Fort Hood Army Sgt. William Edwards Killed Estranged Wife Sgt. Erin Edwards at Killeen, Texas Home; Killed Self in Parking Lot Across Street (July 22, 2004)

Erin Edwards
Sgt. Erin Edwards, U.S. Army

Police found the body of Army Sgt. Erin Edwards, 24, on the front porch of her home in a military community near Fort Hood on July 22, 2004. Erin was shot in the head. A short time later in an apartment complex parking lot across the street, the body of Erin’s estranged husband, Sgt. William Edwards, 24, was found. He suffered what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound and a gun was recovered at the scene. The couple left behind a 4 year old son and 20 month old daughter who were not home at the time of the shootings. Media reports indicate that the couple had a violent domestic history and neighbors shared that the police were constantly at the residence because of domestic problems. Both Erin and William Edwards served with the 4th Infantry Division in Iraq before returning to Fort Hood in early 2004. The Killeen Police Department investigated the shooting deaths of these two Fort Hood, Texas soldiers as a murder-suicide.

Related Links:
Murder-suicide victims identified
Murder-suicide couple identified by Killeen police
Husband-wife soldiers killed in apparent murder-suicide
Soldiers’ deaths may have been murder-suicide
When Strains on Military Families Turn Deadly
When stress turns fatal
Death on the Home Front

MJFA Links:
Violent Crime, Suicide, and Non Combat Death at Fort Hood, Texas
Army Soldiers at Fort Hood in Texas Are Dying at Alarming Rates Stateside (January 1, 2016 to Present)

MJFA on Social:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/militaryjusticeforall
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/military_crime
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/@military_crime
Email: militaryjusticeforall@gmail.com

Fort Hood Army Soldier Pfc. Melissa Hobart Collapsed and Died from an Undetermined Cause While on Guard Duty in Baghdad, Iraq (June 6, 2004)

Melissa Hobart
Pfc. Melissa Hobart, US Army

Army Pfc. Melissa Hobart, 22, died after collapsing on guard duty in Baghdad, Iraq on June 6, 2004. Pfc. Hobart was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) on behalf of the Company E, 215th Forward Support Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division in Fort Hood, Texas. At the time of the Department of Defense press release, the incident was under investigation. Pfc. Hobart left behind a three-year-old daughter. According to Melissa’s memorial site, military officials believe Melissa suffered from a heart attack. Melissa’s mom Connie Hobart told the Hartford Courant that she was put on an anti-depressant shortly before deploying to Iraq and was still feeling depressed. Connie reported in 2006 that the official word from the military, two years later, was that she died of an undetermined cause.

Connie Hobart’s 22-year-old daughter, Army Pfc. Melissa Hobart, was put on an anti-depressant shortly before deploying and had told her mother that she remained depressed while in Baghdad. Three months into her tour, in June 2004, the East Haven native collapsed and died of a still-undetermined cause. Told of the policy changes Monday, Connie Hobart said, “I’m happy to hear about it. That’s good news.” Sobbing, she said her daughter might be alive today if the policy had been different at the time. –Hartford Courant

Related Links:
Pfc. Melissa Jennifer Hobart (1981-2004)
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Pfc. Melissa Hobart | Hartford Courant
Army Pfc. Melissa J. Hobart | Honor the Fallen
Pfc. Melissa J. Hobart | The Washington Post
Mentally Unfit, Forced To Fight — (The Hartford Courant)
Is There an Army Cover Up of Rape and Murder of Women Soldiers?
Violent Crime, Suicide, and Non Combat Death at Fort Hood, Texas (US Army)
Non Combat Deaths of Female Soldiers in the US Military (Iraq)

The Department of Defense Announced the Death of an Army Soldier Supporting Operation Enduring Freedom: Spc. Patrick Tillman (April 23, 2004)

Pat Tillman (photo: wikipedia)

Related Stories:
The Nation | In the Name of Pat Tillman: Good Riddance to Stanley McChrystal (June 25, 2010)
Why Pat Tillman’s Death Matters (September 10, 2010)
15 Movies and Documentaries That Expose the Broken Military Justice System
Military Injustice: Nowhere to Turn, Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide; The Story of Kamisha Block and How U.S. Army Leadership Contributed to Her Death (May 6, 2024)

Department of Defense Casualty Press Release:

This screenshot of this press release for Patrick Tillman is no longer on the DoD press releases website. They deleted the original site and created a new one that only goes back to 2014.

