A Brother Abroad

April was a cruel month.

April 30:
Petty Officer 2nd Class Tyler J. Trahan, 22, of East Freetown, Mass., Sgt. James R. McIlvaine, 26, of Olney, Md. and Staff Sgt. Mark A. Wojciechowski, 25, of Cincinnati, Ohio. died April 30 while supporting combat operations in Fallujah, Iraq.

Petty Officer Trahan was assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit Twelve in Norfolk, Va., and was deployed with an East Coast based Navy SEAL team.Sgt. McIlvaine was assigned to 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twenty-nine Palms, Calif. Staff Sgt. Wojciechowski was assigned to 7th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

April 25:
Staff Sgt. Leroy O. Webster, 28, of Sioux Falls, S.D., died April 25 near Kirkuk, Iraq, after being shot while on a dismounted patrol. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

April 24:
CSM Benjamin Moore, Jr., 43, of Waycross, Ga., died Apr 24 at Contingency Operating Base Speicher, Iraq, of injuries sustained in a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 2d Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 3d Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

April 22:
Cpl. Brad A. Davis, 21, of Garfield Heights, Ohio, died April 22 near Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. He was assigned to the 82nd Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

Cpl. William C. Comstock, 21, of Van Buren, Ark., died April 22 as a result of a non-hostile incident in Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Supply Battalion, Combat Logistics Regiment 25, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

April 16:
Lance Cpl. Ray A. Spencer II, 20, of Ridgecrest, Calif., died April 16 as a result of a non-hostile incident in Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.

April 13:
Sgt. Raul Moncada, 29, of Madera, Calif., died April 13 near Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds sustained when an explosive device detonated near his vehicle. He was assigned to the 563rd Military Police Company, 91st Military Police Battalion, 10th Sustainment Brigade, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.

April 12:
Spc. Michael J. Anaya, 23, of Crestview, Fla., died April 12 in Bayji, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

April 10:
Sgt. Christopher D. Loza, 24, of Abilene, Texas, died Apr. 10, 2009, at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C., of a non-combat related illness after becoming ill 17 March in Radwaniyah, Iraq. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 124th Cavalry Regiment, 56th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 36th Infantry Division, Waco, Texas.

Staff Sgt. Gary L. Woods Jr., 24, of Lebanon Junction, Ky., Staff Sgt. Bryan E. Hall, 32, of Elk Grove, Calif., Sgt. Edward W. Forrest Jr., 25, of St. Louis, Mo., Cpl. Jason G. Pautsch, 20, of Davenport, Iowa, and PV2 Bryce E. Gautier, 22, of Cypress, Calif. died April 10th when their military vehicle was struck by a suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device in Mosul, Iraq. They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.

April 5:
Spc. Israel Candelaria Mejias, 28, of San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico, died April 5 near Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds sustained when a mine detonated near him during combat operations. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment in Task Force 3rd Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 172nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Grafenwoehr, Germany.

April 3:
Lance Cpl. Stephen F. Dearmon, 21, of Crossville, Tenn., died April 3 as a result of a non-hostile incident in Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Marine Logistics Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Sgt. Daniel J. Beard, 24, of Buffalo, N.Y., died April 3 in Al Diwaniyah, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 147th Postal Company, 21st Theater Sustainment Command, Wiesbaden, Germany.

This is Day 97.