After nearly nine years, the war in Iraq has been formally shut down. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and other U.S.officials took part in a Baghdad ceremony today retiring the flag of U.S. Forces-Iraq. Panetta told American troops they leave with the knowledge that their sacrifice "has helped the Iraqi people to begin a new chapter in history."
People with strong Minnesota ties who have died in connectionwith the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan:
1. Army Pfc. Edward J. Herrgott, 20, of Shakopee, killed July 3,
2003, when a sniper shot him in the neck outside the national
museum in Baghdad.
2. Army Sgt. Brian R. Hellermann, 35, formerly of Freeport,
killed Aug. 6, 2003, in an ambush in Baghdad.
3. Army Staff Sgt. Dale A. Panchot, 26, of Northome, killed Nov.
17, 2003, in an ambush on his patrol near Balad.
4. Army Chief Warrant Officer Patrick Dorff, 32, of Minneapolis,
died Jan. 25, 2004, when his helicopter crashed in the Tigris River
while on a rescue mission.
5. Marine Pfc. Matthew G. Milczark, 18, of Kettle River, found
dead in Kuwaiti chapel March 7, 2004. Military investigators said
he shot himself.
6. Marine Cpl. Tyler R. Fey, 22, of Eden Prairie, killed in
fighting April 4, 2004, in Al Anbar Province.
7. Marine Pfc. Moises Langhorst, 19, of Moose Lake, killed in
hostile fire April 5, 2004, in Al Anbar Province.
8. Marine Lance Cpl. Levi Angell, 20, of Cloquet, killed April
8, 2004, in a rocket-propelled grenade attack in Al Anbar Province.
9. North Dakota National Guard Spc. James Holmes, 28, of East
Grand Forks, Minn., died May 8, 2004, of wounds suffered May 3 when
a roadside bomb exploded while he was on vehicle patrol in Iraq.
10. Army Cpl. Demetrius Lamont Rice, 24, of Ortonville, died
July 14, 2004, in a vehicle rollover near Talafar, 45 miles from
Mosul in northern Iraq.
11. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class David A. Cedergren, 25, of
South St. Paul, died Sept. 11, 2004, while showering in Camp
Iskandariyah, Iraq. His family was initially told he died of
natural causes. It was determined in late 2008 that he had been
accidentally electrocuted.
12. John Pinsonneault, 39, of North Branch, civilian contractor
for Iraq security firm when killed by bomb Oct. 14, 2004, in
Baghdad.
13. Army Spc. Daniel McConnell, 26, of Duluth, killed Nov. 16,
2004, in vehicle rollover in Kirkuk.
14. Army Spc. Dwayne James McFarlane Jr., 20, of Cass Lake, died
Jan. 9, 2005, from bomb attack while on patrol in Baghdad.
15. Army Sgt. Mike Carlson, 22, of St. Paul, died Jan. 24, 2005,
in Mohammed Sacran, Iraq, with four others when their Bradley
fighting vehicle overturned.
16. Army Sgt. 1st Class Mickey E. Zaun, 27, of Brooklyn Park,
died Jan. 28, 2005, in Mosul, Iraq of injuries after two armored
vehicles collided.
17. National Guard 1st Lt. Jason Timmerman, 24, of Tracy, died
Feb. 21, 2005, when roadside bomb went off in Baghdad.
18. National Guard Staff Sgt. David Day, 25, of St. Louis Park,
died Feb. 21, 2005, when roadside bomb went off in Baghdad.
19. Sgt. Jesse Lhotka, 24, of Alexandria, Army National Guard,
died Feb. 21, 2005, when roadside bomb went off in Baghdad.
20. Army Spc. Travis Bruce, 22, of Rochester, died March 23,
2005, in Baghdad when struck by a rocket-propelled grenade as he
stood on the roof of a building his unit was guarding.
21. Marine Capt. Kelly C. Hinz, 30, of Woodbury, died May 2,
2005, when the F/A-18 Hornet jet he was piloting crashed with
another jet fighter in south-central Iraq.
