In Memoriam

[Grace]

9 July 2011

US Army Sergeant 1st Class Terryl L. Pasker, age 39, from Cedar Rapids, died on 9th July 2011 in Panjshir province, Afghanistan, after being shot by an Afghan security officer. The assailant was subsequently shot and killed by a US soldier.

Sfc. Pasker, served with the Iowa Army National Guard's Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division. He was due to return home later this month. He enlisted in the US Army in July 1990 and joined the Iowa National Guard in April 1995.

Sfc. Pasker, leaves his wife, Erica, of Cedar Rapids, his parents, one brother and two sisters.

In the same incident, Retired US Trooper Paul Protzenko, a civilian contractor died.

[Grace]

10 July 2011

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation New Dawn.

Sgt. Steven L. Talamantez, 34, of Laredo, Texas, died July 10, in Al Amarah, Iraq, of injuries suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with indirect fire. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

[Grace]

10 July 2011

101st Airborne Spc. Rafael A. Nieves Jr. was killed in action on 10th July 2011 in Paktika province, Afghanistan during a battle with enemy forces. The 22-year-old, from Albany, New York, died from wounds sustained after his vehicle came under small-arms and RPG fire.

Spc. Nieves served with the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Spc. Nieves leaves his wife Sarah A. McKinney, their two children, Emma Grace and Rafael A. III, his father, Rafael A. Nieves Sr. and his mother, Tina R. Roman.

[Grace]

9 July 2011

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Sgt. Christopher P. Soderlund, 23, of Pineville, La., died July 9 in Logar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with rocket-propelled grenade fire. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Polk, La.

[Grace]

10 July 2011

US Marine Lance Corporal Norberto Mendez Hernandez, age 22, from Logan, Utah, died on 10th July 2011 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He served with the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, based at Camp Pendleton, California.

[Grace]

France

22-year-old French Army Brigadier Clement Kovac was killed on 11th July 2011 when a colleague accidentally shot him. The incident happened at Operating Base Hutnik in Kapisa province, Afghanistan. He served with the 1st Regiment of Chasseurs.

Brig. Kovac had previously served in New Caledonia and deployed to Afghanistan on 2nd June 2011 as a crew member in a AMX-10 light tank.

His commanding officer said of Brig. Kovak that he was "noted for his sense of responsibility" and that he had "a very good state of mind in all missions he participated in.

The young soldier had been awarded the National Defense Medal (bronze level).

[Grace]

Italy

Italian Army Primo Caporal Maggiore Roberto Marchini was killed by a roadside bomb on Tuesday 12th July 2011 during a joint patrol about 3km from FOB Lavaredo, in Bakwa district, Farah province, Afghanistan. It was the last day of his deployment in Afghanistan.

Cpl. Maj. Marchini, born in 1983, served with the 8th Parachute Engineer Regiment based at Legnago, a unit within the Folgore Parachute Brigade. He was a bomb-disposal engineer on his third overseas combat mission.

He joined the army in 2005 and was proud to be a part of a team specializing in reconnaissance and bomb disposal. He leaves his parents and a sister.