Military deaths

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

Marcus R. Alford, 28, of Knoxville, Tenn.; captain, Army National Guard. Alford was one of two guardsmen killed Feb. 21 when their OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter crashed near Qayyarah Airfield West south of Mosul, Iraq, north of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 230th Cavalry Regiment in Louisville, Tenn.

Joshua H. Birchfield, 24, of Westville, Ind.; lance corporal, Marine Corps. Birchfield was killed Feb. 19 when his unit was attacked with small-arms fire in southern Afghanistan’s Helmand province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force in Twentynine Palms, Calif.

Michael David P. Cardenaz, 29, of Corona; staff sergeant, Army. Cardenaz was killed Feb. 20 when his unit was attacked with rocket-propelled grenades 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.

Christopher W. Eckard, 30, of Hickory, N.C.; staff sergeant, Marine Corps. Eckard was killed Feb. 20 when a roadside bomb exploded near him in southern Afghanistan’s Helmand province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 8th Engineer Support Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Marcos Gorra, 22, of North Bergen, N.J.; sergeant, Army. Gorra died Feb. 21 during a training exercise at Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan, near Kabul. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg, N.C.

Billie J. Grinder, 25, of Gallatin, Tenn.; chief warrant officer, Army. Grinder was one of two guardsmen killed Feb. 21 when their OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter crashed near Qayyarah Airfield West south of Mosul, Iraq, north of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 230th Cavalry Regiment in Louisville, Tenn.

Matthias N. Hanson, 20, of Buffalo, Ky.; lance corporal, Marine Corps. Hanson was killed Feb. 21 when his unit was attacked with small-arms fire in southern Afghanistan’s Helmand province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Daniel T. O’Leary, 23, of Youngsville, N.C.; corporal, Army. O’Leary was killed Tuesday when his vehicle overturned in Fallouja, Iraq, west of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 307th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg, N.C.

Adam D. Peak, 25, of Florence, Ky.; lance corporal, Marine Corps. Peak was killed Feb. 21 when he stepped on a land mine in southern Afghanistan’s Helmand province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

JRSalvacion, 27, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii; private first class, Army. Salvacion was killed Feb. 21 when insurgents attacked his unit with a homemade bomb in Senjaray in southern Afghanistan’s Kandahar province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division at Ft. Carson, Colo.

William C. Spencer, 40, of Tacoma, Wash.; sergeant, Army National Guard. Spencer died Thursday at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany, of noncombat-related injuries suffered Feb. 20 at Combat Outpost Marez in Mosul, Iraq, north of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 146th Field Artillery Regiment in Olympia, Wash.

Gregory S. Stultz, 22, of Brazil, Ind.; corporal, Marine Corps. Stultz was killed Feb. 19 when his unit was attacked with small-arms fire in southern Afghanistan’s Helmand province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force in Okinawa, Japan.

Eric L. Ward, 19, of Redmond, Wash.; lance corporal, Marine Corps. Ward was killed in combat Feb. 21 in southern Afghanistan’s Helmand province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

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