22. Army Chief Warrant Officer Matthew Lourey, 40, a Kerrick
native, died May 26, 2005, when the Kiowa Warrior helicopter he was
flying was shot down in Iraq.
23. Army 1st Lt. Michael Fasnacht, 25, of Mankato, died June 8,
2005, when a roadside bomb hit the Bradley fighting vehicle he was
driving while on patrol in Iraq.
24. Army Chief Warrant Officer Corey Goodnature, 35, a native of
Clarks Grove, died June 28, 2005, when the helicopter he was
piloting was shot down by a missile in Afghanistan.
25. Marine Sgt. Bryan James Opskar, 32, of Moorhead, died July
23, 2005, in Iraq when a roadside bomb exploded near Ar Rutbah,
Iraq.
26. Army Sgt. Mike Benson, 40, of Winona, died Aug. 10 of
injuries suffered Aug. 2 while riding in a convoy that was struck
by a bomb in Baghdad.
27. Army Pfc. Elden D. Arcand, 22, of White Bear Lake, died Aug.
21, 2005, when their tractor rolled over in Mosul, Iraq, while
pulling a tanker.
28. Army Spc. Jacob T. Vanderbosch, 21, of Vadnais Heights, died
Oct. 3 along with soldiers from Ohio and Florida in Al Haqlaniyah,
Iraq, when a bomb detonated near their vehicle.
29. Marine Master Sgt. Brett E. Angus, 40, of St. Paul, killed
Nov. 26, 2005, while conducting combat operations near Camp
Taqaddum, Iraq. His vehicle apparently struck a roadside bomb.
30. Marine Lance Cpl. Scott Modeen, 24, of New Hope, killed Dec.
1, 2005, when buried artillery shells were detonated outside an
abandoned flour mill the Marines had been using as a temporary
patrol base in Fallujah.
31. Marine Cpl. Anthony McElveen, 21, of Little Falls, a 2003
graduate of Little Falls High School, one of 10 Marines killed Dec.
1, 2005, when buried artillery shells were detonated outside an
abandoned flour mill the Marines had been using as a temporary
patrol base in Fallujah.
32. Marine Staff Sgt. Kenneth B. Pospisil, 35, of Andover, died
Dec. 14, 2005, when a bomb he was going to disarm went off near Ar
Ramadi.
33. Kyle Kaszynski, 39, of rural Elmwood, Wis., died Dec. 22,
2005, when a roadside bomb in Iraq killed him. He was working for a
private security company, Kroll Inc. Kaszynski is a former St. Paul
police officer and also worked as a police officer in Bemidji.
34. Army Reserve Maj. Stuart Anderson, 44, of Peosta, Iowa, a
native of west-central Minnesota, died Jan. 7, 2006, in a
helicopter crash in northern Iraq.
35. Roland C. Barvels, 42, of Aberdeen, S.D., a native of
Fairmont, died Jan. 18, 2006 when a roadside bomb hit his convoy
near Basra. Barvels was working as an international police liaison
officer for DynCorp international.
36. Marine Lance Cpl. Adam J. VanAlstine, 21, of Cottage Grove,
Minn., was killed Feb. 25, 2006 by a roadside bomb near Baghdad.
37. Army Cpl. Andrew J. Kemple, 23, of Cambridge, Army, died
Feb. 12, 2006 when his Humvee came under small arms fire in Tikrit.
38. Army Chief Warrant Officer Eric W. Totten, 34, a native of
St. Paul and Golden Valley, died May 5, 2006 when his helicopter
fell into a ravine in Kunar Province in Afghanistan.
39. Marine Lance Cpl. Robert Posivio III, 22, of Sherburn, died
May 23, 2006 when his Humvee was hit by a roadside bomb in the Al
Anbar Province of Iraq.
40. Marine Capt. Nathanael J. Doring, 31, of Apple Valley, died
after his AH-1 Cobra helicopter crashed May 27 during a maintenance
test flight in Anbar province in Iraq.
