U.S. Casualties in Iraq reported 1/21-1/24/06

The following U.S. Casualties were reported in D.O.D. releases dated 1/21-1/24/06.

Roadside bombs claimed the lives of three soldiers, two Marines and two airmen in separate incidents Jan. 22 and 23 in Iraq, officials said today.

Two Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers were killed when a roadside bomb struck their vehicle in southeast Baghdad on Jan. 23. One soldier died at the scene and the other soldier died of wounds en route to the military hospital.

Another roadside bomb killed a Multinational Division soldier on a dismounted patrol in southwest Baghdad the same day, officials noted.

Officials at Camp Fallujah reported that two Marines were killed Jan. 23 in a nonhostile vehicle accident near Taqaddum, in central Iraq about 46 miles west of Baghdad. The Marines were assigned to 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward).

The Defense Department announced today the names of two airmen killed when an improvised explosive device exploded Jan. 22 while they were on convoy escort duties in the vicinity of Taji, about 18 miles north of Baghdad.
Tech. Sgt. Jason L. Norton, 32, of Miami, Okla.and Staff Sgt. Brian McElroy, 28, of San Antonio, Texas. Both airmen were assigned to the 3rd Security Forces Squadron, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska.

DoD also released the names of four soldiers who died in Huwijah, Iraq, Jan. 20 when an improvised explosive device detonated near their Humvee during patrol operations: Staff Sgt. Rickey Scott, 30, of Columbus, Ga. ; Sgt. Dennis J. Flanagan, 22, of Inverness, Fla. ; Spc. Clifton J. Yazzie, 23, of Fruitland, N. M. ; and Spc. Matthew C. Frantz, 23, of Lafayette, Ind. Scott, Flanagan and Yazzie were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky. Frantz was assigned to the 1st Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell.

Staff Sgt. Rickey Scott, 30, of Columbus, Ga. Sgt. Dennis J. Flanagan, 22, of Inverness, Fla. Spc. Clifton J. Yazzie, 23, of Fruitland, N.M. and Spc. Matthew C. Frantz, 23, of Lafayette, Ind. were killed in Al Huwijah, Iraq on Jan. 20, when an improvised explosive device detonated near their HMMWV during patrol operations. Scott, Flanagan and Yazzie were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky. Frantz was assigned to the 1st Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.

Cpl. Carlos Arrelanopandura, 22, of Los Angeles, Calif. and Lance Cpl. Brandon Dewey, 20, of San Joaquin, Calif. were killed Jan. 20 by a suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations in Haqlaniyah, Iraq. They were both assigned to 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, their unit was attached to 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward).

Lance Cpl. Joshua A. Scott, 24, of Tunnel Hill, Ga.and Pvt. Lewis T. D. Calapini, 21, of Waipahu, Hawaii were killed Jan. 23 in a non-hostile vehicle accident near Al Taqaddum, Iraq. They were assigned to Anti-Terrorism Battalion, 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. The accident is currently under investigation.

Sgt. Matthew D. Hunter, 31, of Valley Grove, W.Va., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Jan. 23, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his dismounted patrol during combat operations. Hunter was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.