Four Soldiers From Philadelphia Unit and One Soldier From Williamsport Unit
Killed in Action
FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa., Aug. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Five Pennsylvania Army
National Guard Soldiers were killed and three injured Tuesday evening in two
separate attacks in Iraq.
In the first incident, four Pennsylvania Army National Guard Soldiers were
killed and three others injured when their convoy was attacked in Bayji, Iraq,
late Tuesday evening. The Soldiers involved in the firefight were members of
Company A, 1-111th Infantry, Philadelphia, Pa.
The 11:45 p.m. attack killed Pfc. Nathaniel Detample, 19, Morrisville;
Pfc. John Kulick, 35, Jenkintown; Spc. Gennaro Pellegrini, 31, Philadelphia;
and Spc. Francis Straub Jr., 24, Philadelphia.
Sgt. Timothy Breen, 25, Mt. Wolf; Spc. Felix Schmeider, 21, Sharon; and
Sgt. Daniel South, 23, York, received minor injuries in the attack.
The Soldiers were on a routine patrol when improvised explosive devices
struck their up-armored HMMWVs. Both vehicles were then attacked by small arms
fire and rocket-propelled grenades. Unit members returned fire and the
insurgents retreated to a wooded area.
Pellegrini was a Philadelphia police officer; Kulick was employed by the
Whitpain Fire Department, Montgomery County; Straub worked for the United
Parcel Service; and Detample was a college student at Shippensburg University.
The Philadelphia-based unit has 150 members and was deployed to Iraq in
December for a one-year assignment.
In the second incident, Staff Sgt. Ryan S. Ostrom, 29, a member of Co. B,
109th Infantry, Williamsport, Pa., was killed in action late Tuesday evening.
Ostrom, a resident of Liberty, was conducting combat operations in the city of
Habaniyah when he was hit by enemy small arms fire. There were no other
casualties reported in this incident.
The Williamsport-based Pennsylvania Army National Guard unit was deployed
with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team to Iraq in July for a one-year assignment.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with these five Soldiers' families during
this difficult time," said Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell. "The
commonwealth mourns the loss of these heroes, and prays that our military
personnel still fighting are returned to us safely."
Pellegrini, Kulick, Straub, Detample and Ostrom will be posthumously
awarded the Purple Heart and Combat Infantryman Badge.
On Saturday, Aug. 6, two Pennsylvania Army National Guard Soldiers
assigned to Company A, 1st Battalion, 111th Infantry, Philadelphia were killed
when an improvised explosive device detonated near their convoy in the city of
Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad. The blast killed Sgt. Brahim Jeffcoat,
25, Philadelphia, and Spc. Kurt Krout, 43, Spinnerstown.
"This has been a particularly difficult week for the Pennsylvania National
Guard," said Maj. Gen. Jessica Wright, state adjutant general. "We've lost a
total of seven Soldiers in four days and words cannot describe the loss we
feel. My condolences go out to their families and loved ones."
Eleven Pennsylvania National Guard members have been killed in action
since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
More than 90 Pennsylvania service members have died while fighting the
Global War on Terror; 11 of them were Pennsylvania National Guard members
killed in action in Iraq.
CONTACT: Lt. Col. Chris Cleaver, Pennsylvania Department of Military and
Veterans Affairs, +1-717-861-8468.
SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs
 back to top
Related links:
http://www.state.pa.us
CONTACT:
Lt. Col. Chris Cleaver, Pennsylvania
Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, +1-717-861-8468,
Cell: +1-717-821-2094
|
