In Memoriam

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

Richard B. Burress, 25, of Naples, Fla.; specialist, Army. Burress was killed Jan. 19 when a bomb buried in a road exploded under his Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle near Arab Jabour, Iraq, south of Baghdad. It was the first death of a soldier in a bomb attack involving the new, heavily armored vehicle designed to protect troops from roadside bombs. The explosion did not penetrate the cabin but threw the vehicle into the air and caused it to overturn. Burress was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division at Ft. Stewart, Ga.

James M. Gluff, 20, of Tunnel Hill, Ga.; lance corporal, Marine Corps. Gluff was killed in combat Jan. 19 in Iraq’s Anbar province, west of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Robert J. Miller, 24, of Iowa City, Iowa; staff sergeant, Army. Miller was killed Friday when his unit was attacked with small-arms fire in Barikowt in eastern Afghanistan’s Kunar province. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Ft. Bragg, N.C.

Jon M. Schoolcraft III, 26, of Wapakoneta, Ohio; specialist, Army. Schoolcraft was killed Jan. 19 when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb in Taji, Iraq, north of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

Michael R. Sturdivant, 20, of Conway, Ark.; sergeant, Army Reserve. Sturdivant was killed Tuesday when his convoy vehicle overturned in a noncombat-related accident in Kirkuk, Iraq, north of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 431st Civil Affairs Battalion, U.S. Army Civil Affairs & Psychological Operations Command (Airborne) at Ft. Bragg, N.C.

Justin R. Whiting, 27, of Hancock, N.Y.; staff sergeant, Army. Whiting was killed Jan. 19 when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb in Mosul, Iraq, north of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Ft. Campbell, Ky.