Obituaries
The Iraq War, 10 Years of Casualties: Spring Valley Feels its Touch
It's been 10 years since the start of the Iraq War. Spring Valley lost two of its own – one in the Iraq War and one in Afghanistan.
The 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq began 10 years ago this week – on March 19, 2003 – and although officially "over," fighting continues with discouraging persistence.
By one count, the war is directly responsible for 189,000 deaths, not including those who died from hardship caused by the fighting.
CNN has a map of all casualties in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
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In all, 4,802 Americans and allies have died in the war, according to the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count, including 134 Virginians.
Among them, two soldiers from Spring Valley. From the CNN war casualties web site:
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Sgt. Brud Joseph Cronkite, 22
Unit: Company C, 1st Battalion, 37th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armor Division
Died: May 14, 2004
Cronkite died May 14, 2004, in Baghdad, Iraq, from wounds he received when a rocket-propelled grenade was fired into a building near him during a security patrol in Karbala, Iraq, on May 13, 2004.
Sgt. Rafael Martinez, Jr., 36
Unit: C Troop, 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division
Died: October 14, 2010
Martinez was one of three soldiers killed when insurgents attacked their unit with a roadside bomb between Moqur and Darreh-ye Bum, Afghanistan, on October 14, 2010.
See also:Honoring the Fallen: La Mesa Suffered 1 Casualty in the Iraq War
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