41. National Guard Spc. Brent W. Koch, 22, of Morton, died June
16, 2006, in Ad Diwaniyah, Iraq, when a bomb detonated near his
military vehicle.
42. National Guard Spc. Kyle R. Miller, 19, of Willmar, died
June 29, 2006, near Balad, Iraq, after a bomb exploded near his
military vehicle.
43. Army Spc. Troy Carlin Linden, 22, of Rochert, died July 8,
2006, in Al Anbar province when a roadside bomb went off near the
Humvee he was driving.
44. Army Spc. Qixing Lee, 20, of Minneapolis, died Aug. 27,
2006, when a roadside bomb exploded near his Bradley armored
personal carrier during combat operations in Taji, Iraq.
45. National Guard Staff Sgt. Joshua Robert Hanson, 27, of Dent,
died Aug. 30, 2006, near Khalidiyah, Iraq, of injuries suffered
when a bomb detonated near his military vehicle.
46. Marine Cpl. Johnathan Benson, 21, of North Branch, died
Sept. 9, 2006, at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, after
being injured June 17 when a bomb exploded under his vehicle near
Habbaniyah, Iraq.
47. Army Staff Sgt. Kevin M. Witte, 27, of Beardsley, died Oct.
20, 2006 in Baghdad of injuries suffered when a bomb exploded near
his vehicle during a combat patrol.
48. National Guard Spc. Bryan T. McDonough, 22, of Maplewood,
died Dec. 2, 2006, after a bomb exploded near the Humvee he was
riding in near Fallujah.
49. National Guard Spc. Corey J. Rystad, 20, of Red Lake Falls,
killed Dec. 2, 2006, in same blast that killed McDonough.
50. National Guard Spc. Nicholas Turcotte, 23, of Maple Grove,
killed Dec. 4, 2006, when the armored vehicle he was in rolled over
near Nasiriyah.
51. National Guard Sgt. James M. Wosika Jr., 24, of St. Paul,
killed Jan. 9, 2007 by a bomb while on foot patrol in Fallujah.
52. National Guard Sgt. Maj. Michael Mettille, 44, of West St.
Paul died Feb. 1, 2007, at Camp Adder in Iraq of a
non-combat-related injury.
53. Army Sgt. William J. Beardsley, 25, of Coon Rapids, died
Feb. 26, 2007, in Diwaniyah, Iraq, when a bomb exploded near his
vehicle.
54. Marine Sgt. Chad M. Allen, 25, of Maple Lake, died Feb. 28,
2007, in Al Anbar, Iraq, during combat.
55. Minnesota National Guard Sgt. Greg N. Riewer, 28, of Frazee,
killed March 23, 2007, while on patrol in Fallujah when his vehicle
was struck by a roadside bomb.
56. Army Spc. Sean K. McDonald, 21, of Rosemount, died March 25,
2007, in Baghdad of wounds suffered when a bomb exploded near his
vehicle.
57. Marine Lance Cpl. Daniel Olsen, 20, of Eagan, was shot in
the back and killed April 2, 2007, in Al Anbar Province.
58. Army Spc. Conor Masterson, 21, of Woodbury, died April 7,
2007 in eastern Afghanistan when a bomb exploded near his vehicle.
59. Army Sgt. Joshua Schmit, 26, of Willmar, was killed April
14, 2007, when a bomb exploded near his vehicle in Fallujah, Iraq.
60. Army Spc. Robert Dixon, 28, of Minneapolis, was killed May
6, 2007, by an improvised explosive device in Baghdad, Iraq.
61. Army Sgt. Jason Alan Schumann, 23, of Hawley, was killed May
19, 2007 by a roadside bomb in Ad Diwaniyah, Iraq.
62. Army Tony Hebert, 19, an infantry machine gunner from Lake
City, died during combat June 21, 2007 in Iraq.
63. Army Staff Sgt. Jacob Thompson, 26, of North Mankato was
killed Aug. 6, 2007, by a bomb during a house search in Baqubah.
