List of Michigan Casualties in Afghanistan

6/19/2008, 10:32 p.m. EDT The Associated Press

(AP) — Members of the U.S. armed forces with known Michigan ties who died supporting military operations in Afghanistan:

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_Air Force Tech. Sgt. John Chapman, 36, a commando, died March 4, 2002, after his helicopter came under attack by al-Qaida and Taliban fighters. He was killed while trying to retrieve the body of a fellow airman who had fallen from a helicopter during the attack. The Windsor Locks, Conn., resident’s father, Eugene, lived in Belding.

Senior Airman Jason Plite, 21, of Grand Ledge, died March 23, 2003, when his helicopter crashed during a flight to evacuate two children with life-threatening head injuries.

 

_Air Force Tech. Sgt. Howard A. Walters, 33, of Port Huron, an aerial gunner, died Nov. 23, 2003, when his Air Force Special Forces helicopter broke up after a hard landing on a rocky river bank nine miles east of Bagram Air Base.

_Army Sgt. Robert P. Kassin, 29, a Flint native who grew up in Clovis, N.M., died July 16, 2006, when his platoon came under fire near Larzab.

_Army Pvt. Joseph R. Blake, 34, a Michigan native of Portland, Ore., died Aug. 17, 2006, from small-arms fire. Blake, whose parents live in Livonia, was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.

_Army Sgt. Jeremy E. DePottey, 26, of Ironwood, died Sept. 11, 2006, in Asadabad of injuries suffered in a single vehicle accident. DePottey was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.

_Army Maj. Douglas E. Sloan, 40, who grew up in Charlevoix, died Oct. 31, 2006, of injuries sustained in a roadside bombing, his family said. Sloan was assigned to the 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.

_Army Col. James W. Harrison, 47, a 1977 graduate of Oscoda High School, died May 6, 2007 when he was shot by an Afghan soldier at a prison 20 miles east of Kabul. The Missouri resident, whose parents live in Montrose, was serving as a detention policy expert with the Combined Forces Command Afghanistan.

_Army Pfc. Joseph A. Miracle, 22, of Ortonville, died July 5, 2007 of wounds sustained from enemy small arms fire and indirect fire in the Watapor Valley of Kunar province. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 503d Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 173d Airborne Brigade based in Vicenza, Italy.

_Army Pfc. Jordan E. Goode, 21, of Kalamazoo, died Aug. 11, 2007 from injuries suffered when a roadside bomb exploded beneath the truck he was driving in Zormont. He was assigned to the 4th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C.

_Army Sgt. 1st Class Matthew D. Blaskowski, 27, a 1998 Cheboygan Area High School graduate whose parents live in Cheboygan County, died Sept. 23, 2007 in Asadabad of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms fire during combat operations. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team at Vicenza, Italy.

_Marine Sgt. Phillip A. Bocks, 28, of Troy, died Nov. 9, 2007, while conducting combat operations in Aranus. He was assigned to the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center, Bridgeport, Calif.

_Army Pfc. Joseph M. Lancour, 21, of Swartz Creek, died Nov. 10, 2007, the day after his patrol was attacked in Aranus. The Ludington native was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Airborne Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team based in Vicenza, Italy.

_Army Pfc. Antione V. Robinson, 20, of Detroit, died March 19, 2008 in Nawa, of injuries sustained when the vehicle he was repairing collapsed. He was assigned to the 782nd Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C.

_Navy Petty Officer Ross L. Toles III, of Davison, died June 18, 2008 of wounds suffered in a rocket attack in Paktika province. He was assigned to Provincial Reconstruction Team Sharana in Afghanistan.