Military deaths

The Defense Department last week identified the following American military personnel killed in Afghanistan and Iraq:

Justin L. Buxbaum, 23, of South Portland, Maine; specialist, Army. Buxbaum died of a noncombat-related gunshot wound Monday in Kushamond in eastern Afghanistan’s Paktia province, south of Kabul. He was assigned to the 62nd Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade at Ft. Hood, Texas.

Jason F. Dene, 37, of Castleton, Vt.; sergeant first class, Army. Dene, a nephew of actress Mia Farrow, apparently died in his sleep May 24 in Baghdad. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division at Ft. Stewart, Ga.

Blake W. Evans, 24, of Rockford, Ill.; sergeant, Army. Evans was killed May 25 when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb in the Al Jazeera Desert in Iraq’s Salahuddin province, west of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Ft. Campbell, Ky.

Frank J. Gasper, 25, of Merced, Calif.; staff sergeant, Army. Gasper was killed May 25 when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb in Najaf, Iraq, south of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group at Ft. Carson, Colo.

Christopher Gathercole, 21, of Santa Rosa, Calif.; specialist, Army. Gathercole was killed Monday when his unit was attacked with small-arms fire in Ghazni, Afghanistan, southwest of Kabul. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Ft. Lewis, Wash.

David L. Leimbach, 38, of Taylors, S.C.; specialist, Army National Guard. Leimbach was killed May 25 when his unit was attacked with rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire near Bala Baluk in southwest Afghanistan’s Farah province, near the Iranian border. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 118th Infantry in Fountain Inn, S.C., and attached to the 2nd Squadron, 101st Cavalry (Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Target Acquisition) in New York.

Kyle P. Norris, 22, of Zanesville, Ohio; private first class, Army. Norris died May 23 in Balad, Iraq, of injuries suffered a day earlier when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb in Iskandariya, south of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division at Ft. Stewart, Ga.

David Nunez, 27, of Los Angeles; sergeant first class, Army. Nunez was killed Thursday when his unit was attacked with small-arms fire in Shewan in southwest Afghanistan’s Farah province, near the Iranian border. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group at Ft. Bragg, N.C.

Chad M. Trimble, 29, of West Covina; private first class, Army. Trimble was killed Wednesday when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb near Gardez in eastern Afghanistan’s Paktia province, south of Kabul. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Ft. Campbell, Ky.

--

Sources: Department of Defense and the Associated Press