64. Army Sgt. Andrew Nelson, 22, of Moorhead, was killed Aug.
29, 2007, in Muqdadiyah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when insurgents
attacked his unit.
65. William Juneau, 36, of Rush City, was killed Nov. 26, 2007,
outside of Baghdad when his convoy was hit by an improvised
explosive device. He was training Iraqi police officers as a
contractor with Falls Church, Va.-based DynCorp International.
66. Sgt. 1st Class John J. Tobiason, 42, of Hayfield, died Nov.
28, 2007, in Baghdad of injuries suffered when he was hit by a
stray bullet. His family said the bullet came from a fight between
Iraqi police and insurgents. Tobiason grew up in Bloomington and
graduated from Kennedy High School.
67. Army Spc. Randy W. Pickering, 31, of Bovey, died Dec. 9,
2007, in Baghdad of injuries sustained in a non-combat related
incident that was under investigation.
68. Army Pfc. Joshua R. Anderson, 24, of Jordan, died Jan. 2,
2008, in Kamasia, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device
exploded near his vehicle.
69. Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Pionk, 30, of Eveleth and a native of
Oliver, Wis., died Jan. 9, 2008, along with five other soldiers
when an explosive detonated during combat operations in Sinsil,
Iraq. His father said Pionk led a squad into a building that had
been booby-trapped and terrorists detonated a bomb from a remote
location.
70. Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Ryan Kahler, 29, of Granite Falls
died Jan. 26, 2008, in FOB Fenty, Afghanistan, after being shot in
Waygul, Afghanistan. The department was investigating the death and
said Kahler might have been shot by an Afghan guard allied with
U.S. forces who mistook him for an enemy combatant.
71. Paul Johnson-Reuben, of Minneapolis, was confirmed dead
March 27, 2008. He was one of five employees of Crescent Security
Group, a Kuwait-based private security firm, kidnapped Nov. 16,
2006, by men in Iraqi police uniforms who ambushed a convoy they
were escorting. He was 39 when he was abducted.
72. Army Spec. Gregory B. Rundell, 21, of North St. Paul, was
killed by a sniper March 26, 2008, while manning a guard tower at a
base just north of Baghdad.
73. Army Spc. Jacob J. Fairbanks, 22, of St. Paul, died April 9,
2008, of non-combat-related injuries in Baghdad.
74. Army Staff Sgt. Brian E. Studer, 28, of Ramsey, died Aug.
22, 2008, while trying to disarm an explosive device in Ghazni,
Afghanistan.
75. Army Chief Warrant Officer Philip E. Windorski Jr., 36, of
Grand Rapids, died Jan. 26, 2009, when two helicopters crashed in
northern Iraq.
76. National Guard Maj. Tim Vakoc, 49, a military chaplain, of
Robbinsdale, died June 20, 2009 at North Memorial Medical Center in
Robbinsdale. Vakoc died of injuries suffered in a fall at a nursing
home where he received care for injuries from a roadside bombing
near Mosul on May 29, 2004.
77. Illinois National Guard Spc. Chester Hosford, 35, of Ottawa,
Ill., former of Hastings, Minn., and the Minnesota National Guard,
died July 6 when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in Konduz,
Afghanistan.
78. National Guard Spc. Daniel P. Drevnick, 22, of Woodbury,
died July 16, 2009, in Basra, southern Iraq, when insurgents
attacked his unit using indirect fire.
79. National Guard Spc. James D. Wertish, 20, of Olivia, Minn.,
died July 16, 2009, in Basra, southern Iraq, when insurgents
attacked his unit using indirect fire.
80. National Guard Spc. Carlos E. Wilcox IV, 27, of Cottage
Grove, Minn., died July 16, 2009, in Basra, southern Iraq, when
insurgents attacked his unit using indirect fire.
81. Air Force Capt. Thomas J. Gramith, 27, of Eagan, Minn., died
July 17, 2009, in an F-15E crash near Ghazni Province, Afghanistan.
