClam and Tracy Connor

October 8, 2013

A cargo plane carrying the bodies of four fallen U.S. soldiers will land at Dover Air Force Base Wednesday morning, greeted by loved ones whose grief is laced with outrage that even they have not been spared from the government shutdown.

The solemn transfer ceremony is expected to take place in an atmosphere of tearful silence about 100 miles from the political bickering in the nation’s capital, where a death benefit for the families of service members killed in the line of duty has fallen victim to the budget impasse.

In an apparent effort to stem the furor, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel plans to travel to Dover for the arrival of the bodies.

A white-gloved honor guard carries four flag-covered cases out of the belly of the military jet, past waiting relatives and into a mortuary vehicle so the bodies of the three men and one woman who made the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan can be prepared for their final resting place.

At least two of the families who will be in attendance say their heartache has been compounded by a repercussion of the shutdown: the government withholding a $100,000 “death gratuity” normally paid out to help tide them over until survivor benefits kick in. …

The House is expected to approve legislation Wednesday afternoon, perhaps unanimously, that would restore the benefit. Some members of Congress were surprised that it was not covered by a law passed just before the shutdown that authorized “pay and allowances” for the military. …

The father of one of the fallen soldiers, Pfc. Cody Patterson, 24, of Philomath, Ore., noted that members of Congress “are still getting paid” a week after the government shut down.

“If Congress were trapped in a car that sunk down in a river, I would swim to the window, and I would look them all in the eye and say, ‘Suck water,’” Randall Patterson said Tuesday as he prepared to fly to Delaware to retrieve his son’s body.

Peters; Patterson; 1st Lt. Jennifer Moreno, 25, of San Diego; Sgt. Patrick Hawkins, 25, of Carlisle, Pa.; were killed Sunday by an improvised bomb in Zhari district, according to the Pentagon.

(Left to right) Pfc. Cody J. Patterson, Sgt. Patrick C. Hawkins, 1st Lt. Jennifer M. Moreno and Special Agent Joseph M. Peters were killed by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan on October 6, 2013. (Photo credit: U.S. Army)

Seventeen service members have died since the government shut down Oct. 1, a senior defense official said, including six in Afghanistan. None has so far received the death gratuity. …

Marine Lance Corporal Jeremiah M. Collins Jr. (Family photo)

Veterans groups and members of Congress from both parties have expressed disgust over the delay in the payments.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a veteran, told his colleagues they should be ashamed.

“Shouldn’t we as a body, Republican or Democrat — shouldn’t we be embarrassed? Ashamed?” he asked. “What do American people think when they see that death benefit for those who served and sacrifice — they’re not eligible?” …

In the meantime, a Maryland foundation stepped into the breach to potentially cover the death benefits. The Fisher House Foundation of Bethesda, Md., has offered the families of fallen soldiers advance grants until the government can make reimbursements to the foundation. …

Full story