U.S. service member killed in Afghanistan, 6th this year
The U.S. military says it has determined that the shooting death of an American service member Sept. 3 in Afghanistan was a so-called insider attack.
Lt. Col. Martin O’Donnell, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition in Kabul, said in a telephone interview Tuesday that the American was killed in eastern Afghanistan by a member of the Afghan national police force. Another U.S. service member was wounded; O’Donnell said that person is in stable condition.
When the attack was announced, the coalition called it an apparent insider attack.
O’Donnell said the Afghan attacker was apprehended and is now in Afghan custody.
The Sept. 3 insider attack was the second this summer. One American was killed and two were wounded in a July attack in southern Uruzgan province. The service member killed Sept. 3 was the sixth U.S. service member killed in Afghanistan so far this year.
U.S. Army Gen. Scott Miller, who assumed command of NATO’s Resolute Support operation on Sept. 2, said the American who died had volunteered for duty in Afghanistan to protect his country.
Miller called his death “a tragic loss for all who knew and all who will now never know him.”
The commander added “Our duty now is to honor him, care for his family and continue our mission.” AP
Pentagon: Remains of U.S. POW from Korean War identified
U.S. military officials say the remains of a missing New York soldier who died during the Korean War more than 60 years ago have been identified.
The Pentagon’s Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced Sept. 4 that 1st Lt. Herman L. Falk’s remains were identified last month using DNA analysis, dental records and material evidence.
DPAA says the 22-year-old from Manhattan was serving in the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division when he and other members of his platoon were reported missing during fighting in South Korea in February 1951.
Officials say after the war returning American POWs reported Falk had died that spring at a POW camp in North Korea.
Falk’s remains were among those of at least 400 U.S. servicemen handed over by the North Koreans from 1990-94.
Funeral arrangements are pending. AP
Arkansas man identified as Marine killed in WWII battle
The Defense Department says the remains of a U.S. Marine killed in a World War II battle in the Pacific have been identified as an Arkansas man.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced Sept. 4 that Marine Corps Sgt. Millard Odom from Batesville, Arkansas, was officially identified Aug. 20 through DNA, dental and anthropological analysis, and “circumstantial and material evidence.”
Odom was 26 when he was killed in battle on a small island in Kiribati and was buried there with approximately 1,000 Marines and sailors.
The Defense Department said after the war the remains were recovered and unidentified bodies were interred in Honolulu. Odom’s remains were sent in 2017 to a laboratory for identification.
Officials estimate more than 72,000 U.S. service members who fought during World War II are unaccounted for. AP
Remains of Rhode Island man who fought in WWII identified
The Defense Department says the remains of a U.S. serviceman killed in World War II have been identified as an Rhode Island man.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced Sept. 5 that Army Air Forces 1st Lt. John D. Crouchley Jr. from Providence was identified through DNA and other evidence.
Crouchley was 26 when his plane was shot down and crashed during a combat mission over Romania. Nine crewmembers parachuted safely and were captured as prisoners of war in Belgium. They subsequently returned to duty while only Crouchley remained unaccounted for.
Because the crash occurred in enemy territory, American personnel couldn’t conduct an immediate search.
Defense analysts surveyed the crash site in Bulgaria in 2010. It was excavated last year.