82. Army Ranger (Cpl.) Ben Kopp, 21, of Rosemount, Minn., died
July 18, 2009, at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington of
wounds he suffered July 10 in battle in Afghanistan, when
insurgents attacked his unit with small arms fire.
83. Army Pfc. Jonathan C. Yanney, 20, of Litchfield, Minn, died
Aug. 18, 2009 in Arghandab, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an
improvised explosive device detonated near his unit.
84. Army Staff Sgt. Todd W. Selge, 25, of Burnsville, Minn.,
died Sept. 3, 2009, near Baqubah, Iraq, of injuries sustained when
he vehicle rolled over during night operations.
85. National Guard Maj. Tad T. Hervas, 48, of Coon Rapids,
Minn., died Oct. 6, 2009, at Contingency Operating Base in Basra,
southern Iraq, of "injuries sustained from a noncombat related
incident."
86. Marine Staff Sgt. Aaron J. Taylor, 27, of Duluth, was killed
Oct. 9, 2009, by an improvised explosive device while on foot
patrol in Helmand province in Afghanistan. He had been based at
Camp Pendleton, Calif.
87. Minnesota National Guard Spc. George W. Cauley, 24, of
Walker, died Oct. 10, 2009, in Bahgram, Afghanistan, after being
wounded when insurgents attacked his vehicle with an improvised
explosive device Oct. 7 in Helmand province in Afghanistan. Cauley
was assigned to the 114th Truck Company of the Minnesota Army
National Guard in Duluth.
88. Randy Bergquist, 53, a Bemidji native who graduated from
Princeton High School, was pilot of U.S. Army reconnaissance plane
that crashed in mountainous northeastern Afghanistan. Plane had
been missing since it crashed Oct. 13, 2009. Two other American
military contractors also were killed.
89. Marine Lance Cpl. Curtis M. Swenson, 20, of Rochester, died
April 2, 2010, while supporting combat operations in Helmand
province, Afghanistan. Swenson was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd
Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary
Force, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.
90. Army Reserve Sgt. Kurt E. Kruize, 35, of St. Cloud and
Hancock, died April 5 in Baghdad, Iraq, of a noncombat-related
injury. He was with the 367th Engineer Battalion out of St. Cloud.
91. Air Force Maj. Randy Voas , 43, of Lakeville, died April 9
near Kandahar, Afghanistan, in a crash of a CV-22 Osprey. He was
assigned to the 8th Special Operations Squadron, Hurlburt Field,
Fla.
92. Army Spc. Matthew J. Johnson, 21, of Maplewood, died July 14
in at Zabul Province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when
insurgents attacked his military vehicle with an improvised
explosive device.
93. Army 1st Lt. Christopher S. Goeke, 23, of Apple Valley, died
July 13 in Kandahar City, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when
insurgents attacked their unit with rifle, rocket propelled
grenade, and small arms fire.
94. Army Chief Warrant Officer Jonah D. McClellan, 26, of St.
Louis Park, Minn., was among five soldiers (nine U.S. troops total)
who died Sept. 21, 2010, in helicopter crash during combat
operations in Zabul province, Afghanistan. McClellan was assigned
to 5th Battalion, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Airborne
Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky. McClellan's father said
his son grew up near Battle Ground, Wash.
95. Army Pfc. Ryane G. Clark, 22, of New London, died Oct. 4,
2010, in Shekhabad, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents
attacked his unit with small arms fire and rocket-propelled
grenades. Clark was assigned to the 27th Combat Engineer Battalion
(Airborne), 20th Combat Engineer Brigade, Fort Bragg, N.C.
96. Army Spc. Andrew C. Wilfahrt, 31, of Rosemount, Minn., died
Feb. 27, 2011, when insurgents attacked his unit with a homemade
bomb in Kandahar province, Afghanistan.
97. Army Sgt. Matthew A. Harmon, 29, Bagley, Minn., died Aug.
14, 2011, in an explosion while recovering a damaged vehilce in
Paktika province, Afghanistan.
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