YouTube Videos:

Remembering Pat Tillman: 10 Year Anniversary Special Report (2014) | Outside The Lines
The Truth Behind the Pat Tillman Story
CNN Official Interview: Pat Tillman’s mother: Evidence was destroyed
Army Ranger Tillman Death Investigation
Tillman Book Tells of Search for Information

Related Links:
Hearing on Tillman, Lynch Incidents: Kevin Tillman’s Opening
Pat Tillman’s brother, Kevin, charged the military with ‘intentional falsehoods that meet the legal
Mom blames Gen. McChrystal for cover-up of Pat Tillman’s death in Afghanistan
CNN Official Interview: Pat Tillman’s mother: Evidence was destroyed
The Tillman Story (Chronicles the life of the late Pat Tillman, who walked away from a multimillion-dollar contract with the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals in 2002 to join the Army but died from friendly fire in Afghanistan)
Pat Tillman, his mom and the 20-year torment of a friendly fire death (April 22, 2024)

Chicago Tribune Published ‘In War Without Front Lines, Women GIs Caught in Chaos’ (March 11, 2004)

Xatavia Hughes, an Iraqi war vet is looking for a safer neighborhood for herself and two sons. She is in her current home in the Englewood neighborhood on Nov. 6, 2013. -Chicago Tribune (December 2, 2013)

“One woman saw the military as a stop along the path of higher education. The other saw service as a road out of poverty. They enlisted in what’s typically thought of as a man’s world, and they both died in it. When Pfc. Nichole Frye’s convoy was attacked with a roadside bomb in Baqouba, Iraq, in February, she became the 15th servicewoman to die in the Iraq war, equaling the official number of female soldiers killed in the 1991 Persian Gulf war. When Capt. Gussie Jones, 41, died Sunday of a heart attack in the Baghdad hospital where she served as an Army surgical nurse, that gulf war total was officially surpassed. The conflict in Iraq now has the designation of claiming the lives of more U.S. servicewomen than any hostile theater since World War II, according to Department of Defense statistics. The stories of women like Frye and Jones–what drew them to the military and how they died in that service–reveal much about the role of American military women in Iraq.” -Chicago Tribune (March 11, 2004)

Read more ‘In War Without Front Lines, Women GIs Caught in Chaos’ from the Chicago Tribune here

Related Links:
Once homeless female vet struggles in civilian life | Chicago Tribune
In war without front lines, women GIs caught in chaos

Army Sgt. Keicia Hines Struck by a Vehicle on Mosul Airfield in Iraq; No Updates on Outcome of DoD Investigation (2004)

Keicia M. Hines
Sgt. Keicia Hines, US Army

Army Sgt. Keicia Hines, 27, died when she was struck by a vehicle on Mosul Airfield on January 14, 2004 in Mosul, Iraq. Sgt. Hines’ home of record is listed as Citrus Heights, California. She was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom on behalf of the 108th Military Police, Combat Support Company, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. According to her husband, Sean Hines, she also served in Bosnia and Israel. At the time of the Department of Defense press release, the incident was under investigation. There is no further information available on the outcome of the investigation.

“The Army has provided few details of the accident that killed Hines. Her mother, a civilian analyst for the Sacramento police department, said she did not know what kind of vehicle struck her daughter, who was driving or how it happened. The Army said the accident remains under investigation.” –SF Gate

Related Links:
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Honor the Fallen | Army Sgt. Keicia M. Hines
American Women Veterans | Army Sgt. Keicia M. Hines
Army Sgt. Keicia M. Hines, 27; Killed in Airfield Accident
Soldier killed by vehicle in Iraq / Few details in death of Sacramento woman
Fear didn’t keep soldier from duty
Airman pays tribute to fallen Soldier
The Struggle for Iraq; Names of the Dead

September: U.S. Department of Defense Casualties Report (2003)

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09/30/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Christopher Cutchall, 30, Iraq, Fort Riley, Kansas

09/30/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Evan O’Neill, 19, Afghanistan, Fort Drum, New York

09/29/2003:  Vietnam War MIA’s Identified

09/28/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Robert Lucero, 34, Iraq, Wyoming Army National Guard

09/27/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Lisa Andrews, 24, NCD, Overland Park, Kansas (on-leave), Kansas Army Reserve

09/27/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Kyle Thomas, 23, Iraq, Caserma Ederle, Italy

09/26/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Robert Rooney, 43, NCD, Shuabai Port, Kuwait, Massachusetts Army National Guard

09/25/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Michael Andrade, 28, NCD, Iraq, Rhode Island Army National Guard

09/24/2003:  Remains of U.S. Servicemen Recovered in North Korea

09/23/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Brian Faunce, 28, NCD, Iraq, Fort Carson, Colorado

09/23/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Lunsford Brown II, 27, Iraq, Patton Barracks, Germany

09/23/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: David Friedrich, 26, Iraq, Connecticut Army Reserve

09/23/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Paul Sturino, 21, Iraq, Fort Campbell, Kentucky

09/22/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Anthony Thompson, 26, Richard Arriaga, 20, and James Wright, 27, Iraq, Fort Hood, Texas

09/22/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Frederick Miller Jr, 27, Iraq, Fort Carson, Colorado

09/17/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Craig Ivory, 26, NCD, Kuwait, Vicenza, Italy

09/17/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Alyssa Peterson, 27, NCD, Iraq, Fort Campbell, Kentucky

09/16/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Kevin Kimmerly, 31, Iraq, Baumholder, Germany

09/15/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Kevin Morehead, 33, and William Bennett, 35, Iraq, Fort Campbell, Kentucky

09/15/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Trevor Blumberg, 22, Iraq, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

09/12/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Henry Ybarra III, 32, NCD, Iraq, Illesheim, Germany

09/11/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Joseph Robsky Jr, 31, NCD, Iraq, Fort Irwin, California

09/11/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Ryan Carlock, 25, Iraq, Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia

09/10/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Jarrett Thompson, 27, NCD, Iraq, Delaware Army Reserve

09/04/2003:  DOD Identifies Army Casualty: Cameron Sarno, 43, NCD, Kuwait, Nevada Army Reserve

09/03/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Sean Cataudella, 28, NCD, Iraq, Fort Hood, Texas

09/03/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Charles Caldwell, 38, Iraq, Rhode Island Army National Guard

09/03/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Christopher Sisson, 20, NCD, Iraq, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

09/03/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Chad Fuller, 24, and Adam Thomas, 21, Afghanistan, Fort Drum, New York

09/02/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Mitchell Lane, 34, NCD, Afghanistan, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

09/02/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Joseph Camara, 40, Iraq, Rhode Island Army National Guard

Fort Campbell Army Spc. Alyssa Peterson Died From Non Combat Weapons Discharge in Telafar, Iraq; Death Ruled Suicide (September 15, 2003)

Spc. Alyssa Peterson, U.S. Army

Army Spc. Alyssa Peterson, 27, died from a non-combat weapons discharge in Telafar, Iraq on September 15, 2003. Spc. Peterson was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom on behalf of the C Company, 311th Military Intelligence Battalion, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. At the time of the Department of Defense press release, the incident was under investigation. Media reports indicate that Spc. Peterson’s death was ruled a suicide.

“Appalled when ordered to take part in interrogations that, no doubt, involved what most would call torture — another wrong turn by the United States following 9/11 — Alyssa Peterson refused, then killed herself a few days later, on September 15, 2003…Spc. Alyssa Peterson was one of the first female soldiers who died in Iraq. Her death under these circumstances should have drawn wide attention. It’s not exactly the Tillman case, but a cover-up, naturally, followed.” –Greg Mitchell Huffpost (October 12, 2014)

Related Links:
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Army Spc. Alyssa R. Peterson
Flagstaff GI loved people, languages
The Death of Iraq Interrogator Alyssa Peterson: My Account
Torture: An Author and a Resister
US Military is Keeping Secrets About Female Soldiers’ ‘Suicides’
Remembering the US Soldier Who Committed Suicide After She Refused to Take Part in Torture
Part II: The Soldier Who Chose Suicide After She Refused to Go Along With Torture
US interpreter who witnessed torture in Iraq shot herself with service rifle
Empathy, integrity, torture led to Army suicide
Brother of Alyssa Peterson, Torture Victim, Comments
The Alyssa Peterson Story by Greg Mitchell
The US soldier who killed herself after refusing to torture
September: U.S. Department of Defense Casualties Report (2003)
Non Combat Deaths of Female Soldiers in the US Military (Iraq)
Violent Crime, Suicide & Non Combat Death at Fort Campbell, Kentucky
Military Policy and Legislation Considerations for the Investigations of Non Combat Death, Homicide, and Suicide of US Service Members
House Armed Services Committee Congressional Investigation of Fort Hood: Research Reveals Pattern of Suspicious Deaths and Cover-up (September 11, 2020)

August: U.S. Department of Defense Casualties Report (2003)

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08/30/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Mark Lawton, 41, Iraq, Colorado Army Reserve

08/29/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Anthony Sherman, 43, NCD, Kuwait, Pennsylvania Army Reserve

08/28/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Gregory Belanger, 24, Iraq, Massachusetts Army Reserve

08/27/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Rafael Navea, 34, Iraq, Fort Sill, Oklahoma

08/27/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Pablo Manzano, 19, NCD, Iraq, Bamberg, Germany

08/27/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Darryl Dent, 21, Iraq, Washington D.C. Army National Guard

08/26/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Ronald Allen Jr, 22, NCD, Iraq, Fort Carson, Colorado

08/25/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Michael Adams, 20, NCD, Iraq, Baumholder, Germany

08/25/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Stephen Scott, 21, and Vorn Mack, 19, NCD, Iraq, Fort Carson, Colorado

08/22/2003:  DoD Identifies Navy Casualty: Kylan Jones-Huffman, 31, NCD, Iraq, I Marine Expeditionary Force

08/22/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Bobby Franklin, 38, Iraq, North Carolina Army National Guard

08/21/2003:  DoD Identifies Navy Casualty: David Tapper, 32, Afghanistan, SEAL Team 6, San Diego, California

08/21/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Kenneth Harris, Jr, 23, NCD, Tennessee Army Reserve

08/19/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Eric Hull, 23, Iraq, Pennsylvania Army Reserve

08/18/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: David Kirchhoff, 31, NCD, Iraq, Iowa Army National Guard

08/15/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Steven White, 29, Iraq, Fort Hood, Texas

08/14/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Taft Williams, 29, Iraq, Fort Carson, Colorado

08/14/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Timmy Brown, Jr, 21, Iraq, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

08/13/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Daniel Parker, 18, NCD, Iraq, Fort Campbell, Kentucky

08/13/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Richard Eaton Jr, 37, NCD, Iraq, Fort Meade, Maryland

08/12/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Brandon Ramsey, 21, NCD, Iraq, Illinois Army National Guard

08/12/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: David Perry, 36, NCD, Iraq, California Army National Guard

08/11/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualties: Floyd Knighten Jr, 55, and Levi Kinchen, 21, NCDs, Iraq, Fort Polk, Louisiana

08/11/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Matthew Bush, 20, NCD, Iraq, Fort Hood, Texas

08/11/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Duane Longstreth, 19, NCD, Iraq, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

08/08/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Kyle Gilbert, 20, Iraq, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

08/08/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Leonard Simmons, 33, NCD, Iraq, Fort Campbell, Kentucky

08/07/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Brian Hellerman, 35, Iraq, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

08/07/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Farao Letufuga, 20, NCD, Iraq, Fort Campbell, Kentucky

08/07/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Zeferino Colunga, 20, NCD, Iraq, Fort Polk, Louisiana

08/07/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: David Loyd, 44, NCD, Kuwait, Tennessee Army National Guard

08/04/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Michael Deutsch, 21, Iraq, Armstrong Barracks, Germany

08/04/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: James Lambert III, 22, NCD, Iraq, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

08/04/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Justin Hebert, 20, Iraq, Camp Ederle, Italy

08/01/2003:  DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Leif Nott, 24, Iraq, Fort Hood, Texas

Related Links:
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2002)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2004)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2005)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2006)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2007)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2008)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2009)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2010)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2011)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2012)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2013)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2014)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2015)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2016)
August: Department of Defense Casualties Report (2017)
Non Combat Deaths of Female Soldiers in the US Military (Iraq)
Non Combat Deaths of Female Soldiers in the US Military (Afghanistan)
Non Combat Deaths of Female Soldiers in the US Military (Other Areas)

Fort Carson Army Sgt. Melissa Valles Died of a Non-Combat Gunshot Wound While Deployed in Balad, Iraq (July 9, 2003)

MELSSA VALLES
Sgt. Melissa Valles, US Army

Army Sgt. Melissa Valles, 26, died on July 9, 2003 of a non-combat injury in Balad, Iraq. Sgt. Valles was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) on behalf of the B Company, 64th Forward Support Battalion in Fort Carson, Colorado. At the time of the press release, the incident was under investigation. Military officials told her mother she died from a noncombat gunshot wound to her abdomen. Sgt. Valles was the first woman soldier from Texas killed in Iraq and left behind an eight-year-old son.

Sixteen months have passed since Army Sgt. Melissa Valles gave her life for her country. Still, the pain, anger and unanswered questions persist for the Eagle Pass, Texas, native’s grieving mother and siblings. “We’re still looking for some answers. We’re still trying to find out what really happened,” said Fernando Valles Jr., one of the soldier’s two older brothers. –My Plainview

Related Links:
Sgt Melissa Valles (1977-2003)
DoD Identifies Army Casualties
Army Sgt. Melissa Valles | Honor the Fallen
Family of first Texas woman killed in Iraq still seeking answers
Texans Killed in the Iraq war
Texans killed in Iraq since war began
Is There an Army Cover Up of Rape and Murder of Women Soldiers?
U.S. Military Keeping Secrets About Female Soldiers’ ‘Suicides’?
Just say ‘no’ to pregnant soldiers?
Female troops face new dangers in Iraq
In memoriam to the U.S. service members who have died supporting the U.S.-led operations in Iraq
Ten years later, Army Private LaVena Johnson’s family still grieves and questions the Army’s version of her death
Violent Crime, Suicide, and Non Combat Death at Fort Carson, Colorado (US Army)
Non Combat Deaths of Female Soldiers in the US Military (Iraq)
Iraq deaths hit close to home

Army Lt. Col. Dominic ‘Rocky’ Baragona Died After a Tractor-Trailer Jackknifed on the Road and Collided with his HMMWV in Iraq (May 19, 2003)

LTC Rocky Baragona, US Army (2003)
LTC Dominic ‘Rocky’ Baragona, US Army

Army Lt. Col. Dominic ‘Rocky’ Baragona, 42, was killed on May 19, 2003 in Iraq (specific location not provided). A tractor-trailer jackknifed on the road and collided with Lt. Col. Baragona’s HMMWV causing his death. Baragona was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom on behalf of the 19th Maintenance Battalion at Fort Sill in Oklahoma. At the time of the press release, the incident was under investigation.

Related Links:
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Army Lt. Col. Dominic R. Baragona
Dominic Rocco Baragona, Lieutenant Colonel, United States Army
Ohioan killed in Iraq laid to rest
Glimpses of U.S. soldiers killed in May
Love and sacrifice
Vice President’s Remarks at the U.S. Military Academy Commencement
Baragona V. Kuwait Gulf Links Transport Co
Court: Contractor owes $5 million to U.S. soldier’s family
Dad of dead Ohio soldier seeks justice from Congress
Soldier’s family brings fight with contractor to Congress
Congressman Ryan to Introduce Baragona at Senate Hearing
Father of valley soldier testifies before Congress
Senators introduce enhanced Baragona legislation
Lieutenant Colonel Dominic “Rocky” Baragona Justice for American Heroes Harmed by Contractors Act
Kuwait Contractor Fights $4.9 Million Ga. Judgment on Jurisdictional Grounds
Judge overturns $4.9M award in Iraq death of Ohio soldier
Court Dismisses Dominic “Rocky” Baragona Lawsuit
Should Foreign Contractors Be Held Accountable in US Courts?
The struggle to police foreign subcontractors in Iraq and Afghanistan
Letter to Roberts Gates from Senator Claire McCaskill (2011)
Dads mourn sons lost in wars