To honor the men and women in our armed forces and remind our readers of their sacrifices, the Benton County Daily Record is publishing Department of Defense announcements identifying Americans killed in active military operations.
Cpl. Joe L. Wrightsman, 23, of Jonesboro, La., died July 18 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rdMarine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.
1st Lt. Michael L. Runyan, 24, of Newark, Ohio, died July 21 in Balad, Iraq, of injuries suffered when insurgents attacked his convoy vehicle with an improvised explosive device in Muqdadiyah, Iraq. He was assigned to the 52nd Infantry, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
Pfc. James J. Oquin, 20, of El Paso, Texas, died July 23 in Orgun-E, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered from a noncombatrelated incident when he was swept away by the current when a levee broke near his military vehicle in Paktika, Afghanistan.
He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.
Opinion, Pages 5 on 07